Your bath is one of the most important dog grooming tools in your arsenal. Your dog may beg to differ, after all dogs don’t mind being a bit smelly, in fact they positively enjoy being somewhat foul-smelling because that’s what gives them their identity in the eyes – or rather, noses – of other canines. There are specialist dog grooming bath tubs available but, unless you’re planning on setting up your own dog grooming business, I’d recommend adapting your existing (human) bathtub for the task. Specific dog grooming tubs are unnecessary unless your particular circumstances absolutely require it.
You will know that your dog takes a keen interest in how his doggy acquaintances smell, often sticking his nose onto the rear end of another dog he’s met in the park in the age old dog-equivalent of the handshake.
Although dogs find this practice perfectly fine and enjoy being somewhat smelly, we humans would rather they didn’t smell each others’ behinds or stink the house out when they come in after downpour. Nothing smells worse than a wet dog that’s overdue for a bath.
The solution to tackling these rotten odours is to bathe your dog regularly. So, follow these simple steps and your pooch will smell and look great.
How Often Should You Bathe a Dog?
There is a lot of nonsense talked about how often to bathe a dog and I’ve heard people mention numbers as large as once or twice a year. I don’t know about you, but my dog gets dirty much more quickly than that. If I left it a year between bathtimes, we’d be able to smell him coming from several blocks away. The ideal frequency depends on how much of a mucky pup your animal is. Does he go digging in the garden at every opportunity? Does he like to roll around in cow-pats, or even worse, does he pick fights with skunks? If the answer is, “yes”, then you’ll want to wash your dog more often than the average, but if he’s an obsessive-compulsive who avoids dirt at any costs then you will be able to get away with less frequent cleaning of your dog’s fur. On average, I’d recommend once a month to keep him smelling nice.
Brush Your Dog to Remove Knots and Tangles Before Bathing
This might sound like common sense to you, but it’s actullay a step that many people miss out. Brushing before shampooing your dog helps to avoid the tangles becoming impossible to smooth out. If these knots get wet, they tighten and stick together so that the only way to fully remove them is by cutting them out. Do yourself a favour and brush them out before your dog gets anywhere near the water. All you need is a proper brush, which can be obtained from any dog grooming supplies store.
Use a Bath Mat
This is very important because the last thing that you or your dog wants is for him to be slipping and sliding all over the bottom of the bath while you’re trying to wash him. Nothing stresses a dog out more than not being able to stand up properly because his four legs are all moving in different directions. It’s easily fixed, too. Just make sure you’ve got a bath mat on the bottom of the bath. If you can’t stretch to a proper bath mat, a towel on the bottom of the bath will usually do the job well enough to get by.
Use a Shower Attachment
There’s no point rinsing your pet off with dirty water fom the bath. This is self-defeating and more difficult than using a spray nozzle. If you have a shower head attached to the taps, use this to rinse the shampoo off your dog. If you don’t already have such a shower attachment, you can pick up a plastic or rubber shower attachment very cheaply from your local DIY or home store.
Preparations for Your Dog’s Bath
This is a great tip. Many dogs get nervous as soon as they hear the sound of the bath being run. Close the door when you’re running the bath so he can’t hear what you’re up to, he’ll only get himself into a panic before you’ve even started. You can also place a little cotton wool into the ears and a couple of drops of mineral oil into the eyes in order to protect them from soap.
Encouragement Helps
Always encourage your dog with a few kind words. Show him you love him and mantain a positive demeanour, even if on the inside you’re dreading what comes next, you mustn’t allow him to see that. How can you expect him to take a positive view of the bathtime experience if you can’t even demonstrate willing?
Give Fleas no Hiding Place
Start shampooing at the neck to cut off any escape route to the ears for fleas. Even if your dog doesn’t have flease, this is good practice and a habit that’s worth getting into. Work your way upwards and downwards away from the neck and pay close attention to washing between the toes, which is another sneaky hiding place sometimes used by fleas trying to avoid being washed away.
Clean and Rinse Well
This is an obvious one but it’s so important to ensure that you rinse your dog properly. If you leave soapy residues on the coat you can end up causing irritation and itchyness of the skin.
While you’ve got rover all in a lather, it’s the ideal time to empty the anal sacs. The anal sacs contain the scent that dogs use to identify each other and can sometimes become impacted or infected, which requires a trip to the veterinarian. You basically put your fingers either side of the anus and squeeze them together gently. Not much more to it than that. It’s not a very pleasant job but it might save your dog a trip to the vet’s. Shampoo the area well after empyting the sacs then rinse with clean water.
You can repeat the shampooing step if necessary and follow with conditioner to help replace some of the oils that will be washed out of the coat.
How to Dry a Dog
The dog’s own method of drying is the most effective. Nature has perfected this over millions of years so there is little point pouncing on him as soon as you’ve lifted him out of the bath in order to towel him down. Simply place a towel loosely over the top of him and allow him to get to work shaking his coat dry. You can finish off with gentle towelling if you like.
Once he’s got the worst of the water out of his coat, you should keep him indoors until he’s completely dry. Not only will this keep him warm if the weather is cold outside but it will help him to stay cleaner for longer.
And there you have it. If you follow these simple steps, using only minimal special dog grooming equipment, you will find yourself with a happy and clean dog. You will no longer find bath time such a trial and you never know, you and your dog might even come to enjoy it.
