Can a dog be washed with human shampoo?

Keeping a pet is a fairly responsible task. Feeding, walking, raising, and hygiene - all aspects are extremely important. In this article, we’ll talk about the need to bathe your pet, and also consider how to do it right, and whether it is worth using a special shampoo or human is perfect.

Most often, those dogs that you keep in your apartments and let go for a walk in the park cannot get so dirty that they have to be bathed. However, individual individuals still find an alternative way to frolic, and then “delight” their owner with dirty hair. In this case, the pet will have to bathe out of turn.

Speaking of the normal frequency of washing, It’s enough for a dog to bathe from 2 to 4 times a year. That is, you can do this once a season, and it will be enough.

When you see a rather funny, but still unpleasant picture - a dog, on which dirt rolls down with “sausages”, you immediately grab the first detergent that comes across, whether it’s an adult or baby shampoo. However, do not think that if such a detergent is harmless to the child, then it will be just as harmless to the dog. It should be clearly understood: the skin and hairline of dogs and people vary widely.

In representatives of the canine family, wool is an individual indicator of any changes in health.So, if your pet has the wrong or unhealthy diet, metabolic disturbances - this will immediately affect the coat. Changes will be visible instantly.

• Wool can lose its former moisture and become completely dry and brittle, like a straw.
• In addition to dryness, the dog may begin to lose hair in large enough quantities. And this will become a common problem, as not only your apartment will suffer, which will literally “drown” in shreds of wool, but also the digestion of the dog will significantly deteriorate, as it will lick off the hairs that have fallen from itself.
• An adverse indicator may be the appearance of dandruff.

All these signs indicate an improper diet or an improperly selected detergent. In the first case, the hair follicles do not eat enough and cannot “give birth” to healthy and lush hair.

The acidity of the dog’s skin is different from the acidity of the human skin, which is why if you bathe it with human shampoo, the skin will be destroyed. However, in this case we are talking about reusable means or bathing too often.

If your pet accidentally finds itself in a puddle of mud, which is not very pleasing to you, and even the veterinary pharmacy has long been closed, then you can wash it with your shampoo. From once, there will be no visible or at least somehow affecting health damage.

On dog lovers forums you can find the statement that they really shouldn’t be washed with shampoo, but with laundry soap - excellent! Allegedly, the coat immediately becomes soft and clean, and the dog as a whole feels great.

However, in this situation, everything is far from simple. Soap, and especially household soap, violates the acidity of your dog’s skin even more than shampoo. Its miraculous properties relate only to the properties of laundry soap as a detergent. That is, a one-time dog can be washed with it, but in the long term it will be reflected in the skin in a negative way.

In this situation, a similar rule applies: in an emergency, you can wash your pet with such soap, but resorting to this method too often is unacceptable. And it’s better to buy a bottle of dog shampoo the very next day.

Puppy, whether you are going to use shampoo or not, for the first time it is worth bathing no earlier than 2 months. The immune system, skin, and the whole body of the baby are not yet strong and not formed. Accordingly, it is definitely impossible to bathe such a representative of your family with human soap or shampoo.

If your puppy has already managed to get dirty somewhere, try to wash it with plain water. But next time you will need to choose a special shampoo for him.

Use a universal solution is not worth it. This only risks harming your pet. Therefore, choose a shampoo based on various criteria, which are described below.

• First of all, you need to pay attention to the age of the dog. It is no secret that the skin of a puppy and an adult dog varies, so choose different means.
• Much depends on the breed of the dog. Some of them are more or less sensitive to certain components, and even the acid-base environment of the skin is different.
• Pay attention to the length of your dog’s coat. For shorthair, an ordinary cleanser will suffice. But their counterparts with longer hair will have to look for a softener so that the pile is easily combed out and not confused.
• For those with predominantly or completely white wool, there are special safe bleaches.
• Please note that shampoos are not only washing, but also specialized, with the function of getting rid of parasites / dandruff.

Of course, in order to have detergents on hand for every occasion, you will need to buy several bottles. First, at the age of a puppy, to wash a descendant of a wolf, a certain type of shampoo will be needed. The next shampoo is picking up individually for the type and length of the pet’s coat. If your dog is white, you will need a tool with a mild, safe bleach. And finally, in case of fleas or skin problems - one or two therapeutic shampoos.

In this case, you will always have in your arsenal everything that can help your pet, and you will not have to do any harm to the delicate skin of the dog. Even if the animal completely falls out in the mud, there will be what and how to wash it.

• Do not make the water too hot. The higher the temperature of the water or, conversely, the excessively cooler, the greater the stress. And it will be reflected not only in the psyche of the animal, but also physiologically on the skin.
• Do not draw a lot of water in order to completely exclude the possibility of the dog swallowing excess water from the bathtub. The ideal solution in this case would be washing under the shower, and it is better that the watering can be fixed in the direction of the animal’s back. Then the water will not pour on the face, which is rather unpleasant, but will only help you in washing.
• Do not wash your face, rinse with special care near the nose, eyes, mouth. It is impossible for any chemistry to get into these organs, because to cope with the unpleasant sensations of a dog is even more difficult than a person.
• Thoroughly rinse all the soap from the dog. This is a necessary parameter, it will not only exclude poisoning, but also completely rid the skin of the subsequent irritation with foam residues.

Indeed, there are situations when you need to wash your pet, but there is no special shampoo at hand. Then there is nothing left but to use the human, and there will be no particular harm from a one-time bath (subject to the rules described above, of course). But then it is better to immediately go to a veterinary pharmacy or a specialized store and get a shampoo suitable for your dog.

See how to clean your dog properly in the next video.