On our road trip through Colorado, there were a few grooming products I forgot to bring that would have made our canine companions lives more pleasant – a flea comb and degreaser.

A flea comb should be part of every dog’s travel bag. They have a million uses and not just for finding fleas! In areas where there are ticks, a flea comb can help find the little buggers (gentle combing of course – you do not want to accidentally knock the body off the tick and leave the head still embedded). Flea combs are also great for pulling dirt out of short coats, removing tangles from long coats and for working through a dense coat by hand in an attempt to find any number of creepy crawlies. As part of a canine first aid kit, they are a quick way to get fur clear of an injury and remove any dirt that may be in the area with precision and ease.

A degreaser may seem like an unlikely candidate for a road trip but how many times have you been away with your dog and they have gotten into something gross? Ever tried to clean up the mess with dish soap or some other harsh cleaning agent? Ick is all I will say.

The problem I encountered on this trip was sap. There are tons of trees in Colorado and the dogs were constantly getting sap on their coats, which dirt and crud would then stick to, making a bigger mess. The only way I know of to get rid of sap without breaking out the scissors is butter – butter neutralizes the sticky part of sap and then you can easily wash the butter off the spot…normally. Dish soap on dog fur however is messy and can dry out the skin and washing it out of the fur can be a problem.

Degreaser is used to cut not only the natural oils produced by dogs but also any greasy mess a dog may get into. It can be used prior to a bath or can be used as a ‘spot cleaner’ in the case of sap, engine oil, or any other grossness a dog may get stuck in their fur.