DIY Bath Wipes for Itchy Dog?

[DanielleDL]

We have three major hurdles with washing Bobby: (1) he hates full baths, (2) we don't have a tub, and (3) the weather dictates how wet we can get him if we attempt to wash him outside. So what I've been doing is to give him heavily-diluted shampoo wipes with wash cloths, followed by a wipe with a washcloth of clean water. However, I worry about soap residue not fully being rinsed, and possibly irritating his seasonally itchy skin. Instead, I was thinking of making a no-rinse solution of 99% aloe + calendula + water for his wipes and was wondering if (1) that's a good idea, and (2) what the ratios might be. I've never used calendula (what kind/brand do I buy?).

Bobby's BEAM is good. It's slightly reduced by the seasonal itchiness, but we're working on that. I'm buying some local honey from a beekeeper 7 miles away today, and all his other health habits are sound: sniff walks, diet, supplements. Bobby's also spring shedding, so I'm sure his itchiness is partially (if not fully) because of that. He's targeting areas that I find hard to de-shed (behind the ears, face, legs). Started gently brushing those areas with a flat bristle brush last night and will continue.

Thanks as always for your help!

 

[Dr. Christina]

Thanks Danielle for prompting me to ask the community about the ingredients in this waterless shampoo. Laura Nativo, a very busy dog trainer says it is great. Ed Begley, Jr. has many environmentally sound products, though I have not yet researched all the ingredients. Check out many at Home
then go to the formulation tab to get ingredients. For the waterless spray shampoo the ingredients are:

Water
Enzyme Blend
Cocobetaine
Natural Fragrance
Phenoxyethanol

love everyone's feedback.

And Danielle, as you follow the guidelines in the health 101 class, feeding fresh and more, Bobby's skin and fur will be completely healthy and he will rarely shed, even seasonally! Be patient and keep trying!

Dr. Christina

 

[DanielleDL]

@Dr. Christina - Thanks for the input! Yep, I know that Bobby's skin and fur will change as his health does. I feel like he's already shedding less than he did when we got him 7 months ago (or he's just getting regularly brushed now and it just seems that way). Just trying to figure out something simple to help relieve his itchiness (and luckily it's not severe) until his health is optimized and/or until allergy season winds down.

As for the Begley's, I worry about "fragrance" in things. I personally am sensitive to them, so I have to keep them off Bobby (and his sense of smell is obviously way more sensitive than mine). Also, if Bobby smells funny, I want to know about it, and I don't want it masked by a fragrance when possible.

But, yeah, I'd love to hear if anyone in the community has any good DIY wipe recipes. The simpler and more soothing the better.