How To Properly Bathe Your Dog

[kyliegirl]

written by Anna Browning, Windsor Dobermans

submitted by Marj Brooks, Manorie Dobermans

NOTE: "The wetter the dog, the less soap you will need for a good lather". Anna also said to dilute the soap. If you do this just about any soap will work including Joy dish detergent. The shampoo however must have the right p/h balance for dogs. I suggest that you print this out, try it and learn to bathe your dogs this way.

Here are Anna's instructions:

Many years ago, while at the Western States Veterinary Conference, I attended a lecture on Dermatology. The speaker started off by saying, " I'll bet you that most of you don't know how to bathe a dog...". Well, we all laughed, but he then piped in, "Seriously, I'll bet you that at least 90% of you are doing it wrong!". Silence came over the room as he explained. Most people bathe their dogs in warm water. This, he said, is for the owner's comfort ... not the dog's! His rules for bathing were:

1. Bathe in tepid water -- when I say bathe in tepid water, this really means room temperature water ... NOT warm. I thought I'd clarify this as some people think that tepid means warm. If in doubt, go COLDER, not warmer.

2. Use a hypoallergenic/PH balanced DOG shampoo

3. Wet the dog thoroughly

4. Dilute the shampoo before putting it on the animal

5. Start at the head of the dog, and using ONLY your finger TIPS (NEVER the fingernails!), gently massage the dog WITH the grain of the hair... NEVER rub against the grain of the hair.

6. Once the entire dog is properly bathed, rinse in tepid water

7. Rinse again

8. When you think you've rinsed enough, rinse one more time!

Other rules are:

1. Don't over bathe (don't bathe too often... he suggested once a month if needed).

2. If you do bathe, use an conditioning spray afterwards, such as HyLyt Bath Oil Spray to replace essential oils removed by bathing.

3. When petting the dog, don't rub against the grain of the hair.... especially important in short haired breeds without

undercoat!!

His theory on "bathing reactions" are:

People use warm water to wet the dog. This opens the pores. They then put shampoo on the dog, full strength,

irritating the skin. The person then "scrubs" the dog against the grain of the hair, using the fingernails to get the dog "good and clean"! This further irritates the skin. They rinse the dog, again with warm water, shoving the shampoo

into the open, irritated hair follicle. They don't rinse thoroughly enough and once the warm water stops running, and the dog starts to dry, the pores close. Now, you have an irritated hair follicle. This irritated hair follicle now becomes infected, leading to folliculitis (those little zits your dogs usually get the day after bathing!!). The owner then thinks the dog is allergic to the shampoo and has to go to the vet to get hydroxizine and prednisone to make the

bumps/pustules go away.

At the end of the lecture, the room was DEAD QUIET! Myself included. Up until that point I really didn't know how to bathe dogs!

[Rascalmyshadow]

I bath my dogs in warm water (always) I also bath them once a week to once a fortnight after 13 years of grooming it has never caused an issue, most of the problems are caused when the owner doesn't wash out all the shampoo properly.

Most of the dogs I see with bad skin problemsa are the one's that are rarely washed.

[malsam]

the part on warm or cold water is very controversy. I have used room temperature for many years also. Warm water can create more lather, that is about the only visual effects I've seen during bathing.

[Miss Helena]

In winter I bathe Bonnie in quite warm water, otherwise she would freeze! I agree above re rinsing++ being important.

[sas]

I bath in warm water.....for the dogs comfort, Dante actually shivers if I use cold....but we also do have skin issues.

[TeamSnag]

I bath mine in warm water too..

[Miss B]

I think I'm washing my dog the right way

Step 1: Phone and book grooming appointment.

Step 2: Drop dog off at groomer's.

Step 3: Pay.

Step 4: Collect beautiful clean pooch.

[blacklabrador]

I bath my dogs in warm water (always) I also bath them once a week to once a fortnight after 13 years of grooming it has never caused an issue, most of the problems are caused when the owner doesn't wash out all the shampoo properly.

Most of the dogs I see with bad skin problemsa are the one's that are rarely washed.

I don't think most of dogs skin problems are related to washing at all. Dogs do not get bathed in the wild - it is not part of their evolutionary requirements! It is generally done for our good, not theirs.

I think many dogs have skin problems from being allergic to the food they are given or to a flea allergy.

Healthy skin, the outer covering on a heatlhy dog, is much more resilient to chemicals than the irritable skin that dogs with food and skin allergies have.

[Clyde]

I bath my dogs in warm water (always) I also bath them once a week to once a fortnight after 13 years of grooming it has never caused an issue, most of the problems are caused when the owner doesn't wash out all the shampoo properly.

Most of the dogs I see with bad skin problemsa are the one's that are rarely washed.

I don't think most of dogs skin problems are related to washing at all. Dogs do not get bathed in the wild - it is not part of their evolutionary requirements! It is generally done for our good, not theirs.

I think many dogs have skin problems from being allergic to the food they are given or to a flea allergy.

Healthy skin, the outer covering on a heatlhy dog, is much more resilient to chemicals than the irritable skin that dogs with food and skin allergies have.

Breeds which are prone to skin conditions, usually have better skin if not washed too often I have found. I think alot of owners tend to over wash at the first sight of irritation.

I find it difficult to understand why a common sense speech such as the first thread would render a lecture hall into silence Were those students born in a cave, who the heck washes a dog with their finger nails? None of it is rocket science I would be surprised if any of the above was unknown to joe average dog owner, so it's a bit of a worry that it astounded so many doggy people

[Rysup]

I do all the except the tepid water thing - if I used coolish water this time of year the dogs would be up and out of the bath in 3 seconds flat. But I also use the hydrobath and so there are no fingers involved LOL

[~Anne~]

I bath my dogs in warm water (always) I also bath them once a week to once a fortnight after 13 years of grooming it has never caused an issue, most of the problems are caused when the owner doesn't wash out all the shampoo properly.

Most of the dogs I see with bad skin problemsa are the one's that are rarely washed.

I too bath mine weekly and I have never had an issue with their coats or their skin. Although I can not be certain, I believe that their hair follicles work simialr to ours. The more they are stimulated, ie the more often they are washed, the more oils they produce.

I am always very careful to rinse them thoroughly though.

I also do another thing that this document says not too. I was in the direction of the hair growth and against it. I also dry them like this. My dogs both have lovely shiny coats and the rescues, if they are with me long enough, to do.

[Guest Tess32]

I wash in warmer water in winter.....I want the dogs to actually LIKE the bath!

Noah is washed every one or two weeks and his coat is extremely shiny and skin is great.

[Dogsfevr]

i say go to a dogshow & see all those dogs that are bathed weekly & maintance bathed daily in areas(pee feathers).

20 plus years of human shampoo & weekly bathing & no issues here.

Just wish many of our clients put more effort into keeping there dogs clean

[~*Shell*~]

I think I'm washing my dog the right way

Step 1: Phone and book grooming appointment.

Step 2: Drop dog off at groomer's.

Step 3: Pay.

Step 4: Collect beautiful clean pooch.

Hey! Someone who does it exactly the same as I do! Those crazy sibe owners huh?

[dog geek]

Call me crazy, but I have just read the latest National Dog, and they have a new dog cleaning 'vacuum' that looks pretty spesh to me... I think I want one, for my Whippet - but also to use on some of the neighbourhood dogs (you know - 'Kidnapped And Shampooched: Neighbourhood Crazy Lady Caught Bathing Neglected Dogs - More At 7'....)

[jaybeece]

I wash in warmer water in winter.....I want the dogs to actually LIKE the bath!

Same here! I can't imagine the looks of sheer misery I'd be subjected to if I dared to pour cold/tepid water over him in winter

[puggy_puggy]

I bath my pugs in warm water every week and they don't have a problem.

[stormie]

I wash Orbit in warm to luke warm water. The less often I wash him, the worse his skin gets, as he is prone to secondary bacterial infections from his allergies. I do believe that slightly cooler water is more soothing to itchy and inflammed skin, but I don't believe that over washing CAUSES skin problems. In fact, a lot of dermatologists will suggest you give them a medicated bath twice weekly to help skin issues.

[oakway]

Maybe you should all go back and read that article again.

Since when did dogs have pores in their skin ?.

Isn't this the reason they don't sweat through their skin ?.

[oze50]

After grooming dogs for nearly 40 years I have learned a few things, you cannot get a dog properly clean washing in water that is too cool. I can pre set my temp and do all the dogs at 38c in winter and 37c in summer. I do not use full strength shampoo on the body ( only the feathering). Why anybody would use their fingernails to wash a dog is a mystery to me ( do we scratch our own scalps clean? no we massage with the balls of the fingers) It doesn't matter if you wash the hair in a different direction, that is absolute rubbish lol. Really the most important thing to me is thorough and continual rinsing until all trace of shampoo etc has gone. My dogs presentations have always been highly commended by Specialty judges and never have skin problems (never even seen the pimple things referred to earlier :D ) Also washing every week is not a problem if done correctly.