[paux]

I wanted to find a good shampoo for my Alaskan Klee Kai, so I went to the Pet Depot down the road. This place is really nice and carries all high quality foods and products, so I thought this would be the perfect place to find quality shampoo. I ended up buying a brand called Tropiclean, which one of the employees recommended to me. I used it later that day and my dog's fur was so incredibly soft, I thought it was just great. But the next day when I was grooming her with a brush I could hear the little snapping sounds of static. I then noticed that the tips of her hairs were being drawn to the charge of my brush.

So after that long pointless story, what I'm trying to ask is, should I be looking for a different brand of shampoo? Her fur was softer than it had ever been but I am worried that the static means her fur (and possibly her skin) is too dry. Any opinions?

[mandymmr]

you could alway wipe her down with an anti-static dryer sheet. But I don't think her fur or skin is dry! Unless...is she itching a lot?

[paux]

Originally Posted by mandymmr

Unless...is she itching a lot?

Well, I use Advantage on her but the last time I applied it, she got a bunch of fleas. I bought a flea comb when I bought the shampoo I was talking about and pulled out 16 fleas over the course of a few days. I've been going over her with a comb about everyday for the past week and haven't found anything but she is scratching herself. So, I'm not sure if that's from past fleas or dry skin.

[mandymmr]

I would try frontline. Talk to your vet

[FilleBelle]

It's usually the air that's dry when you have a lot of static electricity on a brush or comb. I mean, you can get static on your own clothes and hair...not because your skin is dry, but because of the weather.

I use a dryer sheet on Alvin's coat and brush when I Furminate him. Works well for me.

[Inga]

Dryer sheets smell great too! You could also try a lusterizer spray or coat conditioner like Miracle Coat or Show sheen. Show sheen you can pick up at a farm/horse supply store, it works great for occasional use and shines up the hair wonderfully.

[Spitzy]

I’m a novice with shampoos and grooming and whatnot, but my first reaction is that you may have a conditioning issue rather than a shampoo issue. Did you use any conditioner? Shampoo strips off all the gunk and oils, but without conditioning I’d guess you’re leaving her skin and fur dry and likely prone to static.

Because of my haired foster-turned-permanent resident, I’ve recently research grooming issues and there’re lots of threads and good shampoo recommendations you can find searching the grooming section on this forum. What I found most helpful was a reference to a blog (I forget who initially linked it – sorry!) where the woman did a series on grooming info. I now have them in my bookmarks.
-Shampoos
-Shampoos pt 2
-Conditioners
-Specific Products pt1
-Products pt2 (including conditioners)
-Finishing Sprays, ets


What I've taken from all this is to continue my use of plain (blue) Dawn dish-soap as "shampoo", but that it's important to use a conditioner. I went out and got coconut oil to make a conditioner based on the blog's information, and there is so much improvement on my big dog's double coat's texture compared to when I just used to use Dawn.

Originally Posted by Ruffly Speaking

There are a bunch of products, good ones, for sunburned, pool-water-burned, overdried coat. But first, here’s my kitchen-cupboard secret.

Go to your grocery store and go into the natural foods aisle. Look for COCONUT OIL. Not any other kind. It’s white or clear and may be semi-solid, like shortening, or a clear liquid depending on how warm the store is. You want the “virgin” oil, not the processed kind.

Coconut oil is very, very close to natural skin oil and it tends to do very nice things to coat in terms of making it look moist and healthy again. Using it is a very light variation on the old show-groomer trick of putting a dog “in oil,” but you won’t be leaving enough of it on the coat to attract the dirt and dust that coat oil does.

What you want to do is finish your whole shampoo/conditioner regimen, whatever that is, and then in the final rinse (empty the sink so there’s no soapsuds left, then re-plug it), you’ll add about half a teaspoon of the coconut oil to a half-gallon or so of warm water. You can play with this recipe – use as much or as little as you want, as long as you’re not leaving the coat feeling oily. It won’t want to mix, so you need to shake it or vigorously stir it and keep shaking it as you’re pouring it. Pour it over the dog and then keep picking it up and pouring it over and working it in to the coat.

You don’t do any further rinsing; just pull the dog out and towel and then HV. If you’ve done it right, you should see a great improvement in shine and texture, but the coat should not feel at all oily or gummy.

I’m dealing with flees as well (despite Frontline application), and I’ve found cshellenberger’s suggestions as re-stated in a number of threads very helpful. A typical example of her suggestions:

Originally Posted by cshellenberger

Borax in the carpets and any upolstered furnitire, vacuum after a couple of hours, go to a garden center and get some Nematodes and spay them in the yard to kill the fleas outdoors. Use plain DAWN to bath your animals once a week and pick off any live fleas remaining (Dawn dish soap kills fleas faster than anything I've used and isn't harmful to your animals), it they're really tough find a whole foods market that sells NEEM oil and add a 2 tsp of that to the Dawn and shake thoroughly, the wash. Also add NEEM to mop wood floors (the eggs get into the cracks).

I live in a warm climate and I've succesfully avoided a flea infestation for two years using these methods. They are natural and safe.

Final note – since you’re in the LA area I’ve just got to highly recommend the Centinela Feed Stores if you don’t know about them already. They have quite a good selection of food brands, and I really love supporting them because they don’t do live animal sales.

[Binkalette]

Originally Posted by mandymmr

I would try frontline. Talk to your vet

I noticed last time I was out shopping that they sell Frontline at Target It's five dollars more there than at my vet though.. so I still get mine from the vet.

[paux]

Originally Posted by mandymmr

I would try frontline. Talk to your vet

Well, I don't want to use any chemically based products since I'm planning to breed my dog and I don't want to take any risks with it effecting the pups (even though flea medications typically say they're safe to use on pregnant dogs). I just ordered an herbal flea collar so I'm going to see how that works.

[Graco22]

There are many natural/herbal flea remedies, from shampoos to adding garlic to their food. I have never seen a flea collar work on anything but the neck area where the collar is.

[paux]

Originally Posted by Graco22

There are many natural/herbal flea remedies, from shampoos to adding garlic to their food. I have never seen a flea collar work on anything but the neck area where the collar is.

Yeah, I'm not getting my hopes up on the flea collar but I figured since it only costs about $6 including shipping, I'd give it a shot.

The only thing about using flea shampoo is that I wanted something that would actively repel fleas and wouldn't only work when I gave her baths.

I think I might buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Victor-M230-Ul...=3BXJL8P61LQV3 to put in my room to catch the fleas which may be lingering.

[Graco22]

Originally Posted by paux

Yeah, I'm not getting my hopes up on the flea collar but I figured since it only costs about $6 including shipping, I'd give it a shot.

The only thing about using flea shampoo is that I wanted something that would actively repel fleas and wouldn't only work when I gave her baths.

Adding garlic tablets to her food will repel fleas 24/7. I am sure you can find dosage amounts online.

[paux]

Originally Posted by Graco22

Adding garlic tablets to her food will repel fleas 24/7. I am sure you can find dosage amounts online.

Thanks. I'll have to try that out.