I've been against animal testing ever since 6th grade when the horrifying stories of rubbing mascara into bunnies' eyes came out. Regardless, I used my dog today to test a natural beauty product! What is wrong with me!? I didn't even give it a second thought. Before you report me to PITA or similar, my friend and I have been talking about experimenting with various natural beauty techniques. The one in question involves using baking soda in lieu of shampoo.
My dog gets really smelly. She has comparatively simple beauty needs. Her hair is mainly one length and she doesn't have any chemical residues from styling products. She also, consequently, doesn't mind if she is having a bad hair day.
In my defense, I did research baking soda applications for dog bathing on several message boards and it was getting rave reviews from other owners of stinky/itchy afflicted mutts. So I tricked her into the tub and wetted her fur. I sprinkled a generous amount of baking soda on her and rubbed it all around. I gave her a vigorous rinsing and viola! It worked, sort of. The greatest benefit is that she hasn't itched or scratched even once since the bath. Normally, no matter how much rinsing we do, she will itch a little more than usual for the first few days after a bath.
I have been inadvertantly torturing my dog with shampoo for 6 years.
Does she smell "good" now? Probably not to the general public. Does she smell better than she did when we started? Definitely. What is missing is the familiar green apple scent of her store bought pet shampoo for "problem skin" (only $9/bottle). This new lack of artificial scent got me wondering why pet shampoos are scented? Honestly, if you think dogs
should smell like fruits or foods, you probably
shouldn't be a dog owner. I've never met a wolf in the woods who smelled like vanilla beans or cherries jubilee or chocolate kisses
(no smart remarks about how often I've encountered a wolf). Dogs smell funny, it's their nature. So give up perfumed and expensive, boutique dog shampoos and opt for about 8 cents of baking soda instead. Your dog will smell better and you'll feel comfortable using baking soda on your hair too!
Stay tuned for the human hair experiments.....(I hear it works better on mullets)
In my defense, I did research baking soda applications for dog bathing on several message boards and it was getting rave reviews from other owners of stinky/itchy afflicted mutts. So I tricked her into the tub and wetted her fur. I sprinkled a generous amount of baking soda on her and rubbed it all around. I gave her a vigorous rinsing and viola! It worked, sort of. The greatest benefit is that she hasn't itched or scratched even once since the bath. Normally, no matter how much rinsing we do, she will itch a little more than usual for the first few days after a bath. 
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