Bathing your dog is never going to be fun. After all, who likes the smell of wet dog? That doesn’t mean you should keep putting it off though. A clean dog smells better, is less itchy and is so fluffy and cute you won’t be able to resist a snuggle. However, you probably want to get it over with, so check out these steps for bathing your dog and you’ll be ready to snuggle in no time.
1 Put Your Dog in the Tub
It’s probably much easier to get your dog into the tub if it isn’t already full of water, which definitely makes bathing your dog simpler. That way you can pet and calm him while you run the water. If your dog is deathly afraid of the running water, try filling it first and see if you can coax him in. In my experience, however, it’s easier for everyone if you turn the water on after you have the dog in the tub.
Frequently asked questions
2 Pour Water on the Dog
Use a cup or other container to soak your dog with water. Keep in mind that water tends to bead on dog fur, so you’ll probably need to rub him down as you pour the water so you have enough to suds him up with shampoo when the time comes. Make sure you lift his head and wet down his neck and toss some water at his belly too.
3 Soap Him down
Unless your dog loves a bath, you’ll want to move pretty quickly here or you’re bound to be battling your pet back into the tub or you’ll be covered in water that he just shook off. Squirt some dog shampoo into your hand and start rubbing it gently into his fur and skin. Start at his ears and move down, making sure you get paws, belly and neck as you go. Keep the soap out his face so you don’t get it in his eyes.
4 Rinse
Turn the faucet back on and use warm water to rinse your dog’s fur. Rub him as you go to be sure you’re getting all the suds. Any that gets left behind can make him pretty itchy and you won’t want to start all over if that happens. Use a flat hand to “wring” your dog out by pressing lightly to remove some of the water. Continue rinsing until the water runs off clear and there isn’t any soap left behind.
5 Towel Dry
I strongly suggest using old towels for this job. The bigger the better too! Use a towel to gently rub your dog dry. You won’t be able to get all the water out and he’ll still be a bit damp, but make sure you get as much as possible so he doesn’t get cold. Let him run around a bit to finish getting dry.
6 Comb
Use a specially designed dog comb to lightly brush your dog’s fur. Get out any clumps and crud left behind after the bath. I like to do this outside if it’s warm enough so that I don’t have the added chore of also cleaning up all the fur off the floor. You can also have your dog stand on a towel while you comb him and then shake off the fur out in the yard before washing the towel.
7 Treat
You want your dog to behave during a bath so giving him a treat is a great way to do this. Granted, it might take a few trips to the tub before he starts to connect his bath with his treat, but once you get him there, getting him into the tub is much easier.
How often do you bathe your dog? I try to do it every month or so. Let me know if you have any tips or tricks for me.
