Thread: Is it okay to bathe a dog with Dawn dish soap?

Okay my dog Rocky's fur is a bit oily and I read that you can wash them with a little bit of Dawn dish soap then repeat with their regular shampoo. Is that okay?
I mean they wash the animals that get caught in oil spills with it so I don't think it would do any harm...

If it makes any difference, he's a chihuahua mix(the dog in the pic <-).
*to John* - lol No, he likes to be outside most of the day in our backyard so he gets dirty pretty quickly.

Also, it's not like I'd be pouring a giant glob on him! More like a quarter or nickel sized amount.

Foodie Girl - Thanks for the powder idea!
The place where I read about using Dawn was a cat website but I didn't think a dog would be any different. :/
Rocky and I thank-you for correcting me!

Unless your dog has got covered by oil at the beach, this is NOT a good idea.
Dawn is detergent, it will dry your dogs skin and dull his coat - it strips the natural protective oil, not a good thing at all. Dawn is also very dangerous if it gets in the dog's eyes or down his throat - it burns.

I know people are always advising Dawn to get rid of fleas, but that's not very constructive either, it just kills a few adult fleas, as any bath would, the eggs and larvae hatch and the dog is infested againl

Stick to a shampoo made for dogs - I use HyLite on my little dogs, it was recommended by people who show their dogs, gets them beautifully clean with nice coats -- and I only shampoo my dogs once a month (unless they roll in something nasty), just before their new dose of Advantix.

Not good to wash a dog too often, causes dry skin and dull coats.

It is fine. Although there are about 10000000 different pet shampoos that can correct any problem, dawn in not harmful unless a large amount is consumed.