Patent ID: 8153613

Claim:
A method for treating an animal's teats to provide a protective germicidal barrier film between milkings, the method comprising: milking the animal; coating the teats with a teat dip product after milking; and allowing the dip product to dry and form a layer of film on said teats, wherein the teat dip product includes: a) from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of a polysaccharide material having a majority amount of polysaccharide component that is determined on the basis of total polysaccharide material and is selected from the group consisting of modified starch, hydrolyzed starch, starch derivative and combinations thereof; the majority amount of polysaccharide component having on average an overall Dextrose Equivalence (DE) value ranging from 2 to 50; b) from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of at least one antimicrobial active agent; c) a viscosity suitably adjusted to provide a viscosity ranging from 100 cPs to 4000 cPs; and d) at least one solvent constituting at least 50% by weight of the teat dip product.