Can you use human shampoo on dogs?
A lady told me to use any old cheap bubble bath instead of buying expensive 'doggy shampoo'.
Any comments?

Karen

as a rule i would not use a human shampoo on a dog as it can strip their hair of the natual oils.

A friend of mine used to use Head and Shoulders on her show dogs and she posted this on the breed website and they were up in arms about it, and a lady rang the people who make this shampoo and they said Human shampoo should never be used on a dog !!

I've always been under the impression that using human shampoo on dogs is a big no no as it strips out all of the oils etc from their skin and coat and is of the wrong PH.  Plus, I have seen through working in a pet store what 'Head & Shoulders' did to this one staffie a customer brought in...skin was red raw and they couldn't understand as they thought the head & shoulders would sort their dogs flaky skin....

So I would say not to use human shampoo :)

I have used a couple with no bad effects over the years, but would never use one like H&S which is for a specific problem in humans!

I would have thought any adult human shampoo would be very nasty if it got into a dog's eyes :(  and H&S would be even worse!!!

Years ago I used to use Tesco Henna Shampoo (non coloured) on my Afghan X  with a final rinse containing matching conditioner (tiny spot only) his coat was magnificent, glossy and rarely tangled :)

I use shampoo on my dogs, and conditioner to comb all the knots out with out any distress to the dogs. Baby shampoo on there ears and faces.But! always wash it out completly.
Never had any skin problems or coat problems, there coat stays beautiful.

I would never use baby shampoo on a dog.  An experienced hair stylist told me never to use it on (human) freshly coloured hair, as it was the quickest way to strip your expensive colour out!  As to using some cheap and nasty bubble bath, I can only presume the person suggesting that had very little canine knowledge.  Human skin and canine skin is not the same.  And cheap bubble bath causes my skin problems!

Hi, I use baby shampoo on my pups as it rinses out very easily, and is kind on the eyes, with absolutley no ill effects!  There is sometimes a pH difference between dog shampoos and human ones, but not in the way being assumed in preeceding posts - most specifically canine shampoos, especially thoses aimed at the pet market, are formulated on the assumption that dogs are bathed infrequently so will be very dirty, and are therfore more closely akin to washing up liquid than shampoo.  We had a range of canine shampooos analyzed a few years ago, when considering doing a grooming range, and this was without exception the result.  The ph difference between dog and human hair is very small, it is more important to find a shampoo whiich suits your dog, and I would always choose a gentle human formulation over a doggy one.  The exceptions are the shampoos specifically made for different show coat types and colours - not different phs but additives which can be helpful for presentation.

There are lots of hairdresser urban legend type things about retail shampoos - never heard about Baby shampoo stripping colour, but was told years ago that Vosene did - I tried, it didn't!  Lots of hairdressers talk about Pantene in a horrified way, but I know others who swear by it, and quite a few dogs who look good after being washed in it.

My own hairdresser had an Aveda salon, and always washed him American Cocker in Aveda - she always looked great.  No personal knowledge of Head and Shoulders on dogs, but have seen lots of Staffis with awful skin conditions anyway.  Can;t think that H & S woudl be useful on dog skin /hair, as dry skin conditons on dogs are usually attributable to things other than human dandruff!
bye
Gwen

I use human shampoo but then again I don't show my dog. I always get comments on how lovely she smells, however.  Her coat looks fab to me.

I use human shampoo on my dogs, it's great and I leanrt  it from a show breeder.
It depneds what breed you have, most of yorkies have oily coat,so human shampoo works well on this breed. However, you gotta to choose some good brand of human shampoo, not the old cheap bubble bath.

I use tresemme on my afghans.....shampoo and conditioner, and so does their breeder. but then afghan coat texture is pretty much like human hair.

Thanks for that everyone, I tried out Vosene frequent wash thinking it would be gentler as a frequent one. The results were great, then I worried a bout ph balance of skin and stuff, feeling much more assured now.

Karen ;-)

I regularly use Pantene on mine (shampoo and conditioner), as well as baby shampoo around their heads. 

I have used Vosene when they're going through that awful period changing from puppy to adult coats resulting in a flaky skin as I've found for show purposes, it removes the dandruff, which looks awful on a black coat, with no adverse reactions. 

> My own hairdresser had an Aveda salon, and always washed him American Cocker in Aveda - she always looked great.

also, while being expensive, a little bit goes MILES! (i use on me lol)

I think what it really comes down to is chooses a good quality product and make sure it suits yours dogs skin and coat.  My advise would be to always steer clear of the "pet branded" shampoos and from the very cheap human ones too, and choose either a good "people" shampoo, or one of the specialist dog ones aimed at the showing market.  The formulation of these is pretty much the same as human shampoo, without so much of the harsh detergent factor in the pet ones.  However most  the "professional" dog ones may have one or two "enhancements" specifically for certain coat types.  Lots of the shampoos aimed at the pet groomers market are simply the ones from the hairdresser wholesalers repackaged or re labeled for pet salons!  Fine for dogs as well as people.
bye
Gweb

Wirey coat ( formerly harsh coat) by Bio Groom is lovely shampoo for a terrier type coat. Smells great to.. 
http://www.hubintsecured.co.uk/acatalog/Bio_Groom.html

I faithfully use Paul Mitchel detangler on the dogs.   I often leading up to shows rub the detanger right through the coat the apply a little Johnson corn startch.

http://www.bodycare2000.com/s/c/p/paul_mitchell_the_detangler.asp