Help! Ripley really needs a bath but after the mammoth job of brushing all the snarls out of her I'm worried about her getting all knotty again when I wash her. Can you get conditioner for dogs or use normal conditioner? I have some puppy shampoo that I use when my other two need a wash but they have short coats so no worry about tangles there.
Am I being paranoid about her becoming a tangled mess if I just use the stuff I have (puppy shampoo), or should I get a conditioner as well to ease brushing after?

We always used wash and go on dakko and he never got any matts or tangles, pantene prov 2 in 1 was great too :-) You can get conditioners for dogs but we always used human shampoo.

That's cool. I have pleeeenty of human conditioner but I may pick up a 2in1 when I go into town. Just doing one wash and rinse will hopefully be less traumatic for the little dog than two.
I'm reassured now regarding the tangling, so Ripley is having a wash for definite this evening. Although she still has a slightly unsavoury whiff she is nowhere near as pongy as she was, maybe she just needed a good 'airing out'. She's gonna be lovely tonight though.
I'm going to take a photo of her while she's wet as well to have a record of how blubbery she is under her fluff, hopefully I can have a lovely 'after' picture in a few months when she's worked some of the fat off to go with the 'before'. :)

Hi Pookin I used to have Rough Collies for fifteen years and I found a good brush through before bathing was always good and removed any minor little matts and clumps that may be beginning. It will also loosen up any dead undercoat which is the stuff that usually smells a bit.
I used dog shampoo and conditioner just in case they would react to human ones and all went well.
Once dried if you rub some talc through the coat (pull coat gently backwards and rub in) it will help dry any wee damp bits and leave her smelling heavenly. After that Cuddle, breathe in and enjoy...

Our dogs never had any problems with allergies when we were bathing with Wash&Go but I must admit Treacle who does have allergy issues is usually bathed using animal shampoo (either dog or horse) rather than human stuff just in case.