# Can you "spot clean" a dog's coat?



## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

Kodee is being treated for a yeast infection in his left ear. Between the cleaning solution 3x/wk per vet instructions, and the medicated drops daily, the fur outside his ear and kind of on that side of his head looks yucky/oily. I looked at waterless shampoos at the petstore, but didn't really want to try that.

Does anyone know a good way to clean _part_ of a dog's coat without giving him a full bath? I thought about using a soapy washcloth just on that part of his coat, then trying to "rinse" with a wet one, but thought maybe someone else would have a better (less messy!) idea? Keep in mind this stuff looks kind of "oily", not just dirt, so I probably will need something that removes grease/oil - a damp washcloth won't cut it...

thanks!


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

you could try a "waterless bath" product.

I have used the one in this link
http://www.doggienews.com/2006/03/waterless-bath.htm

I think it works pretty well, i usually use it to get mud off or something without a full bath. Seems to condition pretty well.

ETA: I just read that you dont want to do waterless! sorry! missed that, the product above does say it will remove oils, but I have not used it for that


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## dd (Jun 10, 2003)

If you want to try "waterless" without spending the money, you can use oatmeal ground up very fine. Sprinkle on the greasy spots, massage in a little, then brush out.

I use a wet washcloth all the time, especially on smutty faces.

dd


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## tibvixie101 (Nov 26, 2007)

I've used baby wipes to get some stuff off of the dogs before. Mya got into the flour bag on the counter one day and i wiped it off with a baby wipe, worked good!


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## LUV_GSDs (Oct 22, 2006)

Put the quick cook oatmeal in the food processor to make it just like oatmeal bath without the perfume. Anyway, I use baby wipes all the time on my dog and they are much less expensive than the fancy pet wipes.


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## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

Thanks, peeps. I never thought of baby wipes, I don't know if they'll remove oily stuff or not, but it's worth a try. I am still potty training my DS, so I have 'em already. The waterless bath stuff would probably work, but I just don't like spraying anything on my dog and not rinsing it off. Just bugs me for some reason.

If all else fails, I'll try a soapy cloth and rinse in just that area, but hopefully the wipes will work. I'm kind of a fanatic about keeping him brushed and pretty (he's coated), and now last week his floppy ear finally started staying up after 3-1/2 mos of gluing, and now the fur around his other ear looks dirty ....aargh!









LOL! Thanks again!


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## BrennasMom (Mar 2, 2008)

If you do a spot clean, make sure you get all the shampoo out or it can cause the skin to itch. Also, be careful not to get water in his ears, you may put a large cotton ball in there to keep them dry. It might not even be worth it really since the oily ear meds are really hard to get out of the coat without a good degreasing shampoo.


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## GSDTrain (Apr 21, 2008)

When I spot clean I use baby wipes. I have never tried the oatmeal method before but it sounds like it works


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Baby wipes are greasy and whatever is on them kills ants so I'm reluctant to use them on my dog. I use DAWN, just a tiny drop on a wet towel then use the other end of the wet towel to get the bubbles off. 

Which reminds me, Morgan was having icecream with my son...


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## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

Well, I finally couldn't take it anymore. Nothing I tried got the oily greasy looking crud off his ear fuzz, so I broke down and stuck him in the bathtub. I only washed around his head/ears and his hind legs. I'm pretty sure one of my little 2 legged-twerps spilled soda on his back leg in the car. I didn't notice anything until one night I was brushing him, and his fur was dull and stuck together back there. I brushed most of it out, but it never did get as shiny as the rest of him.

So he got a spot-shampoo, LOL. I'm so proud of myself - I have his collar and leather leads all laid out on the counter, covered in Leather Balm. Am I being a good girl today or what?







My dog will be lookin' spiffy as soon as he dries and gets his brush-down.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i just use a wash cloth wet down with warm water and put some grooming spray on it and sponge bathe them when needed. i call it a PTA bath!! lol!

debbie


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