An awesome "tool" (Callie)

 I use them, for Ena Bean, because she needs gentle exfoliation. Using them for medicated shampoo is a GREAT idea!

Since I have to make a trip to WalMart today, I will be getting some of these for sure!  I am having some trouble with Hot Shot wanting to bathe.   He loves to be brushed and we brush every day but since we got him I have only been able to get 2, very quick, baths.  Maybe this will help keep my hands from hurting and make him like baths more.  While we are on the subject what kind of shampoo to you recommend!  Vet recommend a non soap shampoo thought you might have a better idea.   I heard you mention you use Tea Tree oil  what else to you recommend.

Wow I'm going to have to try that.  Kirby is great about standing still when I bath him, but washing his ear fringes is still a pain because it is such a fine line between cleaning while still not getting any water in his huge pappy ears.  Seems like I always struggling to work up a good lather in his fringes which results in me using over kill with the soap.  Really going to have to try some of those gloves.

To make it even easier, pre-mix some shampoo and water in some kind of container. Then just dip your glove and start rubbing.

(oops, just re-read your post and see that you were already doing that. Good idea!)

That's a combination of an old groomers trick of a bucket of diluted shampoo and a sponge, and your glove.

I wonder if this would work for my dog? I tried the bucket and sponge method, but it made my arms hurt a bit. (I have tendonitis that is aggrevated by gripping motions. Holding and squeezing the sponge-not good.)  I have a Samoyed, so I'm wondering if this would get enough shampoo on that coat? Maybe if I make a more concentrated shampoo mixture like 50/50, and pre wet her coat very well.

She's due for a bath on Thursday, so maybe I'll give it a try.

I do have one of those gloves for myself, and I really like it for exfoliating.

shadowsgin

While we are on the subject what kind of shampoo to you recommend!  Vet recommend a non soap shampoo thought you might have a better idea.   I heard you mention you use Tea Tree oil  what else to you recommend.

Except for the medicated shampoo (benzoyl peroxide) for the demodex baths, I tend to use very gentle castile type soap (like Dr. Bronner's Lavender is my favorite soap for both me and the dogs).

For the dogs I do a final 'rinse' after they are clean and very well rinsed.  I just haul a dishpan into the bathtub or sink and put in maybe 10 -15 drops of tea tree oil or lavender oil (the essential oils -- not a bath oil type of thing) and half fill the dishpan with water.

Stand the dog in it (two feet at a time is fine) and use an old ceramic mug and just pour cupfuls of the tea tree & water over the entire coat  -- if you start with warm water -- as you use it the rinse cools and it closes the pores nice and clean and eventually it just all goes down the drain or I stop when the water is cold.

 I rinse my own hair and the dogs' in water with tea tree oil and/or lavender oil after shampooing.  Not just after a medicated bath.

My verdict is in. I LOVE it!. Even with a Samoyed coat, I just used my normal dilution of shampoo and got plenty of lather. The glove was also great for scrubbing those gray areas like the back of the coat and the elbow. It was easier to get the shampoo right where I wanted and the right amount. And washing the inside of the ears was much easier.

samshine

My verdict is in. I LOVE it!. Even with a Samoyed coat, I just used my normal dilution of shampoo and got plenty of lather. The glove was also great for scrubbing those gray areas like the back of the coat and the elbow. It was easier to get the shampoo right where I wanted and the right amount. And washing the inside of the ears was much easier.

I've been doing medicated (benzoyl peroxide) baths on demodex dogs for many years and wow -- it's just SO much easier.  The face has always been a problem -- getting close to the eyes where the sore stuff usually is and under the chin in neck folds -- it's SO much easier and more controllable.

But the fact that your hands actually become the source of the lather -wow, it's easier to do the bath faster and more completely.

calliecritturs

the essential oils -- not a bath oil type of thing)

I am a big fan of essential oils for myself.  I have always been a little hesitant to use it  on the dogs.  Thanks for the info.  I have used Tea tree in dog blanket rinse water before but was not sure about right on the dog.  I use Ginger, YlangYlang, Eucalyptus and vinegar in my bath water, really helps the Fibromyalgia.  I just wished I could have found something safe and soothing for Shadow toward the end of his illness.  Now I have all my friends here to keep me in line and informed 

 Have you ever tried "white flower oil"? It's an essential oil blend, meant for massaging. It's *great* on muscle and joint pain. Callie sent us a bottle, when Emma got hurt, several years ago. Emma will tell you to "Put it riiiiight there". It helps, so much! It's a minty blend. I've used it for migraines, too. You just put a little on your temples and it helps.

Oh, white flower is so awesome for migraines!  I have ones that are just borderline horrible now (compared to last summer when I was having them sequentially and I couldn't even move some days).  Now if I catch it at the "aura" phase, and take an Excedrin and lay down with a cloth with the oil, I'm back in business in an hour or so.

Be very careful with essential oils and pets, however.  Don't use them liberally on self-groomers - for aromatherapy it's best to apply it to a bandanna and let the dog wear it.  I use a lot of tea tree for wound treatment but I dilute it fairly thoroughly.  And don't use EOs on cats at all without advice from a vet familar with the use of oils, or an herbalist.

I've used both White Flower and Wood Lock oils on dogs with arthritis.  But you DO have to exercise some caution and watch them -- most of the dogs I've used them on have been so darned glad of the 'help' and relief from pain that they wouldn't think of licking it. 

Foxy the MOstlie Sheltie used to come up and tell me WHICH he wanted.  Yes, I learned this from a dog -- Wood Lock is better on muscle pain ... White Flower Oil excels on bone pain (deep arthritic pain) -- both are good on both, but for that fussy deep pain my DOG taught me that!!

And yeah on a migraine they are awesome.

 All I can say is thanks so much for sharing your find on the gloves Callie.  Just got done with Kirby's bath and not only did I finish in half the time but I used half the shampoo I usually do to.  It was just so much faster and I can't believe how great the gloves work for cleaning around his ear fringes and face.

 Kirby who is not fond of being wet, also wants to give you a big thank you for cutting down his bath time.

As for these herbal remedies such as white flower oil, I'm going to have to look into that.  This last week I was knocked down by a flurry of horrible migraines.  I'm so sensitive to medication that its hard for me to find something that works but doesn't give me equally bad side effects. =(
 

I usually can't find White Flower Oil in a store but I get it online at MorningstarHealth.com ... but in a pinch you can get plain peppermint oil (get the best quality peppermint essential oil you can find) at a health store.  NOT a food flavoring but the 'essential oil'.  Works well on migraines too.  (and arthritic stuff -- it is an anti-inflammatory).  The great part about the oils for those of us who can't take medicines is that these topical oils don't upset stomachs and don't cause other problems. 

I'm asthmatic -- and using minimal amounts of the oil actually *help* the asthma!