Saturday 9 July 2011

Bob Martin Stay Fresh 2-in-1 Dog Shampoo review


Ever since I was a kid, I've always had a dog, or most of the time, two. My first childhood pet (after innumerable hamsters and a few rabbits and guinea pigs) was Jenny, a lovely alsatian/collie-cross, accompanied a few years later by her son Bobby. Here at The Madhouse, we first got Vicky, a mini-Maltese, about six years ago, then her son Didou came along (accompanied by six brothers and sisters, but there was no way we were keeping all of them !). They could be described as two lovable, slightly mental balls of fun and white fluff who are always up for a game with the kids.



The trouble with long-haired white dogs is two-fold though. Number one - their fur gets everywhere. We have furballs all over the place, stuck to the carpets, under the bed and the settee, all the way up and down the stairs and, if you ever dare to wear anything black before giving them a stroke, all over your legs too ! The other problem is, their fur is a magnet for bits of grass, broken twigs, mud and anything else they can find when they go snuffling around outside that they can get matted into their fur.

They have regualr trips to the grooming parlour a few times a year to keep it all under control but I was really pleased when Bob Martin offered me a bottle of their dog shampoo to test.

The first thing that really struck me about the product was the packaging. It doesn't look like dog shampoo, it looks like human shampoo ! In fact, I had to rescue it from the shower because Madhouse Daddy Mike, who hadn't looked closely and spotted the picture of dogs on the label, had put it on the shelf next to the shower gel and shampoo bottles assuming it was for us, not the pets ! Luckily I went looking for it before anyone used it !

The 2-in-1 formula both cleans and conditions your dog’s skin and coat and Bob Martin's make three promises : it will provide long lasting freshness; capture and banish stale doggy smells; and it will help protect the skin and coat from drying out. Off to the bath to find out (making sure to close ALL the bedroom doors beforehand because they always go absolutely mental and rush around all over the house shaking themselves after a bath !).

Well, the first thing that hit me was the gorgeous orange fragrance - it still seems more like a human shampoo than a dog shampoo. I'd be tempted to try it myself to see if I got glossy hair but I don't fancy the wet nose or the irrepressible urge to do rude things with the postman's leg ! It lathered up nicely, rinsed out easily too and got rid of all the grime (and smell !) that was caught up in the dogs' coats. It didn't get rid of all the tangles, but I wasn't expecting it to because even the really expensive dog shampoos don't, but it did leave their fur (and the whole bathroom) feeling soft and above all smelling lovely.

It's a really nice product - just make sure everybody notices the picture of dogs on the label and doesn't mistakenly take it in the shower with them !

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £3.49 for 250ml


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