Dogs Worldwide

Some dogs are easier to bathe than others. The short haired dog, such as a boxer, are fairly easy to deal with. But the long haired dog, especially the larger ones can presents some problems and often require more than one to complete the task.

First off get hold of a good dog shampoo, one that will not hurt the dogs eyes. If your dog has a skin condition or fleas then it is best checking with your pet shot to see what is available locally. Good pet shops are a great resource for finding answers to simple questions. If your dog has fleas then you will need a shampoo that your don’t dilute because you’d be diluting the active ingredients. Please don’t ever use dish washing liquid or ordinary shampoo they are bad for your dogs hair and skin.

You’ve decided to bathe the dog. First step is to give him a good brush, and I can’t over stress this – give him a good brush before bathing. By doing so you will help remove all the dead hair and all the shedding from your dog, if your dogs coat is knotted or tangled then it is vital that you remove these before bathing. Shampoo does not remove knotted or tangled hair it does the opposite it makes the matting tighter and more difficult to remove.

OK ready to bathe! Starting at the neck wet the dog well from neck to tail but avoid the head face and ears for now. Once you have your dog wet begin by shampooing his hind legs, move onto the tail and the rear end (yes that needs cleaned to!!) Now move to the body check and front legs in that order. Now that the body of the dog is completed move onto the head face and ears. Gently lather these areas and be careful not to get shampoo suds in the dog’s eyes even if you are using a tearless shampoo. So the shampooing is complete now comes the rinsing, and this really is an important part in bathing a dog. You can’t rinse enough – rinse, rinse, rinse!

When rinsing first rinse off the shampoo starting at the head and working in the opposite direction than when you shampooed him. When rinsing the underbelly of the dog have him stand on his hind legs by lifting his front paws. Keep rinsing until all traces of shampoo have disappeared and the water is running clear. If any shampoo remains on the dog it can lead to itching, flaking and skin problems.

We all know that when wet a dog will shake vigorously, to prevent this wrap him in a large towel to absorb excess water. Now start drying: face, head, ears, body, front legs, back legs and finally the tail. If there is someone to help me I tend to finish off with a quick go of the hair blower, needless to say watch the heat setting, keep the temperature low.

There is no need to wash a dog on a week basis, once a month is more than enough. I aim to bathe my dog about once every five-six weeks

Tags: bathing dog, dog bathing

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 08:00 and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.