Make sure your dog has gone outside to relieve her/himself before the bath! They need drying time so you don't want to go outside right after it, especially in Winter.
Gather:
- a bath mat on the bottom of the tub or a large towel (dogs freak out if the tub is slippery, give them something that makes them feel secure to stand on).
- Dog shampoo and dog conditioner (by the tub, in reach) Buy shampoo made for your dog. It is formulated to be gentle on their skin. Our shampoos can dry their skin out too much.
- have a bucket or pitcher for pouring water over the dog... if you do not have a handheld shower head.
- two, old, large towels (minimum), (one spread out on the floor right beside you at the tub - one, or more, to grab to dry off the dog)
- a choke chain (only because it's metal and doesn't get soggy), or a collar that can get wet and be taken off the dog after. A wet collar is not a good idea to wear until it dries. Uncomfortable as well as chancing skin irritations)
- a blow dryer (optional)
A handheld shower head is a HUGE help... and a shower curtain.
Method:
1. Close the bathroom door! There's nothing worse than a dog, who's soaking wet, making a run for it - through your house.
2. Put the choke chain or alternate collar on the dog. This gives you something to grab, in the beginning, if they are going to give you trouble, and then you can put their regular collar on when they're dry.
3. Don't expect your dog to just leap in the tub. (Hope does, but she has learned that bath time is like a spa treatment and she isn't too resisting. Gracie needs to be encouraged in, as this is still a new concept for her. She's only had 4 baths in her life and all of them have been in the last five months.) Assist - encourage - lift - the dog into the tub (sometimes just putting their front paws in is enough to get them to jump the rest of the way in), and anticipate they will try to bolt on you so be ready to firmly tell them "No" and hold them by their collar.
4. Turn the tap on and be ready for the dog to bolt. You may prefer turning the tap on before the dog is in the tub. The sound is what scares them most. They will learn it won't hurt them but it sounds scary.
5. Do as little talking as possible and speak as quietly as possible. I hardly speak to either dog as I bathe them. If I do it is to tell them to 'turn around', 'sit', 'stand', or I whisper "Good girl!", "You're a beautiful dog!" etc.
6. NEVER wash the dog's head until the rest of the body is washed and then conditioner is applied. While the conditioner is soaking in, I wash the dog's head. Dogs want to shake when they get wet but especially when their head is wet. Both Gracie and Hope wait until after their bath to shake.
7. Washing the body:
Put the plug in the tub so that as you wash the dog the tub will fill a few inches and soak the dog's paws and nails. Wet the dog's fur all over (with a shower head it's easy, without a shower head use your pitcher or bucket.) Apply shampoo generously down their back, tail, legs. underbelly. (don't go any higher than the dog's neck behind the ears with water or shampoo, for now.)
This is the spa treatment for the dog: Message the muscles, check for unusual areas on the body as you work your way over their body sudsing them up ( checking for bites, lumps, wounds, ticks). Use your finger tips to scrub/scratch just as you would when you are petting them. Many dogs just sit their with their eyes half closed basking in the enjoyment of a good scrub down and your undivided attention.
IF YOUR DOG TRIES TO SHAKE AT ANY TIME BEFORE YOU'RE DONE. QUICKLY PLACE YOUR HAND AT HER COLLAR AND SAY A FORCEFUL "NO"!!!! Often just the act of you placing your hand on the neck and saying a loud 'No' surprises them into stopping. I may place my hand at the neck and on their back as if I were holding them down but not pressing on them. This isn't meant to be aggressive. You don't 'grab' the dog, nor pinch or pull or yell etc. Just place your hands firmly and say "No!". Do this as often as you need to through the bath. You can usually sense they're about to shake. Anticipation is half the trick of a successful bath.
Rinse the shampoo completely out of their coat. Soap residue can cause skin problems.
When you have applied the conditioner leave it on, then move to the head.
8. Washing the head:
This takes some practise but the idea is you want to keep the water out of their ears, their eyes and their nose. Any of these areas will cause instant shaking and they won't want to continue. They'll start pulling back and resisting. Go slowly. Speak softly. Wet the fur on their forehead by tipping up their head with your hand under their mouth and pouring water slowly so it runs down their back not down their nose. They likely will resist so be gently firm. Place your hand over one eye and wet the fur around the ear and their cheek (avoid water in their ear. If you do get water in their ear take a facecloth and dab it out of their ear). Do the other side. Place your hand over the top of the nose so that the fleshy part of your hand between the thumb and index finger is laying right where the nose and hair meet on the dogs muzzle. This just protects the water from running in their nose. Don't cover their nose obviously, they need to breath! Go slowly and anticipate that the dog will jerk away. Be patient with them and yourself. As you get better at it, and the dog trusts you won't drown them, they settle in and aren't so balky.
Apply a little shampoo to your fingertips and stroke it around their forehead, on their cheeks and on the muzzle. Avoid contact with eyes, ears and nose. Message with your finger tips around their cheeks and forehead and down their muzzle. If you have a dog that has a discharge around the eyes. Moisten your fingers with clear water only and try to wipe it away. You may need to try a moistened cotton pad, like you use to remove nail polish, with clear water and wipe the corner of the eyes with it. Don't use shampoo near the eyes. Their are products made specifically for cleaning around the eyes and getting rid of the staining that some breeds get from eye discharge).
Rinse the shampoo off the same way you wet the fur. Don't condition the head other than around the neck area.
9. Pull the plug to drain the water in the tub.
10. Give your dog a final all-over rinse to get the conditioner out. Make sure all the soap and conditioner is washed off down the drain and that their paws are soap-free.
Stand and close the shower curtain. Watch that your dog doesn't try to make a break for it at this point!
Once the curtain is closed tell him to "Shake"! (They may do it immediately anyway but try and say the word just as they are doing it so they learn the meaning.) Your dog may just stand there dripping, looking at you all sad and bedraggled like you're a nut. If you say, "shake" and they don't get it. Reach in and place your hand on their back and shake them a bit to give them the idea of what you want. This usually does it. I choose to not let them out until they have shaken at least once. I had a Cockapoo who was more obstinate about shaking so I'd just wait on him. He would eventually give in and shake if I waited long enough. I can tell Hope to " shake" and then "shake again" and she will. Then I open the curtain, kneel down and firmly run my hands from the top of their head down their back and sides, underbelly and then down the legs, squeezing gently, but firmly, to get as much excess water out as possible.
11. Lift or call the dog to jump out onto the towel that's waiting on the floor and very quickly put the other towel over top of them to blanket them (hold the towel loosely in place) because they will shake again, almost immediately, and it saves water all over your bathroom.
12. Give the dog a vigorous rub down with the towel (use as many as needed). Hope lays down on the towel and rolls and tries to bite the towel I'm holding - in play. I let her do it as it doesn't hinder my progress. She is rolling around and I am vigorously towelling her off as she rolls so both of us are getting the job done even if it is rowdy. If your dog rolls around and it annoys you... make them stand and tell them "No!" Just don't towel them off as vigorously so they won't think you're playing with them. Gracie doesn't roll around, she tries to escape my ministrations so I have to hold her by the collar until I'm done. Each dog will respond differently. Anticipate they are going to try just about anything and then you are ready for just about anything! :-)
13. Blow dry the dog if you feel you must. Blow dryers are loud and dogs usually don't enjoy being blown on; it's a scary experience for some. They often will rebel and try to run. In the Spring, Summer and Fall I don't blow dry the dogs. (They live in the house and unless it's warm outside they don't go out unless they are dry.) In the Winter I have blow dried them a bit as it is so cold out (-35 celsius) that I don't want them chilled when they have to go out to pee. It's hard on the average household blow dryer to dry a dog so invest in a good blow dryer if you're wanting to blow dry your dog regularly.How frequently do I bath the dogs? As needed! In the Winter I hardly bathe Hope at all. She stays clean in the snow and she hardly sheds. In the other three seasons she gets bathed when she smells "doggy" or when she has gotten dirty. It helps to get loose hair off her in the Spring so twice a month is about average. Again it depends on how dirty she is. If her paws or legs are dirty I will just take an ice cream pail of warm, clear water and rinse her legs and paws outside before I bring her in the house.
Remember: Yelling at the dog or being frustrated during bath time will not help you or the dog. And you can guarantee the next bath will not go well either because they are expecting it to be miserable. Be relaxed and well prepared and try to see it as time to "commune" with your dog. If it's a chore for you it's a punishment for them! I think of it as a necessary part of having an indoor dog and I only find it annoying if Hope has gotten unexpectedly dirty when I don't have time to bathe her - but again... it's all part of having a dog... so I suck it up and make the best of it.
If you're bathing the dog outside a garden hose will replace the shower head but adjust the water so it isn't a hard spray and not cold. You may not need the towels either but be prepared for an instantly dirty dog if he gets loose before he's dry. Be prepared to tie him up somewhere where he can get sun to dry him and shade if it's too hot... and on a nice clean surface like your deck/patio or grassy area.
This whole process usually takes me about 20 minutes (not including the blow drying which takes quite a while hence the reason I usually skip it and just towel them off really well).
