bathing a dane

[queenofstars]

hi everybody-im new here and i hope you all can help me out! i read somewhere that murphy's oil soap mixed with equal parts water makes great shampoo for great danes and is the correct ph. it would be great if this was true, but it seems a bit unbelievable to me. i would think that at the least the smell, tho lovely for me, would be much too strong for him. does anyone know about this? thanks :)

[Carol]

Yes, alot of people use it that way. That stuff tears my hands up so even using it to clean panel walls etc. I have to wear gloves. It does a good job as a shampoo for dogs tho.

[rlynnd]

Hmmm...haven't heard on that one. I've always used Murphy's on my saddles, but leather and a dane coat are 2 entirely different things:)
I would be interested to hear what everyone else says! After showing horses for years, I learned from one of the top trainers in the country that regular old dish soap is very mild and works well on horses coats (never an allergic reaction) and so now I use it on the danes and it works well too, though I try not to give them too many baths for fear of drying out the coat too much. I do get tons of compliments on my dogs coats.:-)

[Carol]

Yes, Ivory dishwashing soap is mild and makes a good shampoo. Now, my hands can handle that.:)

[danelover]

Dishwashing soap doesn't dry out the danes skin?

The Murphy's soap, now thats new to me. I don't think I'll be trying that on Kelcey. I use on my wood flours great,but I don't care for the smell and I wouldn't want Kelcey smelling like that. But, then again...is it good for dry skin?

Cyndi & Kelcey

[SixstarDanes]

We use Murphy's Oil Soap here and have been for 5 yrs with no ill effects to date. We recommend it.

From what I've heard MOS is 100% vegetable matter.
I've even tested it in my own eye before using it on our dogs
it barely stung (very briefly) unlike most shampoos

We use it both on our Danes & on our Akita.
It lathers nicely, rinses out easier than alot of soaps
and doesn't dry the coat out. Smells pleasant too.

Another nice thing is its inexpensive and you can get it at many locations.
We take a half bottle with us when we go to the dog wash (after going to the beach) and wash with it and just leave the remaining amount there. Its nicer then toting it around and it accidently getting opened where you don't want it to be.

If anyone is thinking about trying MOS (just like with ANY new products) its best to do a test area.. like say on one of the dog's lower legs.
Just make sure you aren't using other products or doing anything else new during this time as you are checking for allergies.

[danelover]

WOW!! Maybe I'll try MOS on Kelcey next time I get her a bath. And I'll test it first on her leg. Is it ok for a 6 month old?

Cyndi & Kelcey

[rowan]

I will have to try the murphy's next time i give daisy a bath. I do know it works good to get grass stains and blood out of clothes



Penny & Daisy

[SixstarDanes]

We've used it on pups as young as 10 weeks.
The first couple of baths we didn't use much soap at all...just mostly water.
As the pups decided bath time was enjoyable we made it more a cleaning time.
At first it was more play.

Here's a pix of our boy Eagle actually ASKING me to give him a bath.
http://www.6stardanes.com/gimmebath.jpg

Rachel Cawley

[astridj]

What a cute picture of Eagle .... and I see you even have Scooby shower curtains? Now that's going all the way - LOL :D

[SixstarDanes]

:) The Scooby shower curtains are nothing compared to all the Scooby items we have.
Infact we have TOO MUCH Scooby stuff.
I really need to trim down on my Scooby collection.

Say does anyone have older Dane magazines they'd like to trade for Scooby stuff?

Rachel Cawley

[danelvr]

LOL, that picture is adorable. eagle certainly is a pretty boy! ! we use orvis horse shampoo(we have once) on kash. the other times in the bath, we just run the warm water on him to get he mud off of him(gotta let him out suring the winter sometime):)

[queenofstars]

tried the murphy's on my boy yesterday and it worked like a charm! i thought the smell might be too strong for him but then i realized that when i put it on the floors i don't rinse it off. :-P it went on and rinsed off nicely, he smells lovely, and it actually made his coat very soft. honestly-i cant believe how soft his coat is! i'd recommend it-after, of course, doing a spot test on your dog.

[Nicole J]

Eagle is a real cutie! I wish my girl would beg for baths. She dreads it! To try and coax a dog that big into the tub is a real chore!!x( But let me see if I am understanding this correctly. You mix water in with the Murphy soap, then apply? So if I had half a bottle of soap I would mix half a bottle of water then apply right? You don't just apply pure soap on them do you? This weekend is bath weekend and I wouldn't mind testing this out.

Nicole

[SixstarDanes]

When we first were using MOS I'd get a big bowl and pure in a
small amount of MOS then add water to the bowl from the spicket.
This would create a foam right in the bowl to apply to the dogs.

I'd wet the dogs down then suds them up with this foam then pour the rest of the bowl contains over them then rinse off.

Now after I wet the dogs down I apply the MOS directly on them and suds them up that way.
You really don't need much as it lathers well then you just rinse off.

As for bathing its real nice when you've trained your dogs to enjoy baths.
Here I just walk into the bathroom and point at the tub and they walk right in.
The only bad thing is when I'm washing only one or two (for shows) several of the dogs get upset as they want to be bathed too!



Rachel Cawley

[Nicole J]

How do you train your dogs to enjoy baths? Is there a special trick to it? Or could it be that my dog just don't like them and never will?

[SixstarDanes]

Well... its best to introduce baths when your dog is still a puppy.

When they are in the tub you just make it fun.
Talk to them alot, praise them.
Have a toy there.. let them play with the water.
Don't rush it.

Here's an (animated) pix of a pup we had named Reveille who enjoyed
baths so much we'd have to fill the tub with water before washing him so he could have playtime first.
http://www.6stardanes.com/tubdunk.gif



If need be as a baby be in the tub with them.
Don't really expect to wash the puppy to begin with.
Use a washcloth or a tub scrungy.. give the pup a body scritch/massage with it.
Just make it overall a pleasant experience.

Some dogs enjoy water more than others so some dogs are much easier with this than others.

If they are having problems don't feed the problem
(as in the sad voice 'poor baby' or 'Ohhh!') this only encourages difficulty. Redirect this with something neat happening.
Change the dog's focus.

If your pup is a chow hound you can even give treats in the tub.

After the bath when you towel dry make that fun too.
Scritch them as you dry.. make fun noises.
For some dogs drying off is the best part as it really turns them on
as it may give them zoomies or the rubbies (rubbing against everything).

Rachel Cawley

[Nicole J]

Well, she's not a baby puppy anymore. But she is still a puppy at 15 months, or still acts like it anyway. I will try scrunchies and such this weekend. I have always praised her and talk sweet, but she still thinks she needs to jump out when I have my head turned. I might even try to give her a treat. Never thought about that one. I just figured, hmmphh, I don't eat while I'm in the tub, why would my dog? But will see how she does. Thank you!:D

Nicole

[Nicole J]

Oh how cute!!!!! Love the way the pic is animatied!!

[weim_mom]

Hi Nicole,

My girl used to hate baths too, and when she was about a year old I decided I really needed to work on that. I used her favorite treat (very thin slices of hot dog) to entice her into the tub, and she would get a slice every couple of minutes as long as she was behaving. At first, when she acted like she was going to jump out of the tub, I would just reach for a treat and she would settle back down. This worked wonders in no time! Now when I say "bathtime," she goes running for the tub! It only takes me about half of a hotdog to get her through an entire bath and drying. I could probably even go without the treats now, but I know she enjoys it and it's only once a month or so, so why not? She does love it when she's done and gets zoomies right away-- I think she likes the cool feel of the air on her damp fur.

Michelle :)

[danelover]

Rachel,

WOW....now thats cool how you made the pic. do that.
Thats just like Kelcey in the tub. She loves the water. I think I am going to buy her one of those kids swimming pools this summer.

Cyndi & Kelcey

[Nicole J]

Thank you Michelle. That is very reassuring knowing that you had an older puppy that went through this and you turned her around to liking baths! That's great! Now I am actually excited to try and give her a bath Saturday!!! Thanks again guys! .

Nicole

[eliza]

I actually bathe my guy in the very same cross ties/ wash stall that I use for my horses! I also use the same soap that I use for my horses. Ivory dish soap. Someone told me about it YEARS ago---like 8+--and although both my cocker and my dane had had skin problems in the past,they NEVER have had any while using this soap. Not the adults, not the puppies. Not to mention that it is easy to get and inexpensive!!!!!!!!
eliza

[Nicole J]

Well, I tried the Murphy Oil Soap this weekend. It worked great! And her coat is a lot softer than usual!! I also tried the little treat to get her into the tub. That worked wonderfully! Thanx for all the advise!!!

Nicole J

[JMM]

I'll have to try the MOS as everyone recommends it, I just recently started using Head and Shoulders (Jeff is a little mad though, it's his shampoo, and I used it all on the dogs), Amos had started flaking, and I figured I had given him too many baths. Well I waited two months, and he was still flakey, so I used the head and shoulders and it really improved his coat. He also smelled very good. The MOS should probably be good for this as well, it seems like it would offer some moisturizing benefits. My problem with bathing the dogs is when it's Annies turn. She doesn't like getting baths, but she'll do it, I just have to get her in the bathroom, then she'll get in the tub on her own with a very uncomfortable look on her face. She doesn't try to get out, and I try to be very cheerful and happy to try to relax her, but she just stands there looking embarassed. Problem is, if Amos sees us heading towards the tub, he'll run ahead and jump in, and there is no way I can get both dogs in the tub at once! So you try to get Amos out, and then Annie runs out of the room and hides, then you're back at square one again! When I finally get Annie in the tub, Amos supervises everything, and trys to lick the suds off of her. At least it is always interesting...to me anyway!

Julie

[Heather and Bishop]

So...I'm not the only one with a water luvin' dane!! Bishop has been coming into my showers since he was about 10 wks...I would let him play in there 6 nights a week and on the 7th actually wash him. He doesn't fit anymore, but anytime I'm in the guest bathroom he'll get in the tub and cry until he gets a bath...then Queen wants one too...then Bishop cries because he thinks he needs another one!!:7 They also LOVE to be dried with a towel...it is a big game in my house.. :*

[MP]

Isn't that funny about the towels? I call "Baby" soggy doggy and he just wags his tail and loves it.

mp