Image taken from www.dog-grooming-business.com
5/8/2014
Good day and welcome everyone!
This is Sharda with a wonderful newsletter about dog grooming.
Today, we will discuss some dog bathing guidelines!
Here we go!
Bathing your dog is not an easy process the first time you do it, not if you do it properly.
There are a number of steps that you should take and indeed get used to taking if you are going to continue grooming your dog yourself on a regular basis.
It is essential to get the process down to a fine art so that it becomes second nature soon because that means that you are comfortable with it and your dog will feed on that.
He or she will react accordingly and enjoy the bath far more if you are at ease with the process.
There are no hard and fast rules as to how you bathe your dog because every dog is an individual and so your dogs will react differently to your next door neighbor’s dog. Similarly, the breed and coat type will also have an impact on how you bathe your dog as well in addition to determining how often the optimal bath frequency is.
One important note is that if your dog is a house dog then he or she will have to be bathed more regularly than a dog that is kept in a kennel. This is obviously a result of the impact that a dirty and smelly dog has on your home.
So how exactly do you bath your dog? The step by step guide below will help you:
- Brush your dog thoroughly prior to getting in the bath to ensure that all tangles are gone and any matting that was there is thoroughly removed.
- Place a rubber mat in the bottom of the bath and ensure that you have everything you need to hand. Everything you need should be within an arm’s reach away. When the mat has been secured, check the temperature of the water in the showerhead or hose that you intend to use and adjust it to ensure that it is not too hot or too cold.
- Lift your dog into the bath tub that you are using, ensure that he or she is secured fully and never leave him or her unattended. You can use a leash to do this if you think your dog may panic because it is a good tool to use to calm your pooch down if necessary. You can either hold the leash or secure it to the taps.Either way, it should ensure that your dog is not able to leap from the bath as soon as you are distracted shampooing him or her.
- Use the showerhead to soak your dog’s coat thoroughly, leaving out the head and ears. Rub the water into your dog’s coat thoroughly and run the showerhead over it again to make sure that it is completely wet.
- Apply the dog shampoo, following the instructions on the bottle. Begin to rub it into the coat and use a sponge if necessary to ensure that you get even coverage all over the guard hair and the undercoat, if your dog has one.Work the lather all over your dog and do not miss out any area below the head. You should make sure that you get the pads and the backend as well.
- Leave the shampoo for no more than a minute before rinsing it off thoroughly with warm water. Ensure that every single soap suds has been rinsed off before you start the process all over again.The shampoo should be applied again in exactly the same way and then rinsed off again in exactly the same way to ensure that it is fully clean and all elements of dirty are removed.
- Rinse it one more time to ensure that everything that should not be on your dog’s coat has been fully removed. Use your hand to wipe off any excess water that may be left on the surface. This will help to remove spray when your dog inevitably shakes down afterwards.
- When the body is done, wipe the face over with water and use cotton wool buds to remove dirt from the ears, as directed in Chapter Twelve. If you have missed any of the neck or chest then be sure to shampoo those areas now.You should also make sure that the belly has been done completely. Finally, check the groins to make sure that there is no lingering hint of soap there because that can cause soreness.
- Turn the showerhead off and make sure that your dog is completely stable before running a dry wash cloth over the fur to remove any extra water that your hand did not manage to get off before. Press the fur firmly but not with too much pressure because you do not want to hurt your dog in any way.This can actually be doe as if you were petting your dog to make sure that he or she has a positive experience. Finally, squeeze the tail and any excess fur hanging down off the body to make sure that it is damp and not wringing wet.
- Before moving your dog out of the bath, cover him or her with as big and absorbent a towel as you have got. If you have used a leash to hook your dog to the taps then remove it so that your dog is now free to move.Slowly but surely lift your dog out of the bathtub and then, when he or she is placed on the floor, move the towel over the head to prevent shaking as far as possible. Talk to your dog throughout this bit because a little reassurance will go a long way.
- Finally, rub your dog with the towel briskly, again avoiding putting any pressure on your dog’s back. You should make sure that the coat is only just a little damp when you finish.If you have thus far prevented your dog shaking then you have done well but a little shake now would let all of the last droplets fall off him or her so that blow drying will be much easier.
If you need a second towel to absorb the water then use one because it will mean less time drying for your dog… and more fusses!
So there you have it – a quick and effective way to bath your dog that is incredibly simple. If you feel that you need another person there the first time then ask someone you trust.
However, you should never let a child bath your dog in case your dog gets too excited and hurts himself. A rubber mat and leash or any other dog grooming supplies will do nothing to prevent injury if he or she gets too excited so always be responsible.
I hope you learned a lot from today’s dog grooming newsletter.
Warmly,
Sharda Baker