Owning a dog can feel just as chaotic as looking after a baby. They get messy, want to roll around in all things smelly, and can’t help but get food everywhere.
When it comes to kids, you just grab a wet wipe, and with a quick swipe, they are clean! If it’s good enough for our precious babies, it’s good enough for our darling dogs, right?
Well, hold on to your nappy bags because the answer is not so simple.
Just as there are foods that our furry friends can’t eat but we love to gorge on, there are chemicals in our cleaning products that our skin and eyes can handle but aren’t so safe for our dogs.
So to help you figure out what is okay and what is not, I’ve made a guide about regular baby wipes, dog wet wipes, and the sensitive areas that you’ll likely want to wipe down (their bum, eyes, ears, and paws).
Are Regular Wet Wipes Safe for Dogs?
Using regular baby wipes or wet wipes on your dog on the odd occasion shouldn’t be a big problem, but you have to remember that baby wipes were made for babies.
You might be thinking that baby wipes are made to be sensitive to the delicate nature of babies’ skin, so they should be okay for the more rough-and-tumble nature of a dog, but that isn’t true.
Dogs can be more sensitive than humans, and not only that, they tend to need different things from us biologically.
For example, dogs’ pH levels are very different from human’s. If you are wondering what pH is, it is the acid or alkaline level in anything.
Because humans and dogs are clearly different biologically, this means we need different amounts of acid and alkaline to keep us healthy.
Disrupting these pH levels can cause irritation, dry skin, and itchy skin, and after a while, infections can occur. Baby wipes are designed to be sensitive, but they are made with babies in mind, so the pH level will not match a dog’s.
If you were to wipe your dog with a baby wipe, you would notice that your furry friend will start licking their paws (where you have wiped them) and try to lick the wipe itself.
This means the incorrect level of pH will be not only in your dog’s skin but also in their stomach and mouth.
This doesn’t mean that your dog’s skin will instantly become cracked and infected, but it does mean that you shouldn’t be using baby wipes on a dog as a normal practice.
If you like the easiness of wet wipes, this information could come as a blow. But don’t worry! There are wet wipes out there made especially for dogs!
Can I use Baby Wipes to Clean my Dog’s Ears, Eyes, Paws, or Bum?
Like I said before, if you are using baby wipes, it should only be on the odd occasion, but if it is the only thing you have around, then let’s look into how to do it.
Ears
This advice is for using baby wipes or dog wipes. When you want to use a wipe to clean your dog’s ears, make sure you are gentle.
You don’t want to push down on your dog’s ear canal, as this can cause a problem with their health, and it will probably confuse them.
Eyes
No wipes, made for babies or dogs, should be used on your dog’s eyes. If you clean the eyes incorrectly, it can cause a serious problem. Dog wipes, of course, will be more sensitive, but the best action will be to get a wet paper towel and wipe it off with water.
Paws
Dog’s paws are very sensitive and should only be wiped by wipes labeled as pet safe. Wet wipes are great for cleaning paws because they can get in between our dog’s toes and wipe away all the mud that gets stuck there!
Bum
As long as the wipes don’t have fragrances in them, you can use baby wipes to wipe your dog’s bum! As bums are used to being in not-so-pleasant situations, they are hardier than the rest of your buddy’s body.
So you don’t have to worry as much about the difference between baby wipes and dog wipes.
Is there a difference between Baby Wipes and Dog Wipes?
When I show you some dog wipes in a moment, you will instantly see that they are more expensive than regular baby wipes. Don’t let this put you off, though, as there is a good reason for the price hike.
As I said before, dogs have different pH levels, and that needs to be respected when it comes to your dog’s health. Dog wipes also avoid chemicals, fragrances, and parabens which would otherwise upset your dog in other ways.
One of the most common chemicals found in baby wipes is actually toxic for dogs as well as cats. This chemical is called propylene glycol.
If your cat or dog eats a large amount of propylene glycol, they can be poised. Because your dog is very likely to lick themselves, this is a real problem if you use baby wipes too often.
Stepping away from the panic-inducing idea of poison, another way that dog wipes are different from baby wipes is how big they are. They are also more robust.
This is because your dog is a big creature, and you need all the room you can get.
Dogs will also move around more and try to bite the wipe if they think you are playing with them.
Those are the two main differences between baby wipes and dog wipes. Now you know that dog wipes exist, which ones should you get?
What Dog Wipes are there?
It turns out there are quite a few dog wipes out on the market, and they aren’t hard to find. A search on Amazon will bring up a list of pet wipes designed specifically for your dog’s body.
Here are three Dog Wipes that I would recommend.
Pogi’s Grooming Wipes are hypoallergenic wipes for both cats and dogs. Being hypoallergenic means that if your dog is super sensitive or has allergies, this wipe will be safe for them.
It comes in a pack of 100 and is 8 by 9 inches. This means that if your dog is big and has a heavy coat, this wipe will be thick enough and large enough for you to use easily.
This pack comes in a fragrance of Green Tea. The refreshing smell will soothe your pup whilst you clean the mud out of their paws.
This is great if you want something that smells fresh, but if your dog doesn’t like a different scent on them, then you should go with their unscented collection.
Wet wipes, in general, have a reputation of being bad for the environment. Pogi’s Grooming Wipes have tried to combat that by making their wipes out of sustainably harvested bamboo.
This means they have sourced their materials in an earth-friendly way, but so far, their product isn’t recyclable or compostable.
Pros
- Made for Dogs
- 8 by 9 inches
- Green Tea or Unscented
- Hypoallergenic
- Made of Bamboo
Cons
- Most Expensive of the Three
- Not Recyclable or Compostable
The TropiClean is also made for sensitive dog skin and so doesn’t contain paraben, alcohol, soap, or dye. This means you can use the wipe on your buddy’s paws, face, body, and butt without any worries!
The TropiClean also has deodorizing ingredients so that if your dog is a smelly pup after a day’s run through the mud, you can get rid of the dirt and the wet dog smell in the same wipe.
These wipes are 7.8 inches by 7.8 inches, so although it isn’t as big as Pogi’s, it is still a good size for a dog!
Unlike Pogi’s, these wipes are not made from bamboo, but they are still earth-friendly as they are made from recycled materials.
It is amazing how these dog companies are ahead of the game when it comes to looking after our environment!
However, the wipes can’t be recycled or composted, so although those materials have had a second life in TropiClean’s wipes, they can’t gain another life after they have been used.
Pros
- Hypoallergenic
- 7.8 inches by 7.8 inches
- Deodorizing
- Made from recycled materials
- Unscented
Cons
- Only 100 wipes per pack
- Not Recyclable or Compostable
With a name like Earth Rated, you hope this dog wipe will go the final step and be recyclable, but they do one better. The Earth Rated Dog Wipes are compostable!
Because the materials used are all plant-based, these wipes can go right back into the natural cycle after you’ve used them!
Now you know they are great for the environment, let’s see how good they are for your dog! Earth Rated is hypoallergenic, so that it will be great for dogs with sensitive skin.
And the size is 8 inches by 8 inches, which is in the middle of Pogi’s and TropiClean’s sizes.
Earth Rated also has the same deodorizing ingredients that TropiClean has, meaning that you can get the wet dog smell out of the wet dog!
Pros
- Compostable
- Hypoallergenic
- 8 inches by 8 inches
- Deodorizing
- Made from Plants
- Unscented
Cons
- No Cons!
Why should I buy Eco-Friendly Wipes?
With all this talk of earth-friendly dog wipes, you might be wondering why it even matters. Regular wet wipes are causing a massive issue for the environment.
A lot of packages for regular wet wipes say they are flushable, but the fact is they aren’t! In the United Kingdom, an investigation found that the main reason for sewer blockage was wet wipes creating fatbergs.
Fatbergs are a large mass in sewer systems that are made up of non-biodegradable matter. The largest one in the investigation was in Whitechapel, London.
It was 820 feet long and weighed 130 tonnes! It took nine weeks to remove that monster, and when it was opened, the majority of the fatberg was wet wipes.
Because wet wipes are designed to be thrown away after just one use, we need to make sure that the rubbish we get rid of won’t last forever. Buying eco-friendly wipes is a massive step towards reducing our daily waste!
