From the comfort of a bench in the park, Sophia Scopelleti digs into her satchel for sliced apples, ice water, and a Lucky Pup sunscreen stick.
“Violet, snack time!” she calls out, coaxing the pampered pooch with a Ziplock bag full of goodies. The French bulldog waddled towards her as its kind do, as if the body were a little too wide for the legs. Scopelleti rubs the sunscreen on Violet’s ears, nose, and belly before she squirms away to play fetch with the big dogs.
In Orange County, we’ll do almost anything in the name of skincare. Bee venom? Put it on my face. Vampire facials? Gimme, gimme. Snail slime? Yes, please. Meanwhile, we shampoo our dogs with cheap dish soap once the smell becomes intolerable. C’mon, our pups deserve better! It’s time to pamper our dogs with sunscreen, spa visits and fresh foods to keep them happy and healthy.
Scopelleti, a 20-year-old dog mom from Huntington Beach, Ca., spoils her blueberry-obsessed Frenchie, Violet, with monthly trips to the spa. Here, she gets a nourishing bath and blowout, a facial, and her nails trimmed and painted sparkly pink, of course.
“I get Violet the blueberry facial every time we go to Pawsh Wash because having a French bulldog, or any bulldog breed, they are susceptible to getting infections under their wrinkles and tear lines. This facial pretty much keeps her skin bright and healthy,” Scopelleti says, adding that the scent from the facial will last up to a week.
In between trips to Pawsh Wash, Scopelleti washes Violet at home with Burt’s Bees Oatmeal Gentle Cleanser.
“An oatmeal shampoo is recommended for itchy dogs. Tar based and benzoyl peroxide shampoos are used for oily skinned dogs, and selenium shampoos are used for flakey dogs,” says Rob Bernhard of Ringtown Valley Veterinary Hospital in Ringtown, Penn. “Shampoos with ketoconzaole are used for dogs with a tendency for yeast infections, and shampoos with chlorhexidine are used for dogs with bacterial infections.” To be effective, Bernhard stresses the importance of shampooing your pup multiple times per week.
“For dry, delicate skin like Violet, I recommend topical therapy with Alpha Keri Bath Oil or Avon So Soft both diluted at a concentration of 3 ounces per half gallon of water and applied with a mister three times a week,” Bernhard says. “You can also feed your dog fish oil capsules or safflower oil by mouth daily to help with dry skin.”
Surprisingly, you should only wash your dog 3 to 4 times a year, unless it has a medical condition that requires therapeutic shampoos, Bernhard says. So, how often you wash your dog largely depends on their individual needs and lifestyles. For instance, an active dog that spends its time rolling around in the mud obviously requires more bathing than one that spends its time lounging on the couch all day.
“Because the way French bulldogs bodies are shaped, they can’t necessarily clean themselves. So I go through every night with a warm washcloth and clean in between her paws, her face, and I know it sounds gross, but we got to clean her butt,” Scopelleti says. “When it’s hot outside, she starts getting skin infections in between her paw pads so I use the natural dog company’s skin soother.”
Bernhard says “exercising flea control” is a must for maintaining a dog’s skin, and that you really should be using flea prevention year-round. It’s important that your dog be checked regularly by your veterinarian to make sure they are rid of any parasites that would rob them of optimal health and nutrients.
“When dogs are fed poor quality food and their bodies are overloaded with environmental toxins, their body may become inflamed, their coat will go dull, and they will shed.” says Real Dog Box pet nutrition specialist, Nicole Burik. “Imagine eating the same food every day, twice a day, when your body isn’t even meant to digest that food in the first place.”
By feeding a fresh, balanced diet with added whole-food probiotics and fish dog parents can avoid many food related disorders including diabetes, arthritis, dental disease, and cancer, Burik adds. Every dog is different, but their basic nutritional needs are the same.
“While a raw diet is not for every pet parent due to cost or sourcing, there are decent kibble manufacturers. Some brands that are mostly made up of meat—with no potatoes—are Orijen and Nature's Logic,” Burik says.
For those on-the-go, there are companies that make pre-made raw, freeze-dried, and air-dried food for convenience so you don’t have to formulate each DIY raw meal yourself—although you definitely could.
“You are your dog’s nutritionist,” Burik says, “But remember, every dog is different and their skin and coat issues may not be directly from poor quality food.”
The best skincare routine is usually individualized towards you, and the same can be said for dogs, especially if they’re doing a lot of itching or displaying redness and irritation. Recommendations for a dog with significant allergies are going to be different than recommendations for a dog that has no skin disease. It’s important to talk to your veterinarian, or see a veterinarian dermatologist, regarding options.
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