When my retriever had doggie dandruff, I asked her vet the same question. He said that Head and Shoulders is made for people, and dogs need dog shampoo. I used the Head and Shoulders anyway, and my dog was fine. It seemed to work as well as any of the canine products I'd tried, and it left a really clean smell on her coat, unlike some of the dog shampoos. This, of course, is just my experience, but that's exactly what happened. Good luck with your pooch. Is this the Border Collie? Fantastic dogs. Intelligent - smarter than some people. Hope this helps.

I am very slow to use human products on my dog without more than anecdotal assurance it is safe. Other things besides chocolate may be cumulative. Such safe products as Tylenol, Advil, Ibuprofen, and the Xylitol in sugarless gum can be deadly to dogs. If you dog is having skin problems, I would cut out the baths. I seldom bath my dogs, controlling dirt and odor with brushing. With a good brushing several times a week, and most of the dog's calories coming from a commercial chow, most dogs will have a good coat and be free of odors. Usually brushing is more pleasant for both man and beast.

can you use " sea-breeze" on a dog with dandruff? It was also suggested that I use Listerine mouthwash, but do I wash it out of the dogs coat or leave it in?

Flakes mean the dog has dry skin. While there are some products (Nature's Gate Shampoo) I will use on animals, there are many (those with a lot of chemical components I won't...for that matter I won't use them on humans either!) The number of things that will cause this problem are not huge. Allergies can cause it...they can be to foods, cleaning products used in the home that the dog is allergic to, vaccines that the dog has developed in intolerance to, grass or lawn chemicals used on the grass, Flea & Tick medications/shampoos, and the food that the dog eats. A lack of the "good oils" in the dog's diet can cause it. Over washing the dog can cause it. (I had to guard against this when working my therapy dogs, because they MUST BE washed weekly...they often go into cardiac care and cancer care units in hospitals so you have to agree to wash the dog weekly.) This means you have to not only provide enough of the good oils in the dog's diet, such as FLAX oil, but also provide a good conditioner to the dogs coat after bathing and use a very mild shampoo. (NOT baby shampoo which has the PH of carpet cleaner...the same exact ph to be frank! To cut back on cradle cap...fyi) I would say research what beneficial oils you can add to the dog's diet to correct the problem at the source. If you already feed supplemental oils, consider the other possible causes in your research. It can be sort of a process to figure out what might be the cause and what might be the best cure. Head an Shoulders is not IT, in my opinion.

My vet advised me today to use Head and shoulders shampoo on our dog. he also said to be sure and use a conditioner on him afterwards.

redhawk, I think you're a little unclear regarding the issue of pH. The pH of most baby shampoos, i.e. "tearless" shampoos is non-alkaline, usually a pH of around 7. This is considered neutral, with the same pH of most water. Comparing this to the pH of carpet cleaner sounds horrible, but is rather meaningless. Most carpet cleaners are synthetic detergents and thus are non-alkaline, maybe even neutral. So what? Many synthetic surfactants are closer to a neutral pH by nature. Natural soap, the resulting product of reacting triglycerides and a strong alkaline, like NaOH, is naturally very alkaline, or basic. This can be irritating to eyes, hence the use of pH balanced detergents for tearless baby shampoo. pH isn't the only thing to consider though. There are a lot of different detergents with varying levels of degreasing ability. Industrial strength detergents, regardless of pH, can strip skin of valuable oils, while alkaline soap can still be very mild, as it leave more of your natural oils behind, and skin will readjust it's pH soon after washing. Dogs have slightly more acidic skin than humans, so certainly a lower pH shampoo can be beneficial, but a netural pH Shampoo will certainly not be harmful as you implied. Unless you think water is as dangerous as carpet cleaner.

use vet solutions canadian medicated shampoo. it works well and smell good too...it is safe, no worries..

I would suggest that you use only canine product on dogs and leave the human products for the humans. There is a reason they are formulated differently. A dog need special ingredients for their coat and skin. Search the internet or call an animal clinic or kennel for advice.

you can try it once and see.. im a vet... i use regular shampoos on most of my animals... when i cant find anything else. just keep it out of the eyes and nose and mouth. use common sense.

Head and Shoulders works great on dogs with dry skin. There is actually a prescription shampoo out there that is almost the same thing. Vets tell you not to use over the counter items so they can sell you the expensive stuff. Most vets make most of their money by selling you medications and things like shampoos and food. I use Head and Shoulders twice a week on one of my Cairn Terriers who has plain old dry skin. It keeps his skin in great condition and he now looks forward to his baths. I am a former registered vet tech so I know of what I speak.