Any suggestions for a simple, quick way to clean Ruby's coat? (tacran)

A contact allergy is mostly going to be something that contains an oil of some sort that 'contacts' the skin.  For us poison ivy is the classic contact allergen. 

There can be certain things that react if touched (like me and cheap zinc doorknobs/metal stuff) but mostly it's something that actually rubs off on the skin.  LIke oils from grass, various plants (wandering jew is a **biggie**, poison oak, night-blooming jasmine and a ton of stuff that's different in each geographic area).

My point being - you actually *Need* to bathe that off in order to get it off the skin/coat.  You'll find it's also transferred via your shoes after *you* walk on the grass as well. 

But something grease-cutting but mild -- like castile soap or Dr. Bronners which can be diluted - works well.  But then in the final rinse you can put a combination of tea tree & lavender oils (maybe 15 drops of each in maybe 6 quarts of warm water.  Stand her in it two paws at a time in the bathtub and use a mug to pour it over and over her (then turn her around) until it all goes down the drain.  Those will make the coat super soft and will fight any staph that may be on the skin.

The hard papules on the skin are usually allergy Tracy.  That's a really common way for allergens to come out on the skin.  There were herbs that Billy's TCVM vet used to give for that (they tend to pattern on the skin in particular places)

Hi Tracy!  I just recently bought the grooming wipes from this company.  

http://www.earthbath.com/index.php

Thanks, ladies!  Lori, I checked that site, and those grooming wipes sound good, especially the ones that were hypo-allergenic.  I think I'll order some.  When I have more time at home this evening, I'll peruse the rest of the site -- it looked like they have some pretty neat stuff.

Callie, you make a good point about needing a full bath to REMOVE things that are on her fur/skin, like people have to do if exposed to poison ivy.  I hadn't thought of that.  It's a catch-22 because if we bathe her too often, her skin gets dry, even though we use a very mild oatmeal shampoo for dry skin.  We bathe her about every 2 weeks, but she rolls around in the dirt and bark everyday.  Silly girl!  We'll have to try some herbal rinses like you suggested, in addition to the oatmeal shampoo.

We see the red bumps (mostly on her throat and belly) after she's zoomed a lot around all the bushes and shrubs in our backyard or through the rough grass at the shelter's playgroup we take her to.  Our yard is small, but she makes it like a high-speed obstacle course!  If she cuts a corner too close and a branch scratches her, then she gets welts (like a cat scratch) under her fur.  Then they scab up, and when the scab falls off, she has no fur there.  That happens when the larger bumps scab up, too. 

It'll be interesting to see how this changes once the rain starts again.  When we first adopted her in April, she had the dry skin, but not the bumps and irritation.  They showed up when she started spending more time in the yard when the weather cleared this summer.  That'll be the ONLY reason to be glad about the rain this fall! 

I'll be honest - I don't like oatmeal soap -- I don't use it on myself (it irritates) nor the dogs.  Give me Dr. Bronners (just don't read the label - he WAS weird!! LOL) - like the lavender one.

Tracy -- are you using a good Omega 3?  My preference is sardines.  Just one a day per dog.  Easily digestible, yummy (to them) and a good coat help.

Even when Tink had demodex and I was bathing her EVERY day with a powerful degreaser like benzoyl peroxide - I was able to keep the coat/skin in really good shape with the rinse I described.

You may want to supplement - something like Solid Gold's Sea Meal (Iknow that's not as in favor now as it used to be) or Missing Link -- I'd sooner think the dry skin was a lack of something in the diet (and it may be unique to her).

 Tracy I was going to say that adding fish oil has many helpful aspects - Bugsy's coat is very short and high gloss, the glossier it is the more it repels stuff, the gloss is at its finest when he is eating his fish based kibble and getting fish oil.  So don't be afraid to add a sardine or two or use fish oil capsules (add vit E if you go that route - amount depends on size/weight)

As for cleaning the coat I really just use a damp washcloth on his face and feet and usually just a towel on his body if he's been in grass and 'stuff'.  I don't even bathe him after lake trips, just towel him off and once dry there is no smell.  I am very reluctant to bathe him regularly due to washing off the natural oils etc.  I can't tell you the last time he was bathed and he smells awesome, not doggy at all, and although he has tons of allergies he is free from the itchies

Callie, I'll have to look for that Dr. Bronner's.  I'm not partial to the oatmeal shampoo; it was just something the vet recommended after we had her take a look at the bumps and redness.  I'm willing to try other cleansers, that's for sure!

We do give Ruby sardines fairly often, and her food is Orijen 6-Fish.  We were swapping between flax seed oil and salmon oil (every other day) for a few weeks, but when the bumps really flared up, we stopped the oils so we could try to reintroduce just one of them rather than using both.  She does love the sardines, so we'll keep giving her those.

Karen, Bugsy's fur always looks super shiny in your photos, so you're obviously doing everything right!  Ruby's fur looks better than it did when we first brought her home, but it's not really glossy.  She actually smells okay (just mildly odd when she's wet) and she doesn't scratch much, so that's good.  My desire to wipe her down is more about my OCD about the furniture when she lies on it and she has dirt and bark all over her!  I guess we could have trained her not to be on the furniture, but we decided not to go that route! 

tacran

Thanks, ladies!  Lori, I checked that site, and those grooming wipes sound good, especially the ones that were hypo-allergenic.  I think I'll order some...

I use hypo allergenic baby wipes- either lavendar or chammomile (sp?)  or Natural Chemistry's Waterless Bath http://naturalchemistry.com/pet_care/products1/waterless_bath.html 

A simple rinsing off with the hose works, too. 

ETA- Forgot to include I keep a small spray bottl with the waterless bath in Caleb's hiking bag to use before we head home.  Also, I've found Cloudstar's Buddy Wash works great when I have to give Caleb a bath (the lavendar/mint one).  I try to remember to use the conditioner afterwards, too.

 Tracy he's on the orijen fish too so I am sure her coat will just get better and better.  And as Sue says a quick hosing off works too

kpwlee

he's on the orijen fish too 

The garden hose is always an option -- luckily she isn't afraid of spraying water (she's been caught in the yard when the sprinklers come on)!

Thanks to all of you for the great suggestions.  I'll be trying most (if not all) of them!

tacran

Callie, I'll have to look for that Dr. Bronner's.

Pretty much any health store will carry it -- more than passing strange folk.  Their product is WONDERFUL.  It's made to be diluted a great deal.  Dilute it enough and you can brush your teeth with it.  No joke.  It's an awesome shampoo as well.  VERY gentle. 

Dr. Bronners - remember I warned you weirdness - they try hard to get folks to be politically active and they have their own religious ... thing.  (I've read a zillion labels but it's still not quite clear to me *smile*).  The peppermint and lavender ones are heavenly.  There's a locator I think on the website.