The finished product relies on the foundation.

 
As a self-proclaimed product junkie, I have tried every shampoo, every conditioner, every “deep” conditioner, all of the clarifying shampoos.  I have used so much hairspray that it seems there is a permanent hole in the ozone wherever I groom my poodle.  I have the best collection of hair tonics known to man and dog.
 
Scented, unscented, herbal, organic, vegan (yes that’s a thing in shampoo) I have used them all.  I've even used some things that I couldn’t pronounce but I thought they would help my dog shine and I would win.
 
I will tell you the one thing that they all have in common, most of them do what they say they are going to do if they are used and diluted properly.  When using any shampoo that needs to be diluted please do yourself a favour and dilute according to directions.  Whether washing or conditioning. Even if you are using a clarifying product on your dog if you do not follow the directions there is a good chance you are not going to get the desired result.
 
Now I know some of us are frugal and I know some of us think that money is no object when it comes to spending it on dog grooming products (I personnaly needed a 7 step program to overcome this) If you are diluting your shampoo or conditioner or any product for that matter and you are diluting it beyond the product recommendations then the product most likely will not work as promised.
 
The same thing applies in reverse.   If you take a product and use it straight/concentrated on your dog when it should be diluted then again you're not going to get the desired result.
 
Most products are being sold concentrated in some matter so that it is cheaper and easier to ship them.  The manufacturers will recommend a dilution rate that was formulated by the product designer.  This is a carefully, usually scientific formula based on months and years of testing. Many companies will also ask that you dilute their product in distilled water.  This may seem like an unneeded step but the reason for this is that what shampoos and conditioners start out as a concentrate and then most are diluted when bottled with distilled water to preserve the pH value of that product.  When we dilute the product at home our chlorinated or mineralized water can greatly change the desired pH.  As well there can be other contaminants in the water that can affect the performance of the shampoo or conditioner.
 
When diluting please pay attention to the ratio recommended and whenever possible used distilled and I promise that you will get much better results.
 
 Another thing to consider when bathing your dog either for maintenance or for a show bath is the length of time that you leave the product on your dog.
 
I have seen people bath a Poodle, or large double coated breed or even a drop coated breed in about four minutes!  Even if you could thoroughly wet, shampoo, lather and rinse your dog in this amount of time there is no way that the product was on the hair or in the hair long enough for it to have the desired effect.
 
 I like to shampoo my dog thoroughly. Leave the shampoo on for approximately 2 to 3 minutes and then I will rinse the shampoo out kind of half-heartedly so it is about 75% rinsed ou.t I will then do a second shampoo paying particular attention  to problem areas such as around the ears and the undercarriage of the dog.
 
If my dog requires conditioner I usually leave this on for 5 to 10 minutes so that the conditioning agents can really get into that hair and then I am careful to rinse according to product directions.
 
I use a plain old measuring cup to accurately get the ratio of shampoo or conditioner to water exactly right.  Some people prefer to use a bottle with measurements right on it and they add the product and then the water.
 
One reason I like to sue a measuring cup is I like to use an immersion blender to thoroughly mix my conditioner with water. At one time I used to measure the water and conditioner and shake or stir but I was finding I was still having threads of conditioner floating in the water.   It seemed to me that it was hit and miss as to whether that conditioner actually got onto the hair.  By using an immersion blender you can be sure the product gets well mixed in with the water.
 
You may have an old blender in your kitchen, it just needs to mix-doesn’t need fancy attachments. If you don’t have one the cheapest one you can find at your local discount store or Walmart will do just fine. Remember you aren’t worried about if your hollandaise will turn out, just how your puppy will turn out!
 
Some of my current favourite products include   Plush Puppy   Natural Bodybuilding shampoo,  Plush Puppy Silk protein conditioner, as well for deep conditioning I like the Plush Puppy Protein Balm.  For clarifying my favourite product is the #1 All Systems Skin Refresher and Coat re-texturizer.
 
In the end your favourite product will probably work just fine as long as you follow these steps and let them do the job they were designed to do.

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