As vain as I am about my dog’s soft shaggy coat, I love to see him enjoying his daily romps through the swampy bushland near our place. Wrestling ‘gators… fishing for eels… frying up a catfish. It’s Doggy Heaven with a Huck Finn twist out there.

But getting him not to smell like a swamp afterwards is more of a challenge. If Jack could shop for perfume I’m pretty sure he’d go for Eau De Stinky with Essence of Dead Fish. He’s a dog, after all.

The sad fact is that regular baths=itchy dogs and itchy skin is about the only health problem that’s been pinned on designer dogs at this stage. And I have to admit that Jack does enjoy a good scratch every now and then.

Happily, the vet, puppy school and the amazing Internet have provided a solution – the perfect dry shampoo for the tightarse is… (drumroll please) … baking soda!

We call it “bicarbonate of soda” in Australia because we figure, why say two words when you can say three?

Bicarb is safe for pets as long as you, you know, don’t spoon the stuff down their throats. Here’s what I do to clean Jack:

1. Take him out the backyard and pour great handfuls of powder into my hands.
2. Rub it all over Jacks fur while cunningly pretending that I’m giving him a pat/belly rub/wrestle.
3. Let him run around with it on for a minute or two (while keeping the back door closed because Irish gets all thing about having a blonde, baking-soda laden tornado tearing around the house.)
4. After the cloud of bicarb has had a minute or two to settle, I get out the treats and bribe Jack into keeping still while I brush all the powder out of his coat.

The result is about 75% as good as you’d get with a wet bath and shampoo. He comes up fluffy, smelling fresh and looking (almost) like he had a proper bath.The downside? Erm, well, then there’s baking soda everywhere, but you can sweep it up or, if you have a yard, let sweet, sweet Mother Nature sort it out.

RATING:
BUY IT: At your local supermarket!
COST: From AUD$1.85