It’s misty and gray here in Eureka so no surprise that Dante (my German Shepherd) was soaked and coated with dirt on his undercarriage when we returned home from our walk. Time for the second bath in my experiment and, as you can see by the picture above, he was thrilled. Mind you, I am currently not using a shampoo with the ingredient recommended by Dr. Valerie A. Fadok, which is chlorhexidine. Her top picks were: Duoxo (biggest thumbs up), Zymox (over-the-counter) and Vetericyn Spray. I am using Epi-soothe, a shampoo recommended by my vet and one that is safe to use everyday. I will use it until my shipment of Duoxo arrives. He’s definitely less itchy over the last two days and his wounds on his back leg are healing and pinkness is returning to his belly skin.
I suds him up and wait 10 minutes, during which time he can ponder how he ended up in this family that keeps washing him.
After his 10 minute meditation, I rinse him thoroughly and towel dry…as much as I can when he keeps shaking the towel off and knocking my knees out from under me. The smell of wet dog permeates my house.
A couple things to keep in mind if you try this and have a big dog: You will get wet and you may use up all your dog towels. I will go in search of a cheap waterproof coverall and wear rubber boots so I do not end up as wet an hairy as my dog. Also, I will need to stay on top of my laundry.
Shepherd's Grove Studio 