What Shampoo Do You Use And Why?

[the cat lady]

Calendula Tea as a wash and leave-in rinse.

No shampoo or conditioner.

And no over-bathing.

Just wondering how the calendula tea goes on a white dog. It has a yellow colour, does this tend to send their coat a yellow or "dirty" colour.

I have used the calendula on itchey feet with some successs. Our dog is quite "itchy" and a frequent bath or wash seems to ease thy itching.

[Erny]

Hi TCL.

Only once have I ever received feed-back from someone who tried the Calendula and reported the white patches of fur of her dog staining yellow. But it turned out that the brand of Calendula Tea she'd purchased was colour enhanced - something that some suppliers/producers of the product do to make it appear fresher than it might be and attract the buyer (the fresher the Tea, the more potent and more colourful).

Obviously, "fresh" is best, but if I had the choice of only the two, I'd rather go for preservative and colouring free, even though the tea might not appear as naturally vibrant and colourful as it should when not quite so 'old'.

When this person reported the yellow staining (a DOL Member, btw), I sent her up some of the Calendula Tea I had in supply in my pantry and there was no staining.

So, look for "no added colouring" (there should be no added "anything"), and use some of it to apply to the white of your dog's fur in a discrete place to test, but in my experience, it has been fine on the small white patch on my boy's chest and also on the white of other tri-coloured dogs I've know have had it applied.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Erny

[the cat lady]

Hi TCL.

Only once have I ever received feed-back from someone who tried the Calendula and reported the white patches of fur of her dog staining yellow. But it turned out that the brand of Calendula Tea she'd purchased was colour enhanced - something that some suppliers/producers of the product do to make it appear fresher than it might be and attract the buyer (the fresher the Tea, the more potent and more colourful).

Obviously, "fresh" is best, but if I had the choice of only the two, I'd rather go for preservative and colouring free, even though the tea might not appear as naturally vibrant and colourful as it should when not quite so 'old'.

When this person reported the yellow staining (a DOL Member, btw), I sent her up some of the Calendula Tea I had in supply in my pantry and there was no staining.

So, look for "no added colouring" (there should be no added "anything"), and use some of it to apply to the white of your dog's fur in a discrete place to test, but in my experience, it has been fine on the small white patch on my boy's chest and also on the white of other tri-coloured dogs I've know have had it applied.

Thanks Erny

The tea I purchased was from a health food shop, it was scooped from a sack into an unlabled brown paper bag.... I guess I'll be calling them before I give the dog an all over soaking!!

[Guest hankodie]

I have been using the Dr. Zoo Itchy Dog Shampoo and their other products for my frenchie who has terrible seasonal allergies. Fantastic products. I think they're made by the same people that do the Moo Goo range (for humans), which I also use, I have mild occasional eczema and their products are so gentle on the skin. Highly recommended, especially if you have an itchy dog :D

Edited October 22, 2013 by hankodie

[LisaCC]

I've been using the Blackmores Paw puppy range, so Shampoo, and a leave in conditioner spray. Also a bit of Fidos whitening shampoo on blaze, chest and paws before a show (or something special).

Oh and on my last dog who sometimes got dandruff, Fidos oatmeal shampoo and conditioner worked great.

Edited October 22, 2013 by LisaCC

[aliwake]

Do you guys reckon Fido's black gloss would be ok on a brown dog? if not I'll just go for one of their more generic ones I think.

[❤LovesPoodles❤]

Do you guys reckon Fido's black gloss would be ok on a brown dog? if not I'll just go for one of their more generic ones I think.

I'm not sure about Fido's black shampoo but I was using my standards black shampoo on my brown toy and it started staining her coat.

[Erny]

Thanks Erny

The tea I purchased was from a health food shop, it was scooped from a sack into an unlabled brown paper bag.... I guess I'll be calling them before I give the dog an all over soaking!!

If you're stuck for getting the quality you need, contact Kerrie at World Par-Tea. She sells on-line. I've spoken with her a few times (the first time to check on the purity of the Calendula she stocks) and from what I can gather it's a .

[aliwake]

Do you guys reckon Fido's black gloss would be ok on a brown dog? if not I'll just go for one of their more generic ones I think.

I'm not sure about Fido's black shampoo but I was using my standards black shampoo on my brown toy and it started staining her coat.

Thanks for that, I'll just go a for a more normal shampoo then. The store I buy food from stocks Fido's so I might try the oatmeal one.

[the cat lady]

Thanks Erny

The tea I purchased was from a health food shop, it was scooped from a sack into an unlabled brown paper bag.... I guess I'll be calling them before I give the dog an all over soaking!!

If you're stuck for getting the quality you need, contact Kerrie at World Par-Tea. She sells on-line. I've spoken with her a few times (the first time to check on the purity of the Calendula she stocks) and from what I can gather it's a .

I've done a "test patch" on his white fur, and all seems good..... I've started using it on his face and snout (black, tan & white) as he is itchy there. Funny thing though, he seems to love the taste of it!! As soon as I put the jug of tea down, his tongue goes in and he's drinking like he's dying of thirst!!

By the way it does wonders for the itch!

[Erny]

If he wants to drink it, that's ok. It's good for drinking too. I drink Calendula Tea when I'm feeling a bit off, or when my throat is sore. My boy doesn't mind it, but I notice that there are times when he's not interested in the taste of it and times when he is. I tend to believe in the body being able to dictate when it needs something. Learnt this when I was decades younger - travelled OS and my diet was seriously bad over quite a duration .... ended up craving for porridge (which I'd never eaten in my life, so who knows what told me I needed that) and, of all things, cabbage. So goes to show, the body has a tendancy to *know* - we just have to listen to it more carefully.

Edited to Add : Note - of course, this does NOT mean let your dog eat whatever he wants to. Common sense applies :)

The Calendula Tea has natural anti-fungal and natural anti-inflammatory qualities and yes, it is very effective. Many people don't turn to it because it sounds so benign and tend to reach for the things that sud up (visual effect seems to do wonders to us having the feeling we're doing something to address problematic symptoms) and/or chemicals first. My way of thinking has vastly changed and I go for the more natural treatments first as (generally speaking) they tend not to send the body into over-drive to counter other side effects we are often creating by going for the more extreme treatments.

Candida is a common ailment in dogs (and in people, I think) and this may be why your dog is particularly partial to drinking the tea. You might want to address your dog's diet. It's not always about top-of-the-range commercial foods .... as even with these there can be components the dog's digestive system isn't processing as efficiently as it should and this can lead to problems, as minor or subtle as those problems might be. I like to clean up the diet by keeping it simple rather than complex. Stick to basics and move from there if you need to. Gives the system a chance to have a break from working so hard.

Glad you're finding the Calendula Tea helping with the itchy symptoms. Using this as a skin wash on my dog bought me the time I needed to work through my own boy's issues and resulted in successfully avoiding the use of antibiotics, cortisone (both of which I had some Vets heavily pushing towards) and even the more benign anti-histamines (which would have been the next thing I would have reached for if the Calendula hadn't provided the relief it did). I don't use any shampoo or conditioners on my dog - a full body soaking with the Calendula Tea leaves his skin and coat feeling clean, silky and smelling fresh.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Erny

[giraffez]

Erny, I've tried calendula tea. It provides some relief but only tempoary, the next day or an hour or so later, he starts scratching again.

I'm really thinking of switching shampoo. Using Aloveen at the moment. When to check out Fido and there are so many different formulas. Not sure which to get for an itchy dog with dry skin. Can anyone help please?

Thanks

[trifecta]

Erny, I've tried calendula tea. It provides some relief but only tempoary, the next day or an hour or so later, he starts scratching again.

I'm really thinking of switching shampoo. Using Aloveen at the moment. When to check out Fido and there are so many different formulas. Not sure which to get for an itchy dog with dry skin. Can anyone help please?

Thanks

I would try one of the Beauty & the Bees pet shampoo bars

http://www.beebeauty.com/lifestyle/pet-shampoo-bars

followed by a leave in rinse of apple cider vinegar diluted in warm water (1-2 tablespoons acv per litre of water).

However, the best way to get rid of itchiness & dry skin is to attack it internally - we are what we eat!

[Erny]

Erny, I've tried calendula tea. It provides some relief but only tempoary, the next day or an hour or so later, he starts scratching again.

I'm really thinking of switching shampoo. Using Aloveen at the moment. When to check out Fido and there are so many different formulas. Not sure which to get for an itchy dog with dry skin. Can anyone help please?

Thanks

The Calendula Tea doesn't cure the cause. But it does soothe and it doesn't send the skin into over-drive to counteract the affects of shampoos. You need to look for the underlying cause in the meantime.

[RiverStar-Aura]

Erny can I ask with using calendula tea, I'm tempted to try it on Kirah as I like to bath her every 8 weeks or so, and I'm thinking that if the tea doesn't strip natural oils, it might be better to use in between shampoos. She doesn't have any skin issues but she does pick up a doggy smell from being outside all the time.

Does it get used as a rinse -- as in just pour it over her coat then dry her off or do I need to rinse it off her too?

[LisaCC]

Erny, I've tried calendula tea. It provides some relief but only tempoary, the next day or an hour or so later, he starts scratching again.

I'm really thinking of switching shampoo. Using Aloveen at the moment. When to check out Fido and there are so many different formulas. Not sure which to get for an itchy dog with dry skin. Can anyone help please?

Thanks

I like the Fido's Oatmeal Shampoo and Conditioner for dry skin. I found it worked really well for dry flaky skin when my old boy was on medication.

[raineth]

Calendula Tea as a wash and leave-in rinse.

No shampoo or conditioner.

And no over-bathing.

I pretty much do this. Although I do wash every week.

I don't always use calendula tea. Sometimes I grab some lavender or mint from the garden and use that.

[poodle3081]

Erny, I've tried calendula tea. It provides some relief but only tempoary, the next day or an hour or so later, he starts scratching again.

I'm really thinking of switching shampoo. Using Aloveen at the moment. When to check out Fido and there are so many different formulas. Not sure which to get for an itchy dog with dry skin. Can anyone help please?

Thanks

Try the Paws by Blackmores. They have done a lot of research on skin conditions and treatments.

[cali]

most of my dogs-whatever smells good and is detergent free

Baby dog- whatever I can find that is hypo-allergenic and does NOT contain oatmeal(I curse Hypo shampoo's that contain oatmeal lol)

[dogmatic]

Tried a lot of things, including scented powders, with a dog who seemed naturally stinky - GSD with a fine dense plush undercoat that sheds almost all year round. SMH. She would smell OK for the first day, then worse. Poor thing shunned by the relatives at X-mas time.

Found an excellent and convenient rake that's suitable for a good daily groom. No more washing and no more stinky!

The younger one has a slightly coarser coat and much less of it. Never washed in her life and only a very light groom every day. One time, treated with a good rub down with Pure Lavender Oil when she caught mange. Smelled amazing for an hour or so. She swims in the dams and creeks, which at the moment are getting quite slimy. She always smells like a dog - absolutely beautiful!

Edited November 21, 2013 by dogmatic