Hi @JZSmooth It's not a good idea to wash dogs. Strips the oils in the coat. Wash the bedding and that should eliminate most of the odour.
I agree with Michael, it's not usually a good idea to bathe dogs since the coat then tends to produce more oil in response to it having been stripped out - which in the long-run only leads to more smell. However, a one-off bath if he is smelly from being outside probably won't do his coat any harm and if it's going to facilitate bonding and his acceptance into the family it's probably a good idea. Buy a dog shampoo to use as this will be gentler than human shampoo. A lot of dogs don't like being hosed if the pressure is high, so turn the hose down to a soaker effect instead.
Even without shampoo? We hose of our dog about once every two weeks without shampoo and hose her off with shampoo after hikes to remove poison oak oil. Do you think that is too much?
We don't normally bathe our dogs, but if I was worried about poison oak I probably would. We do have some of it around, but I've never gotten it from a dog.
Not sure I agree that dog shampoo is typically milder. We had a large supply of supposedly very mild puppy shampoo in the bathroom. I tried it on my own hair and it was not as mild as the stuff I normally use. It really dried out my hair. Fortunately we seldom ever bath our dogs anyway.
Hosing off without shampoo is totally fine. That's just like the dog's been swimming in a lake or the sea anyway, getting wet won't strip anything off. I've no idea about US dog shampoos, but the shampoos I use are very mild (and natural) and are designed for dog coats. I have a friend who's a groomer and she also recommends that only dog shampoos get used on dogs. Of course there are probably harsh dog shampoos out there though. Just about everything is out there!
I'm just suggesting that dog shampoos may not be all that mild either. The one in question was a Top Paws Gentle Tearless Puppy Shampo. It did work well on our Labs the very few times we used it. The best our dogs coats feel is when they have been swimming in the Ocean, and then have a rinse in a fresh water stream. Like everyone else, we don't bath our dogs except in an emergency. My Malamute never had a bath in his life and only swam two times (both terrible mistakes in his opinion), yet he never smelled doggy and always looked clean.
We use Earthbath Oatmeal and aloe fragrance free shampoo for her. It is designed for animals and super light on their coats. She doesnt seem itchy after we use it and it removes most of her bad scent. It is completely natural and seems to be pretty good.
So he's inside now. I'm still a little worried because his presence makes my cat very uneasy and he's been barking at her.
I imagine it will take some time for them to get used to each other. I would try to keep them seperate for now and let them get used to each others smells before you let them interact.
It will take time and perseverance. I don't have any direct experience, but as mentioned above, keep them separate and introduce them very gradually, rewarding the pup for calm and making sure the cat has somewhere to escape to. Good luck!
So, you need to ensure the pup has an area in the house and the cat has somewhere to go to get away from the pup without having to leave home altogether. Usually it's best to put some stair-gates on a room or rooms to create different areas. So the cat can choose to go to a dog-free area. It will also be a good idea to get a 2.5m puppy house-line (a long and lightweight leash) and clip that to the pup's collar to trail all the time you're home to supervise. That way, if you get barking at the cat, you can gently draw the pup away and redirect onto a toy or a chew or something similar - without having to go chasing the puppy and making him hand-shy in the process. The best time to work on cat and dog stuff, will be when the pup is tired and sleepy - you want them to practise relaxing in each other's presence. Barking often comes from insecurity or nervousness in the pup - as the pup starts to feel more comfortable and less scared of the cat, the barking will reduce. But, since it's not very pleasant for the cat, it's best to interrupt it by distracting the pup or placing pup in another room...
There's a good instructional DVD puppy training video by Bill Hillmann called "The Art and Science of Raising a Puppy" Check it out. https://hawkeyemedia.net/
I wouldn't leave a food bowl in his crate. He should eat his meals and if he doesn't finish then that should be taken away. I'd be using most of his food ration for training to be honest.
What Ruth says ^. Use the food for training purposes 2-3x a day. If you don't use food for training and are just putting down a bowl, then as soon as the pup walks away from that bowl, it should be removed - don't leave it out with food in, for him to return to later in the day. Then he will just grow up to be a 'grazer' who doesn't value food and doesn't want to work for it - in other words - not so trainable...
