How to Give your dog a bath

This guide will show you how to clean your dog.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brush or comb: Choose the appropriate grooming brush or comb for your dog's coat. Dog bath shampoo: Never give a dog a bath with products made for people. The pH balance isn't appropriate for dogs a

1. Step 1: Brush your dog
   Always brush your dog before giving him a bath to remove loose hair, tangles, and mats. Bathing will only make them worse.
   
   Step 2: Add dog to bath tub
   Have your dog climb into the tub. Put a cotton ball into each of his ears. Make sure you don't press them down too far into the ear canal. Apply protective eye ointment to his eyes if you're so inclined.
   
   Step 3: Turn on the water and wet your dog
   Use lukewarm water to wet your dog from front to back and underneath. Try not to get his head wet yet. A dog with a dry head has less of a tendency to shake since the best shakes always start from the front and move back. You can also keep a firm hold of the hair on his neck or his muzzle during the bath to prevent shaking.
   
   Step 4: Shampoo

2. Step 4: Shampoo
   Use a small amount of shampoo to facilitate easy rinsing and work into a nice lather starting at the neck and moving back to the tail in the direction of hair growth. Don't forget the belly, armpits, groin, and between the toes. If your dog has a long coat, squeeze and press the shampoo through his hair rather than rubbing it, which can cause tangles.
   
   Step 5: Rinse and repeat if necessary
   Rinse out the soap completely. Run your hands over your dog and check for any slimy or slippery spots. You'll need to re-rinse those places. Soap left on your dog after you give him a bath can cause skin irritation so be thorough when rinsing. If your dog is particularly dirty and smelly, you can reapply soap to the offending areas, wash, and rinse again.

3. Step 6: Wash the face last
   Wet your dog's head carefully and use your fingers or a wash cloth to soap up his skull, muzzle, and ears. Keep soap away from his eyes. Then rinse everything again from front to back and do one last check for soapy residue that could need rinsing.
   
   Step 7: Prepare for the shake and then dry thoroughly
   Remove the cotton balls from your dog's ears. Then hold up a towel and stand back to let your dog shake himself dry. If he just stands in place, you can blow in his ear to trigger a good shake. Use the towels to dry your dog as much as possible. If he has long hair, pat rather than rub him dry to avoid tangles.

Tips & Warnings

• How often to bath a dog How often you'll have to bath your dog depends on a number of factors such as his breed, type of coat, and what sort of mischief he's been into. A dog involved in water sports or that likes to dig in the yard will need to be bathed regularly, while a short-haired couch potato can go for a few months between baths. You shouldn't have to ready a dog bath more than once a month and more likely every two or three months. Bathing your dog more than once a month could damage his coat and skin by removing their natural oils. The best guideline is to use the sniff test. When the doggy odor is too strong, it's dog bath time. Consult your veterinarian for specific guidelines when necessary.
• Watch out for dog hair clogging up your plumbing!

[ashcraft]

on 9/2/2009 Good information 5*