Sunday, September 1, 2013


Homemade Dog Soap

The idea of washing my dog with a bar soap seemed strange to me. But when I discovered some recipes online, I had to try them out.

Of course, I was also inspired by these adorable little dishes I found at the thrift store.




The page I chose gives recipes for four different fragrances. I decided on the one called “Walk in the Woods”. I had all the ingredients on hand and the dog really needed a bath. So the timing seemed perfect.

I do have soap molds, but I decided to re purpose a single serve peanut butter container. It fit perfectly on the little paw print dish. If you look carefully, you might be able to read the brand name J





The recipe called for Castor oil, but I seem to be out. So I put in a bit of olive oil instead. I did have plenty of Shea butter. I used only 2 ounces of soap base, because I just wanted to make a single bar to try out.  I guessed at the amounts of the rest of the ingredients. I also added a couple drops of Neem oil. Mosquitoes have been extreme this year and it just might help with the fleas.

When I removed the bar from the mold, I showed it to my family. My husband smelled it and said “Nice, very manly”

LOL!

“So you would use this?” I asked him. He said that he would and I broke up laughing! My son wrinkled his nose at it. But I thought it smelled nice too.


Now, time to test it out. I called Percy into the bathroom and filled the tub. He has really short hair, so I have a hard time getting it wet. He is a coon hound/ beagle mix we think, so the water just runs off his back. But I got it wet enough and started to rub the bar right on his coat. It worked much better than using liquid shampoo. I could rub it right into areas that I usually can’t get at. Rubbing the bar right on the wet fur causes it to suds up. I think it might be more successful on a different coat.

The next step was to see how it rinsed out. Again, surprisingly well. I was concerned that it would cling to his fur, but it washed out completely. It was also nice to see a few fleas wash away with the suds. And I love the idea of not using chemicals on my dog.

Another cool thing was that I used very little of the bar on my rather large dog. And remember, I only made a 2 ounce bar.



I will definitely make a full batch next time. It will be interesting to see how it lathers by using the Castor oil. I am thinking the olive oil may have subdued the suds a bit. I also used a melt and pour soap base. Eventually I plan on making my own from wood ashes and coconut oil.

 If you would like to try to make your own, the link to the original recipe is below:


I’m off to mop up puppy prints!

Beth

 

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