Quick trick for dirty dogs

When I brought Bandit inside for the night after roughhousing with his buddies in the kennel for a good part of the day, let's just say he was smelling less-than-zestfully-clean. I don't know what it is about dogs, but if there is a way for them to get dirty, muddy, smelly, or all of the above, you can be darned sure they are going to find it.

Of course, the best solution would have been to give Bandit a bath. He had just been bathed two days ago, though, and frankly the idea of going through all that again so soon was a little daunting. Plus, even though I use a very gentle natural shampoo, I don't like to overdo the bathing frequency and dry out his skin.

So, I hopped over to the kitchen and whipped up a fresh batch of my favorite stinky-dog remedy. If I was trying to market this stuff, I suppose I'd call it something like, "Hoof and Howl Farm's Funky Dog Cleansing Spray". I love it, because it's super easy to make, gets the bad odors completely out of the coat in less than five minutes, doesn't have to be rinsed out, and cuts out the hours of post-bath drying time that my thick-coated pooches have to endure.

So how exactly do you go about making this miracle spritz? It's very simple - here's my current recipe, that uses common herbs and ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen:

1 spray bottle
4 1/4 cups water (roughly equal to one bottle of spring/bottled water, if you prefer)
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
2 tsp dried mint leaves
1 tsp vinegar

In a small saucepan, pour roughly 2 cups of the water. Add 1/2 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves, and 2 tsp dried mint leaves to the water, then bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 2 - 3 minutes, then remove from heat. Allow to steep for another 2 - 3 minutes.

Pour the liquid into a bowl - through a strainer to catch all the rosemary and mint leaves - then add the remaining water. Once it has cooled to a reasonable temperature, pour into the spray bottle. Add remaining 1/2 tsp of white vinegar, and shake vigorously.

It's ready to use right away - always shake before using. Just spritz it all over your dog and rub dry with a towel. It doesn't smell vinegar-y at all, and has a very mild herbal scent that doesn't "perfume" your dog (it smells stronger in the bottle than on the pooch). It's just the trick for getting out mild bad odors. Oh, and rosemary is supposed to have some anti-flea and anti-insect properties as well.

Oh, and not only does it leave them odor-free, but it also leaves their coat shiny, and feeling very soft. I just spritz them all over and rub them with a towel, out in the garage before they come back into the house. It takes less than 5 minutes per dog, and believe me when I say it is time well-spent.