After a walk or before bed, it can be good to give our dirty dogs a quick clean; ideally using gentle quality dog wipes. Very handy and inexpensive, antibacterial wipes for dogs are a must-have at home and regardless of the occasion, you will use them at some point.
Whether you need to treat your dog’s bacterial and fungal skin infections, or you simply want to freshen up your pet in between two baths, antiseptic and cleaning wipes for dogs are very convenient. Get the box, take one sheet out, wipe your pooch, and put the cloth in the bin. Job is done!
A dog’s skin and dog’s epidermis are a lot more sensitive to chemicals and irritations than human skin. This is because a dog’s epidermis is alkaline — dog skin has a pH level around 7 versus a more acidic 5.5 pH level for human skin. Therefore, you should never use any human antibacterial wipe on your pets, it may harm them more than doing them good.
Different Uses of Dog Wipes
Dog wipes are disposable pieces of cloth that are soaked up with a liquid containing a particular formula. Because of such versatility, wipes for dogs can be used in so many different situations. The active compounds making up this formula will determine what is this wipe good for:
- grooming
- paw cleaning
- ear wax control
- yeast infections
- fungal infections
- tear stain removal
- bacterial infections
- plaque and tartar control
We’re listing all the most popular types of cleaning wipes for dogs below so you can see which ones you may need to buy now. If you didn’t know, even dental wipes exist to clean up your dog’s teeth.
Antiseptic and Antibacterial Wipes For Dogs
Skin infections can be caused by several microorganisms including yeast, bacteria, fungi, microbes, grease, acne and ringworms. Every single dog obviously carries some of these organisms at all times but it is their accumulation for an extended period of time that may cause irritation or infection of the skin, eye, ears, etc.
A dog following a balanced and complete diet should be healthy enough to have strong defense mechanisms from its immune system. Yet, most dogs will encounter at some point(s) during their life a skin condition that will translate into either:
- bacterial folliculitis — called the barber’s itch, occurs when hair follicles get infected with Staphylococcus aureus
- sore bumps — red swollen spots that will cause itchiness or soreness to the dog
- dull or shedding coat — the quality of the dog’s coat drops near infected zones, expect dandruff too
- pyoderma and pustules — a pus-filled spot, or several, appearing in a particular area of the dog
The Pet MD Chlorhexidine Wipes are our favorite antibacterial dog wipes because they are a non-stinging topical treatment for skin infections, ringworm, and hot spots. The formula has strong antifungal properties and will kill most types of yeast and bad bacteria found on dog skin.
Because a dog’s skin is very sensitive, antiseptic wipes for dogs should never contain high doses of harsh ingredients commonly found in human antiseptic solutions. With dog cleaning wipes, antimicrobial properties should come from small doses of strong compounds such as chlorhexidine, ketoconazole in an alcohol-based solution.
Too gentle antifungal wipes would simply smell nice but lack efficiency and strength in getting rid of microbes, bacteria, yeast, and parasites.
Grooming Wipes For Dogs
Dog grooming wipes are mainly used by dog owners to give pets a quick clean in between two full bathing sessions. Depending on the size of the dog you will need more or less grooming wipes but your dog will smell better and feel fresher.
Be careful since most dog grooming wipes are only here to mask any bad smell coming off your dog’s coat or skin — these wipes don’t actually fight against the bacteria or parasites causing the bad smell, they just add a layer on top of it.
We recommend Pogi’s Grooming Wipes because of their thorough action on your dog’s coat and undercoat while remaining completely environmentally friendly. Indeed, Pogi’s Grooming Wipes are:
- completely free of harsh chemicals such as chlorine, alcohol, fragrances, and parabens
- hypoallergenic and earth-friendly since they quickly break down
- great for cleaning sensitive areas such as a dog’s paws and bum
Grooming wipes should definitely be gentler than antibacterial wipes for dogs because they are used more frequently. You may want to also look at the best dog colognes and deodorizing wipes for more grooming products.
Dental Wipes For Dogs
Dog’s mouths require as much care as ours: daily toothbrushing. The problem is that using dog toothpaste isn’t always an easy thing to do for most dog owners. Especially with untrained dogs, dental hygiene can be a difficult act: the dog will move, escape and eventually, get super anxious and hide.
Dog teeth wipes, also called tooth wipes, are the most convenient replacement
Our favorite dental wipes are the Petkin Toothwipes that will safely yet effectively clean your dog’s teeth and gums. Petkin dog teeth wipe freshens your dog’s breath thanks to their strong antibacterial action, reducing tartar and plaque. No water or rinsing is needed but you should use wipe your dog’s teeth daily. Lastly, it contains baking soda as a safe whitening agent for a nicer doggy smile!
Ear Wipes For Dogs
Dog ears are the body parts most dog owners want to avoid cleaning simply because dog ear cleaning is an unpleasant experience for the dog, and requires a lot of handling from the owner during the whole process.
We found out that doing a proper ear cleaning at the vet followed by using dog ear wipes regularly helps hugely with keeping your dog’s ears clean and fresh. Ear wipes are cheap to buy, priced around the $10-mark for a six-month supply, and will effectively prevent ear infections when used twice a week.
Our favorite pick, Pet MD Dog Ear Cleaner Wipes, has a veterinary-prepared formula that removes debris, reduces the wax build-up in the ear canal, and dries the dog’s ears. Keeping ears dry is extremely important because, without moisture, yeast and bacteria will have a very hard time to grow.
When buying ear wipes, you have to be 200% sure that the ingredients used don’t include harsh compounds—ear skin is even more fragile and sensitive! Make sure the ear cleaning wipes are alcohol-free and non-irritating. Ear wipes shouldn’t be used on puppies that are less than four months old.
Eye Wipes For Dogs
Tears, mucus, and saliva are the primary cause of hair stains on dogs; they are hard to get rid of so make sure you clean them up using the best eye wipes for dogs whenever you start seeing them. Because of where these stains are, mainly near the dog’s eyes or mouth, it is extremely important to use a reputable well-rated dog eye cleaner.
Each pre-soaked eye wipe should only contain natural plant-based ingredients and most definitely avoid alcohol, fragrance, bleach and other synthetic chemicals. Otherwise, you risk burning or irritating your dog’s eye and face huge vet bills to just do some damage control. With a natural hypoallergenic tear stain remover such as the Petpost Tear Stain Remover Wipes, you can wipe your dog’s tear stains without risking any eye irritation.
If your dog breed commonly has leaky eyes, get yourself a box of these hypoallergenic plant-based eye wipes. Once you start cleaning your pet’s stained eyes, it may take a few days or weeks to see the original color back, depending on the severity of the stains.
Wipes are a dog owner’s best friends and they are so cheap that it’s easy to always have some of them stashed up at home. Whether your dog needs a quick coat grooming, ear cleaning, or skin disinfection, dog wipes will come in handy.
About the debate on dog wipes vs baby wipes, the only recommendation is to never use human or baby wipes onto a dog’s body, regardless of the body part. There are some very gentle baby wipes out there that would most likely be acceptable for dogs but it simply is not worth taking the risk considering how cheap dog cleaning wipes are.
2 comments on “Best Dog Wipes — Antibacterial Wipes for Cleaning, Grooming, Earwax & Tartar”
Are these wipes effective against the Corona virus, for people concerned with petting dogs and then someone else pets them and the virus trasfers through the fur? Do you have any response to this? Thanks!
Don’t let others touch your dogs, simple.