Itching After Bath!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Our Sophie for about 4 days after a bath will scratch like crazy. I constantly pick up clumps of her hair off the floor. After about the 4th day she is fine. Seems like it strips the oil or something from her skin. Although she does shed someon a regular basis, after a bath it is like "oh here is another clump of Sophie". Her regular shedding isn't clumps, just a hair here, a hair there! I've tried changing shampoos and conditioners, not using conditioner, using cooler water, moisturizing shampoo, oatmeal shampoo, shampoo with conditioner, Cowboy Magic, nothing seems to help! I don't bathe her often, maybe every 6 weeks as she doesn't seem to smell, and her coat is actually prettier the longer she goes between baths. Any advice?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I don't bathe Ned at all if I can help it because I found that I can't do a good enough job. He tangles and is so dried out when I do it, so I save home bathing for emergencies. I do get Ned groomed every 3 - 6 weeks and he does scratch for a few days even with the professional baths. My opinion is that he probably needs a sensitive skin shampoo,like oatmeal, but the priority is more with a shampoo to get those mats so there may not be one that does both.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Sophie doesn't go to the groomers (she has had one slight trim in 1.5 yrs) so I'm the one normally giving her baths and as I mentioned I try and do it as infrequently as possible because of this. Fortunately she doesn't matt (mostly because she sheds) so I can focus on a shampoo for dry skin if I could just find one that works! I've found dog shampoos aren't cheap, so I hate to keep switching, but not as much as I hate seeing her itch. I bought a spray on moisturizer at Petsmart after the last bath and I've been spraying that on her and getting it rubbed into the skin and it seems to help some. Next time I give her a bath I'm going to use it while she is still wet and I'm hoping that helps more. We used to have a toy poodle and when she went to the groomers we always paid extra for a hot oil treatment ..... not sure it helped but it sure sounded good ...... think I'd like to have one!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I bath my dogs every six months or so. If they need a spot wash they get it but dirt--real dirt from the garden is gone when they dry--and they don't smell or seem dirty. The, dare I say it, Australian ladies recommend very infrequent bathing. My dogs don't scratch much.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Do you use an oatmeal shampoo? My mom's groomer uses one on her itchy Westie. I have used oatmeal baths for my kids when they had chicken pox or hives.

[Nancy Cavanaugh]

I have used a Neem oil - organic shampoo - Neem is wonderful for the skin.I'll check and see if I still have the website where I got it.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

The general instruction for labradoodles is minimal bathing because they have a very low amount of oil in their coats. I bathe my dogs 4 times a year. Once for each season. lol Sometimes we skip the winter bath and just do late fall and early spring. It is all frozen here so they stay pretty clean.

I bathe them with 2 soapings...the first one is a medi shampoo that gets rid of bacteria, viruses, fungus etc. I leave that on for 5 minutes. The second soaping is a professional all breed shampoo and then I use a cream rinse that you leave in for 5 minutes. After I towel dry, I use a finishing spray that helps eliminate tangles and has a UV protectant.

Of course, just like many jobs, the longest part is first....the preparation for the bath. Brush, comb, clip....sounds easy, but is the most time consuming part.

In between I blow them with my blower to take any dust out of their coats, do a sani clip if required, trim around their ears and eyes and clip nails. Some times I have to blow them 3 or 4 times a week as it is really dusty and dry where I live. The dust doesn't really stick to their coats....only long enough for them to bring it into the house where they will promptly deposit it.
Most breeds that need haircuts need bathing and grooming every 6 weeks.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I have an aloe plant also. Isn't it sticky and gooey when applied? It sure is on humans.