Anyone Used Alpha Keri Oil In Dogs Bath?

[Danois]

I was told that Alpha Keri is good for new hair growth and to apply it directly to the coat a couple of days before a bath.

[Loraine]

Further update on the itchies. I found some Alpha Keri Wash at my local chemist. I will be trying it nest week. I also bough some vitamin E oil (sot me a small ransom) I put on a drop on each nibbled bit and he has stopped biting (fingers crossed). I will add more after his next bath in the new Alpha Keri wash.

[Danois]

Loraine - I got told the tip of making a pot of calendula tea, letting it steep for 15 mins and then chilling before spraying on the dog and it worked well here last week on a very itchy dog.

[Erny]

Glad you find it works for you too, Danois.

As many would know (especially in recent times with my boy's troubles) I use the Calendula tea as well and a good 'side-effect' apart from the reduction of rashes and itchies is that it seems to leave the skin AND coat really nice and clean and fresh feeling/smelling. It helps the skin by acting as an anti-bacterial against secondary skin infection and it is non-oily, which I expect wouldn't serve to clog up the skin, allowing it to breath, and wouldn't attract dirt/dust as oily treatments might. I guess the trick there would be to not make the Alpha Keri Wash over concentrated.

I've never used Alpha Keri Wash and I must admit that I have stored the name of this in the back of my mind, should I feel the Calendula isn't working well enough for my boy. I do take into account the testimonials of those who have used it with success, so I am not boo-hooing it by any stretch. But I find the Calendula is something you can use even without going through bathing rituals. I have used it as a spray on (and then rub it in so that it reaches the skin) but find that with my short-haired boy, dipping a flannel into the brew and applying it (soaked) directly onto his coat, giving it a bit of a (gentle) rub, is all that is required. In this way I can do it as often as needs be and can just do the affected areas as appropriate.

ETA: I let mine steep for 40 minutes or until the water has cooled to room temperature. Sometimes I have refrigerated it if I have prepared it a little in advance of use (eg overnight for use the next morning).

Edited January 10, 2010 by Erny

[zayda_asher]

As many would know (especially in recent times with my boy's troubles) I use the Calendula tea as well and a good 'side-effect' apart from the reduction of rashes and itchies is that it seems to leave the skin AND coat really nice and clean and fresh feeling/smelling.

This serves as a good example of how knowing what your dog is allergic to (and even if it is allergies causing the issues) is important. Calendula is a part of the Daisy family and many atopic dogs are allergic to daisies. Now, just because a dog reacts atopically to the pollen doesn't mean that they will automatically react to the same thing on contact with the skin, however, some can and will also have contact reactions to the things they are atopically allergic to. For people with particularly sensitive dogs it is always worth testing for this before you use any product. In my case I have one of each: Zayda is ok with oat shampoo, even though she is allergic to oat pollen, where as Asher is quite sensitive to contact for many things he is atopically allergic to. In fact, if he even gets a wiff of tea tree (atopic for Melaleuca) he is off to hide in disgust! So it is always worth knowing what your dog actually reacts to and testing anything before you use it, or sometimes we make things worse without realising it.

Obviously Erny, your boy is doing well with it, so that's great I just thought it was a great example of how different things may work for different people for different reasons... if I tried using that on Asher it would most likely PROMOTE bacterial growth instead of lessening it. He may be ok with that, but given his history of cross sensitivity and the fact we've had bad reactions recently, I've chosen to steer clear instead of test and risk a further reaction, so I can't say he would certainly 100%.

I just put it out there as something else for people to think about when choosing products or if they see reactions with something that was a "miracle" for everyone else

EFS

Edited January 10, 2010 by zayda_asher

[Erny]

This serves as a good example of how knowing what your dog is allergic to (and even if it is allergies causing the issues) is important.

You are 100% correct ZA and I acknowledge my error in forgetting the use of something like Calendula might not be a good thing for (eg) a pollen allergy dog. My apologies for such an important omission.

[zayda_asher]

You are 100% correct ZA and I acknowledge my error in forgetting the use of something like Calendula might not be a good thing for (eg) a pollen allergy dog. My apologies for such an important omission

Hey, no dramas! For many it may not be an issue.... but its always good to keep these things in mind... Patch testing is really useful to make sure already sensitive skin isn't further irritated... I just know how down and frustrating it can make you, when you think you've found something that works for everyone else and it falls in a screaming heap for you!

[luvsdogs]

I've just bathed Tilba for the 1st time in over a month. I found her skin to have quite a lot more dandruff than I have found previously. In the final rinse I used the Alpha Kerri oil. I put about 6 cm of water in the laundry tub & added about 10 mls of oil. I wasn't sure how much to use as stated you don't want to use too much. Will come back after a few days to let you know if she's still scratching or if there is any reduction in scratching.