Pommy the Pomeranian was hiding in the corner of the dog park, trying not to scratch. She knew the penalty would be a trip to the bathroom tub with her mom’s best intentions bathing her with baby shampoo. She knows that would make her itch 10 times worse. What to do?
“I know how you feel,” sympathized Bruno the Boxer. “Last summer when I had Giardia, my Lady, wiped my butt with paper towels. I know this is a delicate subject but how could I tell her that the wiping hurt more than the pooping?”
Ah, if only our pups – and our kitties, rabbits, ferrets, pet rats and other furry loved ones – could talk. And only if they knew what to tell us.
What to tell us is quite simple. Critters with fur are not us. They have fur, we don’t. They have skin that is protected everywhere by fur, pH balanced at a much higher pH than ours and about 1/3 the thickness of ours. In a word it is much more sensitive than our skin and even human’s mildest baby shampoos are not kind to many of our pets.
This became obvious to Paul Armstrong by 1995 after he realized his cat, Miles, was prone to hot spots and fleas but he wasn’t. Why? His research brought him to the now obvious understanding that fur-covered skin is quite different than ours and he began to develop his line of Earthbath which he calls, “People tested, Pet approved.”
So, you need to bathe your furry pet? Take a look at their line of shampoos. No more expensive than human shampoos, Earthbath is pH balanced for fur-covered skin, mild and doesn’t cause drying because fur-covered skin is not set to replace the necessary protective barrier oils the way ours is.
From Mango to Eucalyptus to Aloe every shampoo is completely natural. If you are unsure and pup has had issues, there is a hypoallergenic shampoo. There are even, dare we say, cat shampoos. And if you’d like to read Brooklyn Bark’s blog about bathing a cat, prepare yourself and click for the link. Prepare yourself also with a pair of falconer’s gloves and someone ready to call 911 on your behalf.
Slush season is coming to New York. Wipes are great. Again, we remind you that Baby Wipes are not maximized for pup. If you use wipes, you can clean a mukky pup with wipes made for him. Earthbath.
So, gentle reader, please keep in mind, that even though our furry ones are part of our family, they are different from us humans and need different grooming products.
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