Hoo boy do I have mixed feelings about this stuff. The vet handed it to me when Jack had a skin allergy and said: “You can wash him with this three times a week.”

Cue angelic choirs, guitar riffs and orchestra swells.

Not that I’m an obsessive neat-freak or anything (far far from it). It’s just that we’re having a particularly wet year, and when there are puddles of water around, Jack is as happy as a pig in – well, I think you know where I’m going here. The muddier and smellier, the better.

People coo at Jack’s cuteness when he’s all dry and fluffy. But when Jack finds a puddle, these same people run with their arms flailing like a Warner Bros housewife with a mouse in the house. “Argh! Get away! DON’T LET HIM TOUCH ME!”

Jack gets more spectacularly muddy than any other dog I’ve seen.

(By the way, did you know that “Poodle” comes from the German word for “Puddle”? I think this is deeply ironic given what it sounds like in English.)

Aloveen shampoo promises all kinds of lovely things like aloe vera (obviously) oatmeal, and a ph balance that won’t dry your dog’s skin. It smells nice, feels all luxurious and lotion-y like a salon shampoo (the kind that you have to sell your kids to afford) and does a great job. But a little bit, she doesn’t go a long way. I used a whole bottle in about a month. And the price – well, you won’t have to sell your kids, but it’s enough to make you cry.

“You should try the conditioner too,” the vet nurse said. “You can run it through his coat between washes to keep him smelling nice.

Hmmm. I wasn’t too impressed with shelling out for a nice smell. The only sound argument I’ve heard for Dog Conditioner is that it makes dirt fall off the fur more easily.

So anyway, yes, this is a lovely product, and yes, it kept Jack’s skin itch-free and yes, it’s probably worth the money if you have a dog with an ongoing skin complaint.

But for myself, the hunt for a non-drying but cost-effective dog shampoo continues.

RATING:
BUY IT:  Petalia
COST: AUD$25.75

The word “mouthy” is dogpeople talk for “nips fingers and toes ALL THE BLOODY TIME.” Our wee Jack was EXTREMELY mouthy as a puppy – to the point where I was leery of having him mix with children. He never bit hard, but like a human infant – everything went straight into the gob.

The conventional advice for puppies that bite all the time is to yell “ouch!” and withdraw all attention for ten seconds when they bite. Remind them reproachfully “gentle” and then resume play until they “mouth” you again. Repeat about a gazillion times.

This approach works because it mimics what happens in puppyland. You only have to watch puppies at play for a few minutes to see the principle in action – if you bite, there’s a yip and everything stops. Then after a bit, play resumes. This is how puppies learn to be gentle.

But there’s another school of thought on this subject. The theory goes that if puppies aren’t socialised with other dogs enough, they’ll never learn “bite inhibition”. And this means that the first time you step on poochy’s tail and he lashes out in pain, you could end up with a serious bite because he never learned that biting hard hurts.

This article, The Bite Stops Here, is written by positive dog training guru,  Ian Dunbar. Have a read and make up your own mind. I found that Jack’s “mouthiness” magically disappeared around the six month mark – although he still loved to lick. Three weeks of consistently crying “Ouch!” And withdrawing all attention worked a treat. He just wags up a storm now, because he knows that’s what gets him the pats.