How to Bathe Your Dog

As a pet owner, one of your major responsibilities is keeping your dog clean. You can do this several ways. You can wipe the dog clean with a damp wash cloth, keep the dog indoors when it has just rained and your surrounding areas are muddy, and of course, bathing your dog when he has gotten too dirty. Bathing a dog is a relatively easy task. Some people balk at doing this because they worry that the dog would not be easy to control, or simply do not have the extra time to spare. For these people, they normally allow their dog groomers or veterinarians bathe their pets. Of course there are still others who find bath time the perfect time to bond with their canines. If you’re out to bathe your doggie, realize that dogs, unlike humans, do not require a bath every day. On the average, dogs should be bathed at an average of once or twice a month. Bathing too often would wreak havoc on his coat. If you want to be sure how often you should bathe your pet, consult a veterinarian and follow his advice. Naturally, if your dog becomes unnaturally soiled after playing out in the yard, then you may bathe him out of schedule. When you’re going to bathe your dog, get everything ready first. You will need more than just a shampoo and a towel (or two). You will also need an old blanket, a washcloth, brush, comb, a trash bin and hair conditioner (if you want to make his coat extra soft). Bring the towels, shampoo, conditioner and the washcloth to the bathing area, the rest you leave where you will prep up our dog afterwards.

Before you pour water over your dog’s body, brush his coat first. Brushing is done to remove debris from his coat and to untangle matted hair (which will be harder to untangle when the coat is wet). When the dog has been brushed, put a few cotton balls in his ears before you wet the dog’s body. The cotton balls will absorb any water that may enter the ear canal thus prevent any ear infections.

Once the coat is wet, you may begin shampooing his hair. Although human shampoos smell nice, you must not use this for your dog. The pH levels (acidity or alkalinity) of pet shampoos are lower than those of humans. Using human shampoo on dogs would eventually dry out their coat. Use pet shampoo at all times. If this is unavailable, a good alternative would either be baby shampoo or herbal shampoo.

Lather your dog with your hands from head to toe, but use a washcloth to clean his face. Rinse by pouring water over his body and make sure that you remove all traces of soap or shampoo residue from his skin, particularly the areas between his toes. Don’t pour water over his head. Instead, use the washcloth again to wipe his face clean. If you want to make his coat softer to touch, you may use conditioner after you’ve washed off all the shampoo. If you don’t want to do this, you can start drying him off.

Dogs seem to sense when bath time is over and would shake themselves dry. If you don’t want to be sprayed by water, put one of the two towels over his head and use the second one to dry his body.

Bring him out of the wash area and place him on the blanket and continue rubbing the towel over his body to dry him. Others use hand-held hair dryers. This will finish the job faster but it is not highly recommended. The heat coming from the dryer may could damage the dog’s coat (or be too hot for him). If you insist on using a hair dryer, make sure that the heat setting is put on low and avoid pointing the nozzle directly towards his face.

When you are done drying his coat, remove the cotton buds from his ears and throw them out. Brush your dog’s coat once again to detangle his hair, and if you want to pamper the dog, dab a bit of moisturizing cream on his paw pads and spray on a bit of perfume.

Now you have a clean dog that is a joy to behold.