Bathing Your Dog

Here are some washing and bathing tips for your dog.

First, fill the tub or sink with warm water before you bring in your dog as some dogs do not react well to the sound of gushing water.

Use our four-towel approach by having one towel on the bottom of the tub to provide traction and to prevent slipping. The second towel is your antishake towel that you drape over your wet dog to prevent him from soaking you and the walls (before rinsing or between washes). The third and fourth towels are for drying your dog.

It’s also a good idea to position some steel wool in the drain to prevent hair clogging.

Brush your dog before his bath, helping the shampoo get deep into the coat and to work out any mats before they get set in by the water.

Prepare your dog’s eyes and ears. Your vet can recommend a good and bland eye ointment that you can apply pre-bath to eliminate doggy tears. For his ears, place a small piece of cotton wool in each of your dog’s ear canals to prevent water from entering the ear canal (remove these after the bath and don’t put them in too deep).

Lead your dog to the tub, using a leash if necessary, and place him in. Then wet your dog down to the skin. Begin shampooing at the neck and work your way down his body to his tail and toes. Once your dog has been sufficiently shampooed up, drain the tub’s water and then rinse thoroughly with water until all the shampoo has been removed.

Remember that you can reduce shedding by loosening ready-to-shed fur in the tub with a brush. This will also work the shampoo deeper into your dog’s coat and provide a nice massage.

Dogs usually dislike the smell of shampoo. To dogs, mint, pine and citrus just aren’t appealing. To prevent an immediate muddying of your hard work, don’t let your dog outside until he’s completely dry.

Cover your dog with your third towel and use your last towel to dry the face, then the ears and then the feet. If you dog doesn’t mind the noise, blow-drying is an option but you must be sure to use the cooler heat setting.