My smelly dog needs a bath, but he has a reaction to every shampoo

[weleasewoderick23]

As the title says, my 11 year old Labrador is really smelly at the moment. He's still very active and swims in the river almost daily( not at the moment though - too cold!).

I have only bathed him a handful of times in his whole life and every time he has a skin reaction needing steroids to calm it down. I have used prescribed shampoo and generic dog shampoo, but he always reacts badly to it. The vet has said just don't bath him, which is sensible advice, but he really smells "doggy" and it's getting difficult to ignore.

Any advice wise women of Mumsnet?

What happens if you just shower with warm water and no shampoo? Also is the doggy smell related to his coat being dirty - our collie keeps herself v clean and like you we hardly ever wash her but she gets smelly if she's stressed or poorly. She's been stressed due to the cold lately and I can smell it. Don't think a bath would help, once she's more herself it will calm down.

Have you tried puppy shampoo or baby shampoo?

What's the skin condition? Not sebaceous adenitis, by any chance?

In any case...might be worth talking to a good local groomer - it's likely they've had to deal with this exact problem more often than vets would (in the same way that many muscular/joint problems are better solved by talking to a physio than a GP).

My border collie has really sentisive skin and reacts to most shampoos, so I recently asked for suggestions on here as he was getting a bit smelly, and someone recommended Cooper and Gracie itchy dog shampo. It's great, he didn't react at all, it actually calmed his itching quite a bit, and he smelled lovely.

Have you tried tee-tree oil shampoo? Only think I know that works

I make my own with oats it is really gentle, maybe you could do a patch test?
Regular brushing and bed washing should help a little with the smell.

There's one called Healthy Beast and they do an itchy dog shampoo. I know the lady and she home makes it all from natural ingredients. I’d def be going down the natural root and other than this one brand, only because I happen to know the owner I’d instead be looking into an organic human shampoo, or maybe just water and coconut oil?

You don’t have to use dog shampoo. I have ridiculous allergies and if one of my cats needs a bath, I use my allergy safe body wash. It’s not only the only way I can actually give the bath, it’s much safer than anything marketed as a pet shampoo.

im not in the uk so I don’t know if brands overlap. the product I use is called “free and clear liquid cleanser for sensitive skin”

i buy it in bulk and use if for body wash, hand-washing, and the occasional pet bath.

it’s also a good idea to patch test anything you are going to try. I’ve never patch tested a dog, but on a human that just means take a drop of the new soap and put it somewhere on the body. Then wait 3 days and check for rash. That way if the dog does react, he just has a tiny spot to deal with instead of being miserable all over. You would need to get past the fur I think would be the real trick and maybe on the back where less likely to lick.

I'd give a go with warm water and a nice massage - you'd be surprised how much you can get out with warm water alone. It won't be absolutely everything, but it'll vastly improve matters.

Thankyou everyone for your replies.

I've tried baby shampoo and that caused a reaction, I also tried plain water and although it didn't cause a reaction it didn't cut down on the smell!

I thought of using oatmeal shampoo, how do I make it myself?

Many thanks.

Mane and tail horse shampoo is good as horses have really sensitive skin.

There are loads of recipes online but for allergies I'd skip all of the ones that add things like soaps, vinegars and essential oils.
I would just make it with half cup baking soda, 1 cup oats and 1l warm water and then do a patch test.

We’ve used Dove soap on our sensitive dog before.

Thanks! That really helps

This one worked well for our sensitive girl propooch.com/products/oatmeal-dog-shampoo
You can use it directly or you can mix it in a jug first so it's very dilute when it's applied.

just use water and a bar of soap lathered up in your hands. X

You shouldn't use human shampoo as the pH is different but he's and shoulders works a treat on westies bad skin so do a patch test with that.

*Head and shoulders

I second Cooper and Gracie. I have a sensitive dog and this is great. Doesn't smell too strong and is very natural. It's cooling for itchy dogs.

I wouldn't use human shampoo there ph skin balance is different from ours my friend told me she knew someone that used baby shampoo and the dog died x