Veterinarians often prescribe medicated shampoos to help their patients with skin problems such as itching, foul odour and hair loss. These shampoos may contain a combination of active ingredients such as antifungals (for killing yeast organisms), antibacterial agents and products to remove excess oil, dead skin cells and flakes as well as products to soothe, moisturize and protect the skin. A key factor for success for all these products is for them to stay on the pet long enough to be effective. This is referred to as contact time.
If the instructions for your pet’s medicated shampoo say to wait 10 minutes before rinsing, you really do need to wait the full 10 minutes!! Of course, 10 minutes can feel MUCH longer with a wet, shivering, miserable dog – so make sure to actually time yourself .
Better yet, why not make a fun bath time playlist that you know will last for the required time. Then, after a nice rinse, both you and your dog can feel good knowing that the shampoo has had a chance to work properly 🙂