Shampoo & Conditioner

Question

  QUESTION: Hi.  Thanks in advance for your help with this question!  I have a 5 month old, black-tri Australian Shepherd (Sophie).  I will spare you all the details and just say is "all shepherd"!  We spend time in the state parks where there is plenty of water, sand and, yes, mud.  She also goes to "camp" a couple times a week where she swims and roughhouses with ever dog that slobbers!  Needless to say she is a happy little girl that is often covered with a thick coating of &@#%$.  She is developing a dense double coat and all the sand gets caught in the deepest layers.  I brush her daily but I am bathing her about once a week (after she swims) because the soap / conditioner seem to be the only way I can pry the "stuff" out of her undercoat.  Right now her adult coat is shiny and beautiful and I don't want to dry her out or create a skin condition.  So...my question...is there a shampoo & conditioner that I should be using for such frequent bathing or, is there an alternative to bathing her so much?

ANSWER: Cutie pie picture!
One of the things you may want to investigate is a HV force dryer. Aside from drying the coat it forces air up and into and under the densest coat to help remove sand and fluffy undercoat.  Metro Force is just one of the popular brands and it will help remove those blown out coats twice a year as well.
You should always dilute the shampoo heavily when you have a densely coated dog in order to get all the soap out and get it down into the skin. 10 to 1 is a good rule of thumb. Better to give 2 diluted shampoos than one thick and goopy one that takes forever to wash out the suds... That WILL dry out the skin and coat. You can use a conditioner for sure but try to avoid highly perfumed ones- dogs don't really care if they smell good- in fact it's just the opposite.
enjoy your lovely pet!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your advice. Any recommendation on which brand of shampoo and conditioner?

Answer
there are a zillion shampoos on the market. You can make it whatever you like. I try to find the least perfumed- irritant- and the least drying. No oatmeal...
Botanicals are best.
#1 AllSystems has a good line of higher end, on the low end I really like the Hartz Mountain new line
just dilute as I said before.
A good wide handled short toothed rake helps pull out undercoat as well
good luck!