# Bathing & cleaning.



## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Since I am here in the UAE, don't have access to a whole variety of products like most of you 

Spend the whole night yesterday searching for threads that contained specific product names that I found locally available on this forum and have chosen a few.

Tear staining:
Kammy has tear staining and muck around her eyes, so though I initially had thought to use tear stain remover, I read one of the stickies that linked to an article that suggested using Contact Lens solution. So since yesterday night I have been using Bausch & Lomb Bio True Lens solution. Guess I'll have to wait and see if there's any improvement. Also I try to keep her face dry by wiping it with tissue as often as thrice a day if I can.

Bathing frequency, Human/Dog shampoo & conditioner:
When we got her on saturday afternoon, she had just been washed and cleaned. She smelt neutral, not doggy. Today's tuesday and I think its not just her but me too who smells doggy :blink: 
So we are considering giving her a shower every 3 days. We bathed her today, and since we are still researching products, we used Johnson's baby shampoo Camomile and conditioned with Tresemme Professional Luxurious Moisture with Vit.E
Unfortunately, though the bath did clean her up, her doggy smell has not gone away completely. 
Could it be 'cause we used human products?
We are considering getting the SPA Lavish White Coats with SPA Nourish Vitamin Conditioner and using it every alternate bath (so once a week) along with the human shampoo. Is this ok or a bad idea? Will these help to keep the smell away longer?

Baby wipes:
We also started using baby wipes from last night to wipe her body down before bedtime in the hope that it might help her to stay cleaner and smell good longer. 

Doggy smells:
Any suggestion on what we could do to reduce the dog smell? She's an indoor dog (though we may start taking her out for short walks by the end of this month, after she gets her booster vaccine) but the smell seems to pass on to me now even though I wash my hands every single time after I handle her.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Welcome to the forum! I have some family who just moved to Abu Dhabi and they are loving it so far! I don’t know much about which products are available there so I’m not much help with that. As for your other questions, I am not an expert by any means, but will try to help based on how I would handle these issues with my own dogs. 

I’m a little puzzled as to why Kammy has a “doggy” smell just a few days after her bath, especially since you have kept her inside. Has she been seen by a vet since you’ve had her? If not, bring this issue up with the vet when you take her in. You’ll first want to make sure there’s no underlying health concerns causing the smell. I haven’t had any issues with my maltese (or my poodle mix) having an unpleasant smell and they sometimes go even a couple of weeks in between baths, take frequent walks, etc. Don’t know what could be causing this but definitely ask your vet. A good quality, healthy diet would help with that too, I would think. Which food is she on? 

I’m not sure I would recommend bathing her every three days – seems like that would be a bit too much. I’ve only ever heard of show dogs being bathed that frequently, and I’d say most of us pet owners bathe once a week. I would recommend getting a gentle puppy shampoo if you can find a good one. Don’t use the whitening shampoo too often as they can be harsh. I’d stick with bathing her once a week and using wipes in between (with maybe a bit of waterless shampoo if you need it). 

I would not worry about tear staining at this point. She is really young and puppies tend to tear stain while teething. All I did with Emma when she was a puppy was keep her face clean as much as I could, using wipes and a waterless shampoo almost daily, and a face wash once a week. I use Bausch & Lomb eye wash and comb out any **** around her eyes with a small face comb. Keep the area dry with a bit of corn starch. I have not looked in to the contact lens solution you are using so hopefully someone can provide some input on that. 

Hope this helps. Best of luck with your new addition and be sure to post some pics!


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## maltese manica (Nov 6, 2012)

Have you tried amazon??


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

maltese manica,
I have not yet tried amazon for puppy products. Usually order toys and stuff and I let my sister get it over when she comes down once in an year. Besides sellers who deliver to UAE is scarce on amazon. 

Bailey&Me, the day we picked her up she had had a visit to the vet and also received her first dose of vaccines. So she was cleared with perfect health. 

I am thinking if it could be as she uses her litter indoors. We use a large tray lined with paper and as soon as she's done using it each time, we change the paper lining and wipe the base with disinfectant. I have noticed that when she pees, sometimes her paws get a bit wet from it and it was just from yesterday we started using baby wipes to wipe her paws clean, so I am hoping it might help.

We would be ordering all our dog products from: DubaiPetFood... thats where I found the SPA range and its the cheapest with free home delivery here in UAE.

The Baush & Lomb solution I'm using for her is the same I use with my lens. I also found it being used by a few others on some other forum who had white dogs with tear staining issues, so I felt it was worth a shot as its very gentle and has already been tried.


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

My favorite shampoo/conditioner/spray so far is the Pure Paws Silk line. Nice scent, leaves my dog's coat nice, helps with tangling, etc.

They have a sample pack that contains the shampoo, conditioner, detangling spray and the factor zero shampoo in a clear plastic bag for twenty some dollars american currency. If that is available where you live you may want to try it out. 

The shampoo and conditioner gets diluted quite a bit with water before applying, so would last much longer than first glance would appear. That way you are not committing a lot of $$$ for something you don't like. 

Linda


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

It seems there are different causes of straining and different things to help with it. As mentioned, puppy teeth coming in is one cause. I had also read that metal bowls, filtered/bottled water, good quality dog food can help.

It seems for many this does work. Unfortunately did not for mine.

I used boric acid eye solution, metal bowls, bottled water, and good food (Stella and Chewys dehydrated raw, 4 star fromms grain free kibble) and after months and months of trying still had issues.

I still do the above. But what worked best for me was adding in the use of the Eye Envy kit. Use the solution, then put a bit of their powder below on the wet area, use their little pads for it. Do it twice daily and it works the best of anything for my dog. Briefly ran out of the powder and tried substituting corn starch, but problems resurfaced.

If you continue to have problems as your pup gets older, this may be something you may want to check into. If available where you are, of course.

Linda


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## lydiatug (Feb 21, 2012)

I've also found that using a daily dab of conditioner on the face and blow drying (no heat) (Thanks Hedy!) is helping with the amount of staining, although I wouldn't worry too much until the teething is over. This has been a constant battle for me, but we're doing pretty good now. I'm only using the eye envy every once in awhile now. Hedy has lots of grooming suggestions on Maltese Obsession: Pet Maltese Grooming at Home and her pups are adorable


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## lydiatug (Feb 21, 2012)

Oh, and "magic (microfibre) cloths are great for drying faces! I buy big ones and stitch/cut into 4 small squares


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## djackson59 (Sep 22, 2014)

Hi, I hope you are enjoying your baby. I just brought home a 12 week old yorkie puppy and had the same problem with the Doggy smell. My poor baby smelled so bad the first day I got her that I gave her two baths one as soon as I got home and the other a couple of hours later and still didn't get rid of the smell. I live in Peru and also have the problem of getting the great products that everyone else uses. I got her in Lima and had an 8 hr bus ride with her smelling the whole way. When we finally got home, you guessed it I'm sure, I gave her another bath, a total of three in two days. The third one really helped I used a couple of different shampoos but what really seemed to work was Oster orange creme extra clean shampoo. You lather up the dog and then leave it on for 10 min. It has seemed to work on my baby. This is going to sound crazy but I am kind of relived that someone else with a Malt has had this problem, since I never had it with my little boy Jonas I was thinking it was just a yorkie problem. I am also struggling with tear stains on my baby Jonas. Like you I can't get the products here so am just trying to keep his face dry, I must dry his face with my hand about a million times a day. I have now started to use a spray bottle with just water I really wet down his problem areas and dry as much as possible. This seems to work better for me than boric acid or corn starch or the eye wash I am able to get here. He will be turning 7 months old on the 9th of Nov. so I am still hoping that our problem is just because of teething. My fingers and toes are crossed because it is a real problem, I just hate those stains specially when the rest of his body is so white. Good luck,


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## Ann Mother (Dec 18, 2013)

Smelly dog hmm if no health issues need to bath with Pure Paws Factor Zero shampoo. Since this shampoo was made to remove products from hair then should remove the doggy smell also.


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Thankyou for the replies everyone. 

We changed Kammy's food and water bowls to stainless steel, and since we started cleaning her eyes and area around with lens solution, I am beginning to feel the staining is not as bad as it was the first day we bought her.

Unfortunately, Pure paws & Oster is not available here... 
The only brands I found here, readily available were:
Pet Head, Bio-Groom, Espree, Dermoscent, Crazy dog, Dechra, Furrever devoted, Four Paws, Groom Professional, Nootie, Beaphar, Furminator & SPA.
Of these, when I searched this forum, I only found SPA with comparatively good reviews. So could I use Spa white coats occasionally (diluted) with her puppy coat and the remaining time baby shampoo IF none of the other brands are good enough?


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Sumi, the suggestion to bring this up with the vet is a good one. If the vet wasn't aware of the doggie smell, he/she probably didn't check on the possible cause. Vet's aren't psychic!

I've had 5 Maltese, and never had one with a doggie smell; this is one of the great features of this breed. I used to have Yorkies and they can acquire a doggie smell after awhile, but never the Maltese. I've been under the weather for 3 weeks and poor Blaze had to wait for his bath that long until day before yesterday and he never smelled doggie.

*One important thing, be sure you are rinsing the hair very well when you bath your dog. A good rule: when you think you are done rinsing.....start rinsing. Once a week bathing should be adhered to as suggested. Could try a mix of water/a little white vinegar as a last rinse. Add a little fish oil or coconut oil to the food.


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Thanks Malt Shoppe,
I didn't know Maltese was considered so odourless... 
We'll take her to the vet then and get her checked asap. 

Healthwise, she seems to be doing good. Very active, playful, bouncy, loves following us around. Eats ok, but we had been free-feeding her... so gonna stop that and make a fixed schedule so that we can monitor her food intake.


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## Orla (Jul 5, 2009)

Maltese definitely shouldn't smell like a dog - especially 3 days after a bath!

I use Tresemme moisture shampoo and conditioner on Milo. It's for people, but works great on maltese too! I've used the Spa Lavish shampoo for white dogs too, but I really don't see the difference on him.


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Sumi, I don't think the doggie smell is coming from the 'hair', I think it is from the skin, which means from her interior. It could mean she has a condition not known automatically to the vet. Maybe a blood test or some other test would be in order.

For example, my precious Gimmee I adopted when she was 5 yrs old always had a bothersome breath. I had her teeth cleaned, assumed that would fix the problem.....it didn't. At a later on visit to the vet on a Thursday, checked out fine; on Saturday, she was dead. Nothing showed up physically in her vet visit, but on Saturday, she awoke very ill. Despite Emergency Vet care, she died. The necropsy was inconclusive, but my vet felt pretty certain it was pancreatitis. See, without identifying a problem, a vet might not know what to look for. I encourage you to find out what the cause is.
Another suggestion, you might want to change her food. I recently started feeding my healthy boy, Blaze, a dehydrated food from The Honest Kitchen, mixed with meat of my choice. Withink a week, he seemed healthier and now, I keep warning him that if he gets anymore energetic, I'm putting him back on the previous food! Even his coat seems thicker, not that he needed that. I just reordered more of the food - he loves it; I figure it's a great way to keep him healthy for the future. So, Kammy's problem might be food related. Free feeding usually means 'kibble'. That would result in lack of moisture. Blaze only gets kibble as a snack now. Your dog needs moist food, and as I suggested, add some fish oil or coconut oil to it.




Kammy said:


> Thanks Malt Shoppe,
> I didn't know Maltese was considered so odourless...
> We'll take her to the vet then and get her checked asap.
> 
> Healthwise, she seems to be doing good. Very active, playful, bouncy, loves following us around. Eats ok, but we had been free-feeding her... so gonna stop that and make a fixed schedule so that we can monitor her food intake.


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Claire, 
Thankyou for that reply. So sorry to hear about Gimmie... I really hope, in Kammy's case... its not something serious... reading through your post I felt my heart leap to my mouth :shocked:

Since we are so new to this, and being located in a country where pet stuff choices are not great, I posted a thread in the food section about what to feed her. She's on royal canin now (which is not the greatest of food, I understand). We are getting her Taste Of the Wild High Prairie and going to slowly phase this in and the other out. Also getting a pack of Ziwipeaks treats for that occasional use.

Also, how much coconut oil should I add per feed? 1 tsp or less? Do I need to add some water?


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Orla said:


> Maltese definitely shouldn't smell like a dog - especially 3 days after a bath!
> I use Tresemme moisture shampoo and conditioner on Milo. It's for people, but works great on maltese too! I've used the Spa Lavish shampoo for white dogs too, but I really don't see the difference on him.


We tried the Tresemme conditioner on her after shampooing her with baby shampoo. Don't mind buying the Tresemme shampoo too if needed. Have you been using it on Milo since he was a pup? 
Could I use Spa White coats (diluted maybe) on my pup? Or is it not suggested for and and not as great as they say it is?


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Kammy said:


> Claire,
> Thankyou for that reply. So sorry to hear about Gimmie... I really hope, in Kammy's case... its not something serious... reading through your post I felt my heart leap to my mouth :shocked:
> 
> Since we are so new to this, and being located in a country where pet stuff choices are not great, I posted a thread in the food section about what to feed her. She's on royal canin now (which is not the greatest of food, I understand). We are getting her Taste Of the Wild High Prairie and going to slowly phase this in and the other out. Also getting a pack of Ziwipeaks treats for that occasional use.
> ...


Sumi, didn't intend to scare you; just let you know this needs to be looked into; it could or not be serious.

On food: yes and yes, about 1/2 to 1 tsp of coconut oil or a capsule of fish oil, pierced and squeezed onto her food and yes, broth or water. She needs moisture for sure. Boil a little skinless chicken breast and cut very fine, add some of the broth from boiling and add that to her kibble. Adding baby carrots or string beans is a good idea too. She also needs supplements, this is why I changed over to the Honest Kitchen food, already has them. You might want to try giving her a probiotic too - here is a very very easy way to do that:

Get a PLAIN Greek yogurt or one that has live culture in it. Take a syringe (can get one free from vet if you don't have one), suck up some of the yogurt and make little 'Yogurt Kisses on parchment paper on a tray and stick in freezer. That's it! Give her one/two about 30 min to 1 hr before feeding, NOT after feeding, you lose the probiotic benefit. Can't be easier and they love them.


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## Orla (Jul 5, 2009)

Kammy said:


> We tried the Tresemme conditioner on her after shampooing her with baby shampoo. Don't mind buying the Tresemme shampoo too if needed. Have you been using it on Milo since he was a pup?
> Could I use Spa White coats (diluted maybe) on my pup? Or is it not suggested for and and not as great as they say it is?


I only started using it on him when he was around 18 months old. I used Chris Christensen Systems Spectrum 10 when he was a puppy. I don't see why you couldn't use the Tresemme on a puppy though. I dilute both the shampoo and conditioner. I didn't really like the spa one on Milo's coat. It smells good though.


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

No, its ok, you didn't scare me... 
Its just that since she came home I feel like a mum with a newborn baby. Being my first pup and all. My hubby has had experience with pups before, and he too says that she's an amazing pup even for a pup (and it take a lot to impress him).  She's so special to us. :wub:

You've been most helpful, thank you  and I will take your suggestions into consideration. This weekend shopping will include baby carrots and I don't know about the chicken breast broth, but will try to add that occasionally too. Yoghurt with live culture, we have at home almost always so thats good too.


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Sumi, the chicken breast/ broth is protein and moisture she needs. Dogs don't need all the carbohydrates found high in kibble.
Another very easy suggestion, adding salt-free vegetable/meat soup to her food is excellent way to give her nutrients and moisture she needs. I get the soup from a health food store (no salt) and mix with her chicken or organic beef and the Honest Kitchen added at meal time. He loves it! Great about your own yogurt. These little kisses are about the size of choclate tidbits for cookies.

Yes, they are like little babies, but get used to it. I call them "Perpetual Babies", they are not like your regular dogs - they are fragile and never seem to grow up. They are a fabulous breed of dogs.


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Claire, 
Just spoke to her previous owner's friend (who sold her to us and was a practicing vet but now not as he decided to start a pet relocation business instead). He suggested we check if, when she pee's its causing the smell and to wipe her down (esp. legs and back) after that and to check if her smell is better. 
Also he asked to check her skin overall for any kind of wounds or spots etc. So will be doing that too.

We have been wiping her down these last two days and have noticed the smell hasn't gotten worse (a good sign maybe?).. compared to the day before her bath when she was starting to stink.

Will be closely observing her smell and as decided get her to the vet asap.


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Sumi, forgot to add that I do all this cooking at one time and divide it up into containers and freeze, using as needed with one container in the refrig. Just spoon out a portion to mix with the kibble/fish oil or coconut oil, warm up a few seconds in a micro.. It's very easy, trust me.


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Orla said:


> I only started using it on him when he was around 18 months old. I used Chris Christensen Systems Spectrum 10 when he was a puppy. I don't see why you couldn't use the Tresemme on a puppy though. I dilute both the shampoo and conditioner. I didn't really like the spa one on Milo's coat. It smells good though.


Well, I'll give it a try, dilute it well and use. I use tresemme products, so it won't be wasted if she doesn't take well to it.


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Malt Shoppe said:


> Sumi, forgot to add that I do all this cooking at one time and divide it up into containers and freeze, using as needed with one container in the refrig. Just spoon out a portion to mix with the kibble/fish oil or coconut oil, warm up a few seconds in a micro.. It's very easy, trust me.


Lol! Claire 
That made a lot of difference. I hate to cook. I work part time (3 hrs per day) and even with all the time I have, the kitchen is like the last place I go to. We even have a cook so that I don't have to cook. 

Since you said I can cook once & freeze, I guess its doable after all:thumbsup:. Once a week might be good I hope? Will do it then.


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Sumi, it's very doable. I am not much of a cook either, unless it's REAL easy! I do this cooking about every 3 weeks. I put about 5 boneless/skinless frozen chicken breasts in a pot, almost cover with water and cook, throw in baby carrots or later, mix with the soup. Cook chicken, cut up tiny, mix with broth from cooking, carrots, divide, contain and freeze, leaving one in frig to work with. 
Trust me, it's very easy. I add the oil as I feed Blaze, warm, serve mixed with some kibble if you like. I love using the Honest Kitchen dehydrated food, so we no longer use kibble, only as a treat.

I asked my vet recently if Blaze needed the kibble, you know, to keep his teeth clean. His reply: "That's like suggesting we eat cookies to keep our teeth clean." He doesn't need it - kibble is designed to make humans happy, that's what I've read from vet's newsletters.


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## Kammy (Nov 3, 2014)

Will do it Claire, its easy enough, and besides, I did have a desire to be able to give her something homemade too, so this tested recipe helps a lot.

Dry food is the most easily available here and economical. So I am trying to get her the best of what is available (and I can afford), then add to it, home made stuff to enhance its nutrients as you suggested.


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## justagirltv (Jun 3, 2014)

I'm not sure if Earthbath Products are available over seas but they make a few deodorizing sprays (that you could use while brushing/combing out) they make one with no scent for Puppy's and one that I love that smells like Vanilla Almond. I use them occasionally in between baths when he's been running around a lot and he smells like "puppy".
I also love their wipes.


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