I'm gonna bathe Kodee today, and just realized I have plenty of dog shampoo, but I'm out of conditioner. I really hate to skip the conditioner on him - he's coated, and it helps keep him smooth and easier to comb, etc.

Can I use people conditioner, or should I make an extra trip to the store for conditioner for dogs?

I'd skip it or go to the store.

Wrong pH.

Many (probably depending on ingredients); I don't know) will impart greasy dirt-magnet qualities, besides being the wrong pH for the skin.

Thanks. I knew shampoos could do that, wasn't sure about conditioners. I'll just go pick up some of my fav conditioner.

i think it depends on the coat type too. i use human conditioner on my crested, i still dilute it well, so its more of a rinse.

just as a matter of "fyi"...
conditioners them selves are not "dirt magnets", ANY shampoo or conditioner that contains lanolin and oils are what attracts the dirt.
a high quality shampoo and conditioner, whether its for humans, or dogs does not do this.

http://www.vellus.com/Lanolin.htm

 Quote: mallory kwiatkowski

... conditioners them selves are not "dirt magnets", ANY shampoo or conditioner that contains lanolin and oils are what attracts the dirt.
a high quality shampoo and conditioner, whether its for humans, or dogs does not do this. .... http://www.vellus.com/Lanolin.htm

Mmmm. Well, it would be pretty hard to get around that (the fats/oils/lanolin thing). It's a rare conditioner or creme rinse indeed that doesn't contain one or the other.

From cetyl and stearyl alcohol (fatty alcohols) to shea butter to jojoba to tea tree oil to lanolin -- these are all fats. Even creme rinse, meant to smooth the follicles and de-tangle rather than penetrate, very often contain such fats as avocado oil and wheat germ oil.

Probably more important is that a dog's skin has very high pH -- one of the highest among mammals, in fact.

7 is deemed neutral. (Distilled water is 7.)

A pH below 7 (in simple general terms) is acid and a pH above 7 is alkaline.

A human's skin might be 4.6 to about 6, but a dog's averages 7.4.

You can see that these are on the opposite sides of the neutral pH point.

So using something with a pH that's suitable for humans on the skin of the dog is coating it with something that's far more acidic than the dog's normal pH.

I'm not saying that now the dog is doomed. I am saying that I'd rather not do it, though, if possible to avoid. The dog's skin is what it is in order to provide a barrier against infection. Why alter its properties? And since it's simple to avoid, why not avoid it?

Bottom line: Don't use skin products for humans on the dog. JMHO.

My dermatology vet agrees with Connie. She told me to never use human shampoo or conditioner/creme rinse on dogs. The dog's skin has that PH balance to maintain healthy bacteria and yeast levels. She said their skin is a lot thicker (more layers) than ours, which is why when they do have a bacterial infection they have to be on antibiotics for 3 weeks - it takes longer to get rid of since the skin is deeper. So using dog shampoo products helps keep those PH levels in the healthy range, thus helping your dog's skin stay healthy - especially allergy dogs!!

I've heard the lanolin thing but I've never heard it from anyone besides that particular company. Therefore I take their info with a grain of salt. I've not used their products mainly due to cost/disbelief factor (they tend to make some wild claims when I talk to folks selling it at shows) , I've used dozens of others however, no shampoo/conditioner combination in my experience keep a dog cleaner in a significant way. There are definite stand out products however in effectively cleaning a dog and conditioning certain coat types/issues. The purpose of a generic conditioner is to replace oils that you just stripped from the coat. This is a fairly good website outlining what the different ingredients in conditioners do and why http://rufflyspeaking.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/grooming-a-dog-part-3-conditioners/


There is no magic Teflon for dog coats that I've found. A dog in a dirty environment will pick up the dirt quicker or slower based upon the amount of available dirt in the environment and the following factors. It's usually the coat type (a bichon/poodle coat will always gather and retain their environment faster than a GSD), behaviors of the dog (rolling, brush stomping, pond swimming), and dog color/proximity that help people identify that dirt.

As far as PH yes, please never use people shampoo or conditioner on dogs. Dawn dish soap (well diluted) is a much safer alternative for animals in a pinch. It's also an ideal for dealing with messes that are OMG gross like rotten chicken guts, motor oil, and sap. There are also recipes online for homemade dog conditioner that usually involve some simple household ingredients. Usually I can tell if dogs have been using people shampoo because their hair becomes brittle and breaks easily under hand after just a couple shampoos.