Lightening dog fur eventually becomes necessary when you have a white or blond dog. Learn the ropes of safe whitening for dogs and what to avoid. Reduce chances of irritating your dog’s coat and fur, too.
How To Lighten Black Dog Hair
Some dog owners think that their pet’s fur is too dark or black. While many dog owners just let their dogs be, some go the extra mile to lighten their pets’ fur somehow. While completely bleaching the hair is never recommended, there are some ways that you can safely reduce the darkness of your dog’s fur without compromising your dog’s health and safety.
Your dog’s safety is paramount, and the styling products that are safe for humans are certainly not safe for dogs, so don’t attempt to use these anymore. One of the most significant disadvantages of trying to bleach your dog’s fur is the risk of your dog’s skin having a reaction to the chemicals in the bleach.
Should your dog have no skin reaction, there’s still the risk of your dog accessing the bleaching agent and having internal issues after ingestion. Instead of putting your dog’s health at risk, follow the strategies outlined today to lighten or whiten your dog’s fur safely.
How Can I Lighten My Dogs Fur?
The safest method of lightening a dog’s fur is using a whitening, or brightening shampoo explicitly manufactured for dogs. There are brightening shampoos for people, and these aren’t it. Never use styling solutions because many of the chemicals added to these styling solutions are unsafe for dogs.
Some of you might be wondering that human shampoos are sometimes used on dogs and don’t die from these products. Using human shampoo on your dog a few times might not cause problems, but eventually, the chemicals in the human shampoo will damage your dog’s skin.
Imagine using shampoo all over your body – that’s when problems will begin to emerge. Dog shampoos are formulated differently from human shampoos, full stop. Human shampoos are also known to cause hair loss due to severe pH fluctuations. Human shampoos are pretty acidic, too.
Brightening shampoos for dogs are made primarily made for dogs with white fur. It’s understandable because many factors can cause a white dog’s skin to turn brownish or yellowish. Owners of white dogs are often amazed as to how much their pets’ coats can change colors through the seasons, depending on the condition of the dog/s, too.
While owners still love their dogs no matter what, we can’t argue against the reasoning that color blemishes on a dog’s coat can make the animal look aged and sick. Coat care is part of the regular care of dogs, and if the proper methods are used, no harm will come to the dog with lighter fur. There are different kinds of dog shampoos that affect the color of the skin.
- Bluing shampoos– This shampoo-type contains optical optimizing compounds that make your dog’s fur look brighter and lighter than it is. Bluing compounds counteract compounds on the fur that are primarily brownish, brassy, or orange. The result is a white-looking coat. Blonde dogs will benefit the most from bluing shampoos because their coats are light all over and can easily stain.
- Clarifying shampoos– These shampoos are much stronger than bluing shampoos. Clarifying shampoos are designed to brighten the coat while cleaning it. The right brand can help restore fur that’s been stained by contaminants, saliva, and tears for weeks or months. However, care should be taken in regularly applying clarifying shampoos because of their high potency. Overuse of clarifying shampoos can also cause irritation and possible skin inflammation.
- Enzymatic shampoos– These are dog shampoos that contain enzymes that neutralize protein-based stains on the coat. These are biological enzymes that work similarly to enzymes added to organic detergents.
Blood, saliva, and tear stains are all biological stains that are susceptible to certain enzymes. Use this type of shampoo if you think that much of the staining that you see on your dog comes from saliva or even food sticking to the coat.
- Bleaching shampoos– Some unique formulations are marketed as bleaching shampoos for dogs. Are they all safe? We cannot vouch for any brand, so be very careful when using any bleaching shampoo. As far as we know, you can’t bleach dog coats at all.
Does Baking Soda Whiten Dogs Fur?
Yes, baking soda can help lighten a dog’s fur. It works particularly well on blonde or white coats that have grayed out in time.
Adult dogs, especially senior dogs, will have plenty of gray hair due to years of exposure to any environment. Baking soda has a natural bleaching action that does not interfere with the biological chemistry of your dog’s skin, and therefore it is not harmful and may be used when needed.
There are two methods of using baking soda to lighten fur:
- Paste – Create baking soda paste by combining two tablespoons of baking soda with a bit of water. Mix until you obtain a pasty consistency. Apply it directly to the affected/stained area.
- Bathwater – Add baking soda to your dog’s bathwater and apply liberally all over the dog’s coat. Depending on the quantity of bathwater, you may have to use one tablespoon or several tablespoonsful depending on what type of graying you are trying to resolve.
How Can I Lighten My White Dog’s Fur?
You can lighten your white dog’s fur by using brightening or clarifying shampoos or applying baking soda to your dog’s bathwater. However, keep in mind that dog shampoos have varying potencies and the most potent ones need to be used sparingly as these brands may cause skin irritation and even hair loss in the long term.
How Can I Whiten My Dogs Fur Naturally?
A safe and natural method of whitening dog fur naturally is applying cornstarch. First, get a large brush and brush your dog’s coat to loosen dirt and other contaminants. Then, after a good meeting, sprinkle plain cornstarch on your dog’s skin and touch again. The second brushing should give your dog’s coat a brighter finish. Repeat as necessary until you see your dog’s fur naturally glowing again, minus the dirt.
