For over 15 years I’ve been telling people that they should only use dog shampoos on their dogs and never human. Recently I watched a video put out by Pet Head products clearly explaining what I’ve been saying for years. Here are a few reasons why human, even baby, shampoos can be very harmful to your pets.
The Ingredients: Dog shampoos have ingredients that are safe and beneficial to their skin and coat. They have a formula for conditioning and gently cleansing to protect your dogs skin from over drying. Some even contain ingredients that help with fleas, ticks, and hot spots (skin abrasions or ulcers) while human shampoos do not and can even cause skin irritation.
pH Balance: Human pH is 5.5 while dog pH is 7.5 making human skin over 100 times more acidic than your dogs. Due to the acidity of human shampoo it can overly dry out your dogs skin and open it up to potential problems.
Skin Layers: Humans have 10-15 layers of skin while dogs only have 3-5. The more layers of skin you have the more protection. Using human shampoo strips off these protective layers of skin and can open your pet up to potential bacterial and viral infections.
A few shampoo brand I recommend (and carry) are Tropiclean, Happy Tails, and Pet Head. All perfect to fluff and buff your pampered pooch.
Just one note I’d like to add to dogs having fewer layers of skin is the harm of fur getting matted. ‘Dread Locks’, while less painful on a human, are extremely painful and dangerous to your pets skin. This includes cats as well. Knots and matting on just a few layers of skin will be massively more problematic than on our thicker skin. If skin cannot breathe it will retain moisture under the coat and lead to the build up of harmful bacteria and viruses. These pathogens will eventually destroy layers of skin causing painful infections and a possible trip to the Vet. Regular grooming at home, and in a salon, is the only way to prevent dangerous matting and keeps health related costs down. In a recession, we need all the prevention we can get.
This is what happens if you don’t brush or maintain your dog’s coat. High maintenance breeds MUST be brushed daily and properly groomed every six weeks or this will happen. Ring us at 086 7321 841 to book a grooming appointment today! We also carry brushes and combs you can buy for between grooming home maintenance. Watch our other video below which shows you how to brush your pets out for best results.
In 2011 Tail Waggers will be expanding it’s product lines and services. With a new year comes new growth. We want to know what you’re interested in.
Products and Services already offered at Tail Waggers are:
Dog Grooming
Pet Wellness Consultations
Holistic Foods, Treats, and Supplies
Toys, beds, travel accessories, bowls,
and not to mention BLING and an array of dog clothing
Now we want to know what YOU want. What products or services are missing from Tail Waggers that you’d like to see offered? We’re currently sourcing more Chic Boutique accessories like diamante crystal collars, leads, and accessories as well as new clothing lines and styles. Plus we’re looking to expand to a new location and offer products in our sister store ‘Tail Waggers Boutique’. (Coming Soon-location TBA).
Give us your feedback and receive 15% Off any product or service. Post comments below and we will email you a coupon to be used at your convenience. And as always have a great day!
they are fed a raw diet…Did you ever wonder why in every picture of wolves in the wild they have that ‘fresh from the groomer’ look?
I have been observing the dogs fed on the raw food diet when they come in for their regular grooming appointments and have noticed one HUGE thing they all have in common. They need to be bathed less. They don’t have ‘doggie odor’ or excessive oils or lanolin in their coats and when they get muddy the dirt seems to flake off easily after drying. This all points directly to what they’re fed. Wolves live on a solely raw food diet and they always look amazing. So why not treat your little domesticated wolf ancestor like you would treat their great great great great etc..grandparents? Not to mention little to no shed and never shedding topcoat. Sounds too good to be true but it’s too consistent to deny.
The groomer side of me didn’t want to reveal this but the holistic pet health consultant couldn’t keep it a secret. I’d rather see your pets bouncing down the street happy and healthy than have to get repeatedly washed and cost you unnecessarily.
Watch one of the 3 videos I have on the topic of BARF-Bone and Raw Food diet. If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me either here, through and email, or on our Facebook page.
Tail Waggers now offers Grooming Classes for those who want to know how to maintain their pets coat and hygiene between grooming appointments. We will be covering the basics like:
Brushing properly to remove/prevent mats and shed
Brushing teeth to ward off invasive procedures
Ear Cleaning
and the Do’s and Don’ts of bathing your pet at home
Classes are Monday and Wednesday night starting July 19th and the cost is only €15 per class. You will also receive a 20% discount on all grooming products like Tropiclean Shampoos, Conditioners, and Cologne Sprays as well as Mikka and Vivog slicker brushes and 10% off any grooming appointments booked the night of the classes.
If you or anyone you know is interested in taking these classes please contact Tail Waggers to book your slot. And don’t forget to bring your furry friend along to practice on.
In this episode I take you into my grooming salon and show you how to properly brush out and de-mat your dog prior to bathing them. I also give you some tub tips to help with during and after the bath as well. If you have any questions or comments we’d love to hear them.
It’s about that time of year where seasonal shedding is starting to happen. Usually twice a year your dog or cat will shed its entire undercoat leaving a glossy thinner topcoat that’s easier to maintain. I say usually because most pets are kept indoors and the seasonal shed can happen all year long from the heat being turned on in the house. That is what I refer to as non-seasonal shedding. Another example of non-seasonal shedding is when the animal’s topcoat also sheds. This should never happen as it is a prime example of an essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency and/or food allergy.
Most of the pet foods on the market don’t provide even the most basic of nutrients, one of course being EFA’s. As noted in a previous post about hyperactivity in pets, EFA’s are necessary for proper brain development as well as moisturizing the skin and coat to keep that vital topcoat from shedding out. Supplementing EFA’s like Cod Liver Oil, Salmon Oil, or Sunflower Oil are a great way to provide proper nourishment but it’s best if the food already contains one of these oils as that may mean the food itself is healthier.
Luath’s and Robbie’s from Land of Holistic Pets is the only food I recommend. I could carry any food on the market right now but that is the ONLY one I will sell as I swear by it. It’s reversed, dare I say cured, so many problems in the pets I’ve put on it that I’ve lost count. Problems like unseasonal/topcoat shed, eczema, pancreatitis, dandruff, hotspots, yeast related ear infections, eye drainage, dull dry coat, and even insulin dependent diabetes in a cat. No joke!
Getting your pet to a groomer on a regular basis, every 4 to 6 weeks, will help keep your home furball free when the shedding season begins.
Grooming will also take your dog from looking like this…
to looking like this…
See how happy she looks. Show your pet you love them by keeping them healthy on the outside as well as in. (:o3
Times like these we’re all thinking of ways to tighten our budget. We cut out certain expenses such as going out on the weekends, buying a new frock once a week, and we even surrender our beloved pets to animal shelters for lack of a better option. Well I’m here to say you can STOP surrendering your pets because I’ve devised a list of ways we can all save money on our pets.
1. Feed Healthier Foods- This does not mean run out and buy the most expensive food on the market. On the contrary. One company that’s out there (that I carry and stand behind 100%) is called Land of Holistic Pets. The two brands they have are Luath’s and Robbie’s Holistic Pet Foods. These foods have all of the nutrients every pet NEEDS and none of the fillers they don’t. It has Omega fatty acids, minerals from seaweeds including Spirulina, veggies, meat, and herbs like oregano (cancer fighter) and parsley (kidney tonic). This food is far less expensive than Veterinary brands and wont cause the problems the by-products and fillers in those brands do. Therefore your pet will stay healthier and wont need to frequent the vet for symptoms of ill health. Contact me for pricing on Luath’s and Robbie’s brand foods. It’s so inexpensive you wont believe it.
2. Home Made Flea Control and De-Wormer- Most people think the only way to prevent fleas and worms is to either use a spot-on treatment or get a pill from the vet. These methods are very expensive and quite toxic actually. Not to mention fleas can build up an intolerance to certain spot-on products rendering them useless. I have an easy and cost cutting way to protect your pet and rid them of any parasites they already have.
Ever heard of a little thing called Garlic? Garlic has many medicinal properties such as anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic, and even anti-viral. I just so happen to have a great recipe on how to make Garlic Oil to drizzle on your pets food. Keep reading…
Recipe:
Ingredients-5 Cloves Fresh Garlic*
1 Cup Olive Oil
Take 5 cloves of fresh garlic and crush with a spoon.This takes them from an Allin form to their medicinal Alicin form. Drop them into a cup of oil, stir, and allow to infuse for a day or two. Once the oil has a pungent smell of garlic put 1/2 tsp for small dogs and up to 2tsps for a large dog on their food once daily.
Garlic used as Flea Control- The odor from eating garlic oil comes out in your pets’ skin. We can’t smell it but the fleas and ticks can and they don’t like it. And if they do bite down it will kill them all the while making your pet healthier.
Garlic used as a De-Wormer- As the Alicin form of garlic oil goes through your dogs’ GI tract it irritates any adult parasites and “chases†them out of the body. To be sure you rid your pet of all life stages of worms follow up with another second round of garlic oil 2 weeks later.
*Note: Garlic is a blood thinner. If your dog is on blood thinners or is anemic or pregnant do not use this recipe. (See my video on Natural Flea and Tick Spray)Also if you notice loose stool or diarrhea lower the dose and feed only 3 times per week.
3. Grooming- You knew I couldn’t talk about pet health without including this vital step. Grooming your pet can be a very costly endeavor. Large breed high maintenance dogs, like Standard Poodles, can cost anywhere up to E100 ($120) or even more depending on where you live. Between groomings you can do a few things to make your next grooming more of a credit crunch cost.
Brush them every day. I know we all lead hectic lives but if you do this every day it will take literally 10 minutes and you can prevent some pretty costly matting
Don’t bathe them. Sounds gross but unless your willing to use conditioners and dry them properly you can actually cause more harm than good. Getting mats wet and then not putting in conditioners, or hand drying and brushing at the same time, will make them worse. That increases the time your groomer takes to brush those babies out and your price will skyrocket.
Get a “sporty†cut. I call it sporty but what it really means is short. And no I don’t mean bald! Shih Tzus and Bichons, while they look lovely all long and fluffed out, really need to be a more manageable length. Ask for a 4F or 5F or even a 7F length and you’ll be able to postpone your next appointment a couple weeks. And trust me, they’ll still look adorable. But you will need to put a coat on them on those blistery cold winter nights.
Don’t miss your appointment. Many groomers out there charge a cancellation fee so be sure not to miss your appointment and if you need to CALL THEM! They may waive the fee for the courtesy of the call.
And lastly, brush their teeth. No one usually thinks of this vital step in pet health but they need dentals just like humans do if the plaque and tartar build up too much. This means a trip to the vet, anesthesia, and possible extractions. Save your pet the trip and your wallet the dent and brush their teeth a few times a week.
4. Exercise- Pet’s, just like people, need exercise. It prevents them from going stir crazy and destroying your house as well as keeping their weight down and heart healthy. They have the same complex systems we do, just a shorter digestive tract. If you do a little research you will find that more pets are getting human diseases like pancreatitis, diabetes, heart attacks, and even liver failure from poor diet and lack of exercise. This will certainly raise your vet bills and may even cause you to consider putting the animal down. These are all preventable conditions that cost very little money and saves your pet a world of suffering.
The Best Protection is Prevention. Prevention is KEY!!
Here’s another video (and yes I look goofy in the still shot) about a question I had on my Facebook page “Tail Waggers Holistic Grooming and Suppliesâ€. I love answering questions and even more so on video so I can show you what I’m talking about. Please feel free to contact me either by email, comment on my blog, or visit my Facebook page and post a question on there. Thanks for watching and subscribe to my youtube channel to be notified of any new videos.
We had a fantastic time at the Claregalway Market on Sunday. Hundreds of people came and loads of them got free samples of Luath’s Holistic Pet Food from me. Next weekend we’re having a raffle for a Doggie Bag filled with lots of fun stuff for your beloved pet. Stop by the table at the Claregalway Market on Sunday November 22 and enter to win. Also, any bookings I take for a grooming appointment will be 10% off!!
I’d rather see your pets bouncing down the street happy and healthy than have to get repeatedly washed and cost you unnecessarily.
