Dog Shampoo Bars Update

The dog shampoo bars are finally able to get animal tested :)  Fortunately, the two dogs were very dirty and stinky; perfect test subjects!  I only wash them about once a month, and with all the melting snow outside, they're definitely in need of a bath.

They hate baths - I'm sure they find them extremely degrading.  This is how their baths normally go:  I convince one unsuspecting dog to come in the bathroom with me.  I stick it in the bathtub (and they both start to freak out).  I get the one in the tub wet, get it all sudsy with my liquid dog shampoo, rinse it off, and wrap it in a towel to dry off a little.  Then I *try* to dry the first one with my hair dryer.  The wet one will run around the bathroom, rubbing his / her head, back, sides, and everything else on the floor (or me) as I try to get them to sit still while I attempt to get them as dry as possible.  Once released from the bathroom, they both run around the house like nutburgers, rubbing their entire bodies all over the carpet, furniture, and anything else they can find.  Then, it's time to repeat the process with the other one, who is so much harder to corral into the bathroom, since he / she knows what's coming...

So, with that bit of background, here's how today's dog bathing went.

Hobbes (on the top) was the unsuspecting first dog.  The soap bar I made is right next to their usual shampoo from a big box pet store in the picture on the top left.  This part went as expected with both Hannah and Hobbes.

Then, it was time for the washing.

Man, wet dogs are nearly impossible photo models!  They also look so tiny when wet, like oversized rats.

It's tough to see from this picture, but the soap wasn't bubbly at all. It was definitely a creamy lather.  I rubbed the bar on their wet backs and chests, got a little more water on my hands, and spread the soapy lather on their legs, feet, and necks.  I didn't wash their faces, as I am sure the soap would sting their eyes...

You can see that they do have the soap lather all over, and they didn't seem to mind the smell of the soap (neem oil, tea tree, eucalyptus, and lavender).  I rinsed them off, towel-dried them, and here's the surprising part:  Neither one ran round like crazy headless chickens when I released them from the towel!  They sat very nicely while I hair-dried them.  Hannah was her normal crazy self after I let her out of the bathroom, but she didn't act nuts as long or as intensely as in the past.  I'm not sure why this is - maybe the soap didn't irritate their skin as much as the liquid version?  Not sure.  I will test again next month to see if I get the same results.  This alone is enough reason for me to continue to use this soap :)

Finally, they were dry and ready to be bribed with treats for "final pictures":

It's hard to tell here, but their hair is so nice and shiny (and soft!!)  They both have different kinds of hair - Hobbes has a lot of thick, fluffy hair, and Hannah has less hair and it's courser and more wiry. They both feel amazing right now, though, and they haven't been rubbing themselves on the carpet or itching at all.  Since I washed their heads and faces with a wet washcloth (and not soap), I can definitely tell a difference between their clean hair and the unwashed hair on their heads.

While I wish this soap was bubblier, it seems to be a winner for the two puppies!  If anyone else has tried the recipe, I'd love to hear your feedback on it.

Hobbes wanted to show off what a good helper he is and also his football sweater, which we'll (hopefully) be able to put away soon!  Hello, Spring!

Have a great weekend everyone!

~Chrissy

Dog Shampoo

I have 2 adorable (and poorly-behaved) Yorkies.

Meet Hannah - she is nearly 8 years old, is a little crazy and is a tough mudder who can run with me for 5 miles and will steal the rawhide bones from dogs who are 10x her weight.

Here is Hobbes - he just turned 4 (which is unbelievable to me - where does the time go), he looks like an Ewok, he barks all the time, and he enjoys smelling high-quality cocktails.

These two hate baths, and I currently use some natural liquid dog shampoo to keep them squeaky clean.  I found this recipe from poster Nicholray on Talk Soap Forum.  I had the ingredients (except the lanolin) to make this CP bar soap, so I decided to give it a whirl.

16% avocado oil
20% castor oil
16% coconut oil
6% cocoa butter
20% neem oil
22% olive oil
Add tbsp ppo lanolin
3% sodium lactate (its a soft recipe without it just takes longer to set and cure)
2:1:1 ratio of lavender: eucalyptus: naiouli EO

I sized it so it would make only 3-4 bars in the column mold I have.  I forgot the sodium lactate, and made some changes to the EO blend, since I don't have naiouli (or honestly even know what it is...). The recipe certainly smelled like neem oil when I mixed it, but after curing for a couple days, I can smell the EOs and not the neem as much.  I hand-stirred to avoid the air bubbles, and this neem soap doesn't seem to have the bubbles that have shown up on the other bars I've cut with the wire cutter, so maybe I just need to be more mindful of the air bubbles as I mix.

The color is a nice yellow-ish color.

The soap cannot cure fast enough.  I have some dirty dogs in need of some cleaning :)

Who needs a bath?  Not me!!

~Chrissy