Cleaning a dog is not rocket science. Yet why is it that when your dog comes home from the professional groomer, he or she smells nicer and is fluffier and cleaner than your home groom?
A proper bath is the foundation to a great groom. It removes dead hair, promotes good skin and coat and reduces the shedding in your house. But having your dog professionally cleaned regularly can be a financial burden.
For salon results, let me share with you my top 10 tips for bathing your dog:
(If you have a large dog, use a walk-in shower or find a universal hose to tap connector to change your bathroom tap to take a hose or hand shower. You can also use many of the pet wash station at pet stores.)
1. Brush your dog before the bath
This will gently loosen dead hair, dander and matts. Bathing a dog with matts will make the matts worse.
2. Dilute shampoo with distilled water.
Using shampoo full strength would be too harsh on the skin and coat. Most dog shampoos are concentrated and designed to be diluted. Use mixing bottles to dilute shampoo according to manufacturer’s recommended ratios (usually stated on the label). You will get the best results when the shampoo is used according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
3. Clean the undercoat well
If you have a double coated dog it is important to clean that undercoat very well, especially if you have an allergic dog. Your dog is not only shedding coat, it is also shedding dead skin (dander). Dander collects in the undercoat and if you don’t bathe your dog properly or brush out the dander and dirt, it will become a source of skin irritation.
4. Clean the skin well
When you bathe your dog, you need to really clean the skin. Use a zoom groom and loofah to exfoliate and stimulate the skin while bathing. The loofah will help you distribute and push the shampoo through the body, helping to clean out bacteria, dirt and dander that have settled in the pores of your dog’s skin. Make sure you get into all those tight areas like under the tail, groin and armpits.
5. Facial wash
Wash your dog’s face with the loofah and facial shampoo . Pay particular attention to the area under the ears which can get oily and dirty. Be careful to avoid the eye area. My favourite facial cleansers are the tear-free formulas from Tropiclean.
6. Leave shampoo on the body for minimum 4 minutes.
7. Rinse.
8. Bath dirty dogs twice.
I wash most dogs twice. The first bath removes the dirt, oil and dander. The second cleanses the coat.
9. Rinse thoroughly.
When you think all the shampoo is gone, rinse some more. Overrinse until you see clean clear water running off your dog.
8. Apply and comb through conditioner.
Leave conditioner on for minimum 4 minutes.
9. Rinse off conditioner until water runs clear.
10. Dry your dog.
Dry your dog well with an absorbent shammy/microfibre towel. Similar to our own bodies, there is naturally occurring bacteria all over your dog’s body. Water also contains bacteria. Some dogs have sensitive skin and the leftover water could irritate the skin and cause issues like hotspots. So make sure you dry your dog well. If you don’t have a pet force dryer, use a human dryer on cool to medium setting. Brush your dog as you dry. To dry your dog rapidly and thoroughly, consider buying a pet force dryer. These are now available quite cheaply on Amazon Australia.