Tea Tree Time

This past winter a lot of dogs in my area came into our grooming shop with complaints of being super itchy. We did what we could with our soothing oatmeal shampoo, without knowing what was causing the itchyness, there isn't a lot we could do.   My border collie, Zabu, was falling victim to the itchy scratchies as well so I started doing research into some home remedies involving oatmeal baths.  Before I had tried my new salve on him, but of course after I had purchased all the ingredients, I stumbled upon a website about yeast in dogs.  At the time Zabu suffered from some pretty heinous 'frito-feet' . Not the almost charming smell that makes you crave corn chips, but the pungent sour smell you could catch from the other side of the room.  Combining the occurrence of this smell with the wet time of year and itchy red belly, it seemed highly likely that this was a yeast issue.  Good thing I didn't use any oatmeal shampoo or concoctions on him, as oatmeal will actually feed yeast and exacerbate the problem.
       So what to do then?  There are tons of good websites to help solve your yeast problems. I'll make my story shorter and to the point by saying simply that I altered his diet drastically to help him from the inside. But this blog is about shampoo! Tea tree  oil they said, find a good Tea tree oil shampoo. Down to Tjmaxx I went. If you are looking for a quality product at a low price, always check your Tjmaxx, Marshalls, Homegoods, Winners, and Burlington Coat Factory.  This is where I found every bottle of John Paul Pet - Tea Tree Shampoo that I've ever purchased, and for $6.99 !
       The John Paul Pet Tea Tree shampoo has a smell that is 'tea tree'. And tea tree is a smell that you either love or hate. I love it, to me it smells like cut grass. But to Shampoodle it smells like medicine. So maybe take a whiff of the bottle before buying it, or else have a good robust cologne on hand in case you are dissatisfied with the fragrance.
         Smell aside, the Tea Tree shampoo was exactly what we needed to fight the itchy yeast from the outside while the diet fought it from the inside. What had been chronic stop-in-the-middle-of-fetch-every-2-minutes itching was relieved for about 2 or 3 days after each bath. Much to Zabu's dismay, I followed the Tea Tree shampoo routine with stop-gaps of apple cider vinegar rinse dabbed on his underbelly.  The diet change is what cured my border collie's yeast problem, the John Paul Tea Tree is what relieved him and kept him from tearing his skin open while the diet was getting it's foot hold.
        And , on top of all this, I think it cleans great! Zabu's fur was left shiny , clean, and fresh.


       Some of the ingredients listed on the John Paul Pet - Tea Tree Shampoo are Australian Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Chamomilla Extract, and Aloe . If you are using this shampoo to help with yeast , remember that a thorough drying is necessary! Yeast thrives in the wet places on your dog!
       It is important to note that you should not use any tea tree oil products on cats, and if your dog and cat interact a lot with one another, maybe rethink using tea tree oil.

       The Bottom Line.

 Find this product locally for 6.99 if you can! If not, it looks like you can get it for around $9 + S&H online. The price point is good IMHO.  If you like Tea Tree smell, then you will love this fragrance! If you don't... well...  This is a great product for relieving itchiness, especially do to fungal or bacterial infections and it cleans well on top of it.  This is a product that I would buy in a groomers gallon if they offered it.

oO Bubblecollie Oo