Bathing a dog..

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I have never bathed my dog. I have only taken him to the groomers to get this done.

However, I need to learn how to do it myself as it does get quite costly taking him to the groomers just for a bath & a basic tidy up.

I would need to bathe him & trim round his eyes, mouth, inside ears & private parts.

If anyone could offer help & advice, it would be greatly appreciated,

C_Mababejive

I've bathed many a dog !

Make the water warm,not hot. Put some old sheets or towels on the floor. Get some doggy shampoo.

Wear an apron.

Get doggy in bath and make sure hes comfortable with water temp. Get him nice and wet with a shower spray.Make sure the temperature is ok. Soap him up and gently massage. They like this bit. Rinse thoroughly and get as much water off as possible.

This is the tricky bit.

All dogs ive washed seem quite relaxed and serene at this point. Towel him dry in the bath. He may well make a sudden break for freedom over the side of the bath at this point !

If he does,the next thing he'll do is shake water all over the place!

coinxoperated

I think the trimming really depends on how calm and still your dog will be!

Frugalista

Try this thread ...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4286373=

Wellyboots6

Try teaching your dog to 'shake'.

I taught Tyson this so I could get him to shake whilst still in the bath (while I hide behind the shower curtain!). Saves a lot of soggy walls, carpets, towels, sofas, humans etc etc. He would shake anyway, but like C_mababejive said they often make a break for freedom first!

Also put a bath mat down in the bath to make them feel more secure and less likely to slip over in a panic.

yilia

I have a dog, and I not good at bathing him, my boyfriend always do that.
I just know, you need to make sure the water is warm enough and dry him after bathing directly to in case of a cold.
Or you can search for some video for dog bathing on YouTube.

CFC

Bathing is not hard providing the dog is small enough to pick up and put in bath. It's like bathing a child, make sure the water temperature is on the cool side to avoid overheating the pooch, soap carefully, avoiding ears and eyes and mouth, rinse off with a jug of water. Use dog shampoo not human shampoo. I use a human body sponge for washing the face, to make sure I can avoid the eyes. I use the same sponge for rinsing his face.
As for tidying up, I use clippers on his body, but scissors around his face and privates, but unless he is calm and will stay still and you are confident you can control him you might want to give it a miss or leave it fairly long.

dawnie1972

I have 3 dogs who i bath myself (only if they've rolled in smelly stuff - don't like to take their natural coat oils away) - its not easy when the 30kg staff x lab plants himself as you try to lift him into the bath then he's fighting against you to try and get out. Moving to a new house tomorrow and it has a huge double walk in shower - whoopee bath time for doggies!!

ash28

dawnie1972 wrote: »

I have 3 dogs who i bath myself (only if they've rolled in smelly stuff - don't like to take their natural coat oils away) - its not easy when the 30kg staff x lab plants himself as you try to lift him into the bath then he's fighting against you to try and get out. Moving to a new house tomorrow and it has a huge double walk in shower - whoopee bath time for doggies!!

We have a staff, who absolutely loves water, jumps in the water courses and streams where we live, but she seems to have an aversion to the bath - she goes into reverse gear. We've tried a couple of times and found it's not worth the stress for her or us.

Like you we only "bath" her if she's rolled in anything obnoxious - dead swan anyone?? It was one of the worst smells I have ever smelled. And no amount of bathing would get rid of it.

We do her in the garden and use warm water in the watering can - we tie her leash to a cast iron bench, I know it sounds cruel, but once we start she's fine and just stands there quietly and actually seems to enjoy it - I think.

We look after a sheltie and she gets regular baths and backside trimming - she's very good - we use an over the bath shower for her. She's so used to it you could probably do anything and she wouldn't be fazed.

krlyr

If there are breed-specific tasks/cuts you need to do (rather than just a general wash and dry), it might be worth looking for dog shows in the area where you could meet up with other owners of the breed and learn the techniques.

If you're trimming hair with scissors I would recommend getting proper dog grooming scissors with curved ends, and then using a wide comb placed between the skin and where you want to cut - so you can't accidentally pull up a tent of skin and cut the dog (dog skin is much thinner and more elastic than ours)

CFC

When I owned a large dog and he needed bathing he used to get the hose and shampoo in the garden while he was tied to the apple tree...but only in the summer months!