Whether your dog or horse has brushed up against engine oil or machine grease, or whether they have rolled in a riverbank lined with rotting salmon (like mine did!). There is a 2-part removal process, depending on how saturated they are.
If it’s just a little bit of oil or grease, or just in a few places, then just use Dawn dish soap and warm water to wash it out, and rinse with warm water too.
For my dog Kumba, he was literally dripping with globs of white rotted salmon slime. So I drove him in my truck bed to the car wash and used the car wash hose to rinse off all the slimy bits first. I kept testing the water with my hand to make sure it didn’t get too hot and didn’t apply full pressure to the wand.
Kumba understood how upset I was and stayed in the truck without being tied thank god.
You have to use warm or hot water when cleaning off grease or oil, as cold water just locks it into place.
Blot the oil first
But let’s say your dog or horse just got engine grease or oil on their coat. In that case, step 1 is to blot the oil off the coat. This can be done in either of these 3 ways:
- Use paper towel to blot and absorb excess oil
- OR take diatomaceous earth and sprinkle it directly on top of oil or grease. DE absorbs oil like crazy and I also used it to remove oil from my daughter’s hair after a lice treatment. Wait 5 minutes, then ruffle fur to shake out excess diatomaceous earth (DE).
- OR take half a cup of water and add enough baking soda to form a stiff paste. Then smear the paste over the greasy, oily spots and let it dry for 10-15 minutes. Brush off the baking soda with a stiff brush to remove as much as possible.
Wash the grease away
Now that you’ve removed any excess oil or grease, it’s time to simply use warm water and Dawn dish soap to shampoo out the oil. Use the warmest water temperature your dog or horse feels comfortable with.
Dawn works particularly well and is safe for animals, but I have used other dish soap brands successfully too.
After you have soaped away the oil or grease, rinse with warm water. You may need to soap twice to remove all the oil. Then dry with an old towel.
Note: This same procedure also works if your dog has rolled in anything dead or rotting. But for skunk spray, follow these directions instead.
Jini Patel Thompson is a natural health writer and Lazer Tapping instructor. She began riding at age 2 in Kenya, and got her first horse at age 8 in Alberta, and so continues a life-long journey and love affair with these amazing creatures.
