Hygiene and Grooming

Dog's skin is different than humans. They have fur, not hair, and they aren't cut out for a daily bath. They are animals that have not yet evolved to get rid of their fur, like we did, because they use it. Sooo...dog's skin and fur needs different treatment than people's skin and hair. It is important to only use products designed for dogs. The pH level in human and human baby shampoos and soaps are way too tough on a doggie's outsides.

Here's a list of bathing products we enjoy:

For our Saint Bernard, who tends to have itchy skin and hot spots:
Earthbath Tea Tree Oil & Aloe Vera Shampoo

For our very smelly little English bulldog, who, I swear, sweats in his armpits like a kid in middle school:
Earthbath Mediterranean Magic Rosemary Scented Deodorizing Shampoo

For both boys after shampooing:
Earthbath Cream Rinse & Conditioner

Earthbath's products are environmentally friendly and are completely harmless to lawns, which makes this a great product for outdoor baths on the patio. :) They are all 100% bio-degradable, free of phosphates and enzymes, and are animal cruelty-free. That's a good thing in our book!

Ordinarilly, I find Earthbath products in the specialty pet stores we frequent, but Petco is now carrying them, so if you don't have a reputable pet store near you, Petco is a good option to find Earthbath.

You can also check out Earthbath's website to find where to buy near you or online.

I'm not a big fan of foo-foo dog products, but Cain and Able make a great paw rub that is perfect for dogs with beat up pads like our bulldog who has weird feet. His pads are very silky smooth, and not designed for good walking on cement, concrete, and pavement (where we do most of our walking together). Our previous bully had great pads for it, but Angus apparently came from very different bully stock. We use this paw rub for his feet when he gets beat up from walking:

Cain & Able Every Dog Has His Day Spa Paw Rub

Our Gordie has DISGUSTING ears. We don't know why. He also has digusting teeth. We think he was given a weird antibiotic as a youngin' that altered the way he excretes things in his body (saliva, ear wax, boogies, etc). Because of this, we are obsessed with cleaning his ears and keeping them from becoming infected. We like to use a little bit of ear cleaner along with some soft cotton pads (and occasionally a gentle q-tip swipe) to clean him out. This is the cleaner we like the best, because it is chock full of natural essential oils, doesn't irritate his skin, and smells yummy:

Cain & Able's Every Dog Has His Day Spa Ear Cleanser

Bulldog care is very special, and must be taken very seriously. If a bully gets infected in their folds and wrinkles, it can be very dangerous (tails removed!) and extremely uncomfortable. For our bulldog's nose rope and tail pocket, we clean him out daily with:

Huggie's Natural Care baby wipes

We buy them in a huge refill pack at Target for cheap.

Twice a week we use Malaseb wipes on him.

When he gets some irritation in there, we use a little A&D Ointment. When he just needs some routine drying out, we use Desitin Creamy. Typically, we use A&D in his nose rope because it is usually irritated from licking and eating, and Desitin Creamy in his tail, where it get sore and then gunky.

As for their teeth, this is a constant challenge in our house. Neither of our boys play nice when it comes to brushing their teeth. Gordie runs and hides. If you eventually get to walk up to him to brush, he pees himself. Angus bites the toothbrush. If you take it away, he growls and tries to get it back. He thinks it is a toy and tries to play his favorite game with you: Keep Away.

In light of this, we have mostly given up on toothbrushing in this house. We continue to work on their behavioral issues with toothbrushing and try a few times a week, but neither has made much progress, and we have bigger fish to fry on the behavior front right now, so toothbrushing has taken a back burner for a while. We use a couple of products to help keep their teeth healthy, and we also send them in for a full dental cleaning once a year, which is covered by our pet insurance. When they go in for the dental, we also order hip x-rays for our Saint Bernard, to keep an eye on arthritis and any other issues that might pop up. Angus is now almost 3, and we'll be doing x-rays on him as well.

We use the following products in conjunction to help combat the breath and teeth problems:

BreathaLyser PLUS Drinking Water Additive

D.D.S. Dental Squares (Gordie only)

Coenzyme Q10

Vitamin C

Zukes' Z-Ridge Dental Chew (We LOVE Zukes!!)

When we had our previous bulldog, Rosie, we were able to brush her teeth 4-5 times a week. She had great teeth! This is the toothbrush that worked well for us then:

Triple-Pet Toothbrush

We just used a doggy toothpaste from the petstore. Whatever was on sale was good for her. We didn't get too concerned with ingredients, but if we found a natural option, we went with that.

Both boys get brushed on a regular basis (few times a week for Gordie, once a week for Angus). Gordie gets a good long toothed comb, and Angus gets a short toothed rubber number (he has coarse, short hair, so his hair doesn't get any knots in it). It is a great time to bond with your dog, so make regular brushing a habit for your baby.