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Dog Bathing

Owning a dog can be a lot of work. Among the main tasks involved in caring for your dog are feeding, bathing, grooming, and exercise.

Bathing is an important part of the overall grooming process.

Many groomers tend to bathe dogs with too warm of water. This can be uncomfortable for the dog and in some cases: dangerous. If the bath water is too warm, you can overheat the dog. Adding a hot dryer to this and you could cause a problem especially with large breeds and dogs that are overweight who have a difficult time cooling down.

For water to feel warm to your touch the temperature must be higher than your body temperature which is 98.6. Water that feels warm is over 100 degrees, much too warm for the dog's bath.

Water that is between 70 and 80 degree is perfect. It should feel "room temperature" to you. Protect the dog from chilling after the bath by wrapping in a towel and using a warm (not hot) dryer.

Comb a long-haired dog before a bath. Then you won't have to untangle wet hair. Brushing is often recommended before bathing, to remove dead skin and loose hair. Human shampoos are generally not recommended, due to pH differences between humans and dogs.

Here are some general steps:

Rinse the dog completely.
Apply the shampoo on dog's back. Lather well. Repeat for belly, legs and tail.

Mix a small amount of shampoo to a quart of water in a 1 quart squirt bottle. Shake to mix and apply directly to the dry coat. Work the diluted shampoo into the coat with your hands (or a slicker brush for thicker coats.) When you have covered the entire dog, rinse with clean water.

There are several shampoos made especially for dogs. There are shampoos for light colored dogs, dogs with sensitive skin, dogs with fleas, etc. Your local pet store will have a variety of shampoos to chose from. Do not use shampoo meant for humans on you dog. It can be harmful to them if it gets in their eyes or they ingest it buy drinking the bathwater.

Short-haired dogs can be scrubbed in a circular pattern. It may be easier to wash medium-length haired with a back-and-forth motion; longer-haired dogs in the direction of hair growth.

No matter what type of shampoo you use, also keep a diluted tearless shampoo bottle handy for the face.

A washcloth can be used to wash the dog's sensitive head and face.
Rinse again, holding the water with one hand as you work out the soap with another.
Rinse, rinse, and rinse again to make sure you have removed all shampoo.
Run your hand all along the dog to remove excess water. Squeeze longer hair to remove excess water.
Towel-dry. Use a hair dryer on longer haired dogs, but use a very low heat setting because of the sensitivity of the dog's skin to heat.

Many use an indoor tub for dog bathing. For many home owners this can be burdensome, especially with large dogs. If you have an outside dog, chances are they may be particularly more dirty than an inside dog. Getting your large, dirty dog inside can be difficult and messy. You can always wash your dog outside with a water hose. It is important to be conscious of the outside temperature and the temperature of your outside faucet water.

It may be useful to purchase an elevated dog bath tub that brings the dog up to the level of the human, not vice versa. The ability to wash your dog without bending down or getting on your knees is not only convenient, but less stressfull on your body. Many tubs also have straps to hold your dog inside the tub and prevent them from slipping and hurting themselves. A simple search for dog bath tub will reveal many providers of quality tubs especially for bathing your dog. They can also subsitute for a grooming table.

When they are totally dry, you can spray them with a doggie perfume. Again, your local pet store will have a variety of fresh smelling sprays for your dog.

After that, all that's left to do is give your dog a treat. This way, they will begin to associate getting a bath with the treat and will see it as something to look forward to, not to fear.

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