Differences Between Dog Shampoos & Human Shampoos
If you are a pet parent who is interested in keeping up and making sure that your pet baby is clean, healthy and happy, then you would interested in knowing the nuances of dog grooming and its components. Grooming is an essential part of your dog’s life and you will always have to invest in good grooming services to make sure that your pet’s health and cleanliness is constantly maintained. Not only do they need grooming for staying clean, they also require grooming for a lot of health reasons – they need to have clean, trimmed fur so ticks and diseases don’t stick, need to get their body parts clean so any bacteria on them do not develop into diseases and sometimes grooming also helps in identifying various underlying health conditions since it requires fondling and cleaning of a lot of intimate places which can be where a lot of diseases develop. Identifying ear infections becomes very easy if you are regular with grooming. Not only that, the chances of developing ear infections itself reduces by a significant percentage when you are making sure to have your pet groomed regularly.
Significant differences exist between dog shampoos and human shampoos; however, these differences exist due to the different problems they are used to address. While dogs and humans differ in terms of skin thickness and pH, these differences should not be the primary reason to consider using shampoos formulated strictly for dogs on your dogs.
pH Balance
Dogs have more acidic skin than humans. However, according to groomer Barbara Bird, pet shampoos had a pH range of 2.2 to 7.5, while many human shampoos had a pH range between 5.0 and 6.5. Bird says the difference in the pH range among the pet shampoos is greater than that between human and pet shampoos. In addition, while dogs have skin that is more alkaline than human skin, the alkalinity can range from 5.5 to 9.1 pH. These two things combined indicate that, while differences exist between human and dog shampoos, there is a great degree of overlap between the two products.
Medicated Ingredients and Insect Control
Humans do not typically need shampoo for insect control, with the general exception of lice. Although dogs do occasionally carry lice, they typically require shampoos that control fleas and ticks. Shampoos developed for lice control may control pyrethrins, but they are otherwise generally absent from human shampoos. Shampoos containing pyrethrins paralyze the insects with which they come into contact, making them useful for pet insect control, but they may cause skin rash and breathing difficulty in humans.
Dandruff Shampoos
Like humans, dogs sometimes have dandruff. Canine dandruff can occur due to dry skin, shampoo that has not been rinsed properly, a poor diet or lack of grooming. Human dandruff shampoos should not be used on dogs as they contain zinc pyrithione, which is not commonly used in dog shampoo. They also may contain coal tar, which may irritate your dog’s skin. In addition to dog dandruff shampoos, colloidal oatmeal soap and baby shampoo can be used to treat dog dandruff.
Specialty Shampoos
Dog owners use a wide range of specialty shampoos on their dogs. Some of these specialty shampoos include color-enhancing and whitening shampoos, texturizing shampoos, odor-control shampoos and conditioning shampoos to enhance the dog’s coat. Many of these shampoos are formulated specifically for dogs’ fur. Some formulations may even be specific to single or double coats or may affect the health or the presence of the outer coat or undercoat. Although some human shampoos do include whiteners or conditioning agents, they do not serve as many purposes as shampoos for dogs’ coats.
One of the main components of grooming is washing – and a lot of people in the pet community are not very particular about what shampoos are being used to clean the pet since most shampoos have the same base components and function pretty well. If you are one of those people who have ever wondered what is the difference between the shampoos human beings use and the shampoos that are used to clean your pet’s fur, then here are some basic differences that the two kinds of shampoos have in layman’s terms.
- Conditioning elements – Almost all the shampoos made for usage of human beings have conditioning elements in them. However, pet shampoos do not necessarily have those. This is because people do not necessarily attach a lot of importance into conditioning the pet’s fur as the main objective is usually just to make sure that the fur is clean.
- Concentration – Pet shampoos are often thought to be more concentrated in terms of their ingredients. However, due to evolution of pet products, this might not hold true anymore. Most manufacturers who deal exclusively with pet products have started realsing that pet parents have become more and more aware and particular about what they use to groom their pet. However, there are few pet shampoos out there that are more concentrated than shampoos used by humans. What is more important, is that pet shampoos are less likely to have too many scents, or too many fruit or flower extracts as they might be unknowingly allergic to it.
- Labelling – Pet shampoos usually do not mention all their ingredients on the label (as they are not particularly required to) while shampoos that humans use have that requirement (which is why you usually can ascertain everything that a shampoo has and decide if you want to use it)
- Acidic elements – pH balance of humans is usually more on the acidic side while for pets (especially dogs), it is more on the neutral side. So shampoo brands take this into consideration while formulating their shampoos so the skin’s pH balance is not disrupted. It is not advisable to use human shampoos on dogs for this reason, as it might be ending up being too acidic for your pet.
- Additives – Usually, human shampoos contain a lot more additives than pet shampoos. Pet shampoos do not have to have a complicated formula to do their job. However, human shampoos have to cater to different preferences of scents, flavors and concentrations.
When it comes to ingredients, pet shampoos and everyday human shampoos aren’t that different. They both contain hydrating agents, surfactants, fragrances and lathering agents.
But there’s one major difference: the pH level, or how acidic or basic the formula is. Dogs and humans have different skin types that can react to different pH levels, which means you should use dog-specific shampoo when bathing your dog.
Is It Safe to Use Human Shampoo on Dogs?
To answer this question, it’s helpful to understand the differences between dog and human skin.
Your dog’s skin:
- Is comprised of about three to five layers of skin cells
- Is replaced with new skin cells almost every three weeks, or about every 20 days
- Has many more hair follicles than human skin (and all that hair is like a big duster, trapping dirt and debris more easily)
- Has a pH of 7.5, which is more neutral than human skin
Your skin:
- Is comprised of about 10 to 15 layers of skin cells
- Is replaced with new skin cells about every 28 days
- Has a pH of 5.5, which is more acidic than dog skin
What does this mean when it comes to shampoo? Human shampoo is designed to keep the skin acidic, while dog shampoo is engineered to keep skin neutral.
If you use human shampoo on your dog, it could dry out or irritate their skin, or even cause an imbalance in their skin’s pH levels that could lead to skin or yeast infections.
Is It Safe to Use Baby Shampoo on Dogs?
Baby shampoo is milder than regular shampoo, so it should be safe for your dog, right?
Not exactly. Baby shampoos by nature are milder, but they don’t lather well. You’d need to use a lot of baby shampoo to get your dog clean — and that’s not practical nor economical.
Plus, baby shampoos simply aren’t formulated to deal with the volume of hair found in a dog’s coat.
How to Choose a Dog Shampoo
For routine bathing, look for a gentle, hypoallergenic, soap-free shampoo designed to moisturize your dog’s skin. Ideally, the formula should contain humectants to retain moisture, emollients to soften the skin and essential fatty acids to support and nourish the skin. These shampoos are great for when your dog just rolled in something yucky, or for regular bathing and coat-freshening needs.
If your dog is infested with fleas or ticks, flea and tick shampoos kill these pests on contact. Plus, they wash away flea feces and the debris that accompanies them. Remember: Follow up with a preventive product to help avoid a reinfestation of fleas and ticks. Your vet can recommend the right preventive for your pet.
Washing your dog is an important responsibility of pet ownership. Now that you know your dog needs a pet shampoo, ask your vet for recommendations that may be best for your dog’s breed and particular needs. Happy bathing!
Compiled & Shared by- Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)
Image-Courtesy-Google
Reference-On Request.
