Are You Having Troubles Bathing Your Dog?

Author: lietnyks

 “How do I bathe my dog?” That’s a question that plagues all dog owners. This article will help shed some light on that question. The answer to that question varies with the breed of dog you have and its age, length of coat and condition of skin. Hopefully, we can give you some tips that will go for all breeds.

One of the most important facets of taking care of your dog properly is learning how to bathe your dog. It can create a stressful situation and you can end up hating the time you spend bathing your dog, just as much as your dog hates being bathed. If you have the knowledge of how to correctly bathe your dog, then it might create a nice bond for you and your dog.
 

The bath should last for roughly 15 minutes if done correctly. If you bathe your dog fast, your dog will hate the bath less. The washing can be accomplished in a bathtub, a large enough sink, or outside using a hose or child’s plastic swimming pool, depending on the size of your dog. All of this, of course, depends on how big or small your dog is as well as reactions to water, and training of your dog. The best thing is to bathe your dog in the same place every time otherwise you will risk causing your dog to be insecure and anxious when you bathe it. If your dog is going to be a large dog and right now it’s a puppy, be sure to bathe in the exact location you will give the bath when it grows up. Don’t make the mistake of bathing it in a sink and then moving its spot when it gets larger. Your poor dog will be afraid of bath time and you won’t be able to do a very good job.

If your dog is little or it’s a puppy, then be sure to hold them on the underside. Place their front legs in between your fingers. This will allow you to have a successful bath time with your dog without them running away or putting up a fight. Once you have them secure, wet down your dog. If you can use a shower type attachment on the hose, that would be the best idea. Be sure to get the dog’s skin wet completely before putting the shampoo on. Be sure before you start bath time that the hair is free of tangles or of the hair being matted. If you have a dog that has extremely long hair, be sure that’s checked out for matting especially.

Here are general tips to make bathing your dog a more successful and less stressful activity:

1. Use pet shampoo instead of people shampoo. It’s not that baby shampoo would not be gentle, but dogs have a different pH balance than we do. The dog’s shampoo has two very different points in it regarding the pH than people’s shampoo does. In other words, your dog’s skin could become dried out if you use people shampoo.
2. Bathe your dog one time a month. Some of the breeds of dogs will be able to go even longer. Ask your vet to give you the best information regarding when to bathe your dog.
3. Remember to brush the dog’s coat both before and after the bath.
4. Be sure to protect your dog’s ears by putting cotton balls inside the ears before you bathe them, to keep them from getting an ear infection. Once you are finished you can take the cotton balls out.

5. If you get shampoo accidentally in their eyes, you can wash their eyes out with warm water or you can use saline such as used for contact lenses.
6. When you have finished putting shampoo on your dog, be sure to rinse it out completely, especially in the sensitive areas such as between the toes. Otherwise, they will become irritated and cause your dog to lick itself.
7. Once the bath is over, dry your dog completely. If your dog loves to run around and roll in the grass after its bath it will pick up stuff and totally take away all the work you just did. Just remember, dog’s just love to run around and the grass, and even worse sometimes dirt, just draws the dog to roll in it after a bath.

Hopefully, the information provided gives you an idea of what will make bathing your dog more successful and will allow you to have a bonding experience instead of a horrible event for both dog and you.