How to Give a Big Hairy Dog A Bath

Giving a large dog a bath will not always be an easy task but in the end you will have a much cleaner dog that will be a joy to have in your household!

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• grooming table or picnic table if possible
• a big dog
• harness for the dog
• hose with water that is mixed warm and cold
• spray nozzle on hose
• ice cream bucket for the water if you don't have a hose
• dog shampoo
• bucket for mixing up shampoo
• dog conditioner
• eye wash or plain saline eye drops
• scissors
• steel-toothed comb
• wire pin brush
• baby wipes
• paper towel
• wooly large terry cloth towel
• one or two assistants
• dog treats
• dog crate or enclosed space
• blanket
• fan

1. put the harness on the dog first

2. get the dog up onto the grooming table. Have the assistant there to hold the dog and give it an occasional treat.

3. turn on the water and check to see that it is "tepid" (the same temperature as your own skin)

4. turn the spray nozzle to mist setting

5. place the nozzle directly onto the dog's coat, starting at the top of the head and completely wet the dog down from head to tail

6. pour the shampoo into a bucket and add water so that it is sudsy

7. starting at the dog's head, suds the dog all over, using your hands and pouring the suds out of the bucket when needed

8. once the dog is all suds, then rinse the suds out of the coat

9. pour the dog hair conditioner into your hand and massage into the dog's coat thoroughly

10. rinse the dog again all over

11. dry the dog all over with the wooly towel and then the dog dryer if you have one

12. put the blanket into the crate or enclosed space

13. put the dog into the crate or enclosed space

14. turn on the fan on medium so that it blows on the dog

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have warm water in your hose (mixed) then use a bucket with the water in it to pour over the dog.
• Massage the suds into the coat well and leave set the required amount of time if it is a flea shampoo
• Using the conditioner will help to keep cockleburrs and sticks and things from sticking in your dog's coat
• Using the harness makes it easy for your assistant to hold onto the dog
• It is perfectly ok to use the soap and water in the dog's ears, it will help to flush out grime and hardened wax
• Absolutely do NOT use cold water straight from the tap! It is too cold for the dog and can make him sick!
• Rinse the dog very thoroughly, leaving soap "scum" in the coat will cause hot spots and dermatitis
• Be careful not to get shampoo in the dog's eyes, use the eye drops immediately if this occurs and wipe them out with a paper towel
• Dry the dog well with the woolly towel and do not leave the dog outside, it will get muddy again!

Resources

• Grooming Show Dogs
• Giving a big dog a bath

[amandamarie]

on 5/2/2008 Also worth a look: the Booster Bath, an elevated plastic dog tub with leash restraint, drainage hose, on/off fan nozzle that attaches to a hose or utility sink... worth a look, also has a ramp attachment that's good for getting dogs into cars or SUVs. www.Boosterbath.com.

[Karenc1972]

on 3/25/2008 Great how-to.....if only I could lift my 100-pound pup up on the table! Might have to try the harness and buckets soon as he's getting a bit stinky. Thanks for the article.

[showpup]

on 3/24/2008 Nice article. Another tip: Don't chew gum while washing a hairy dog. hehe **Cherrybrook also sells a warm water on demand system that can hook up to your outdoor faucet. I ordered one.

[SharonW]

on 12/15/2007 Thanks for the advice. It will hep with my water phobic dog.

[julietmyf]

on 11/17/2007 I'm going to try this -- never thought of getting my huge dog up on the picnic table! Thanks!!