Dog shampoo - February 3, 2012

They said on the radio this morning it was going to be more heavy fog. I was unimpressed. I drove Daniel to school and then came home, gave Anya a quick, groggy walk down the block. She really wanted to go back to sleep. And to eat the chicken wings someone had chucked onto the grass verge.

Ingrid took her to the groomer down the street because, to put it delicately, she was getting stinky. Now she's stinky in a new way, because there are no scent-free shampoo options here. It'll wear off in a couple days, and her fur will smell once more of corn chips. Fresh corn chips. When they smell like rotten corn chips, we'll take her back over.

Dog grooming for show is nothing new. Long-haired dogs need to be kept brushed to avoid matting, and I assume for as long as dogs have been close working companions, we've been helping them get burrs out of their coat and keep them healthy and functional. But shampoo? Given that humans only started washing their hair with shampoo (in the West anyway) about a hundred years ago, I wonder where the practice of dog-washing started? Was it a thing the nobles did with their fancy dogs who were allowed into the throne room or its equivalent? I can't imagine Beowulf washing the dog to let it into the mead-hall. But the Emperor of China? Sure.

In any case, I can't imagine serious dog grooming taking place (except to remove burrs and such) when the dog basically lives outdoors. It isn't until dogs become actual house pets that how they smell and the dirt they track in really makes much difference.

So when did that happen and where? I'm guessing it's a breed-specific and culture-specific back and forth. Salukis in the court of the Pharaoh? The Pekinese in the court of the Chinese Emperor? See this article from the British Royal Family's web site about dogs and royalty.