Dog Grooming Bathing Tips
Requirements for dog grooming, bathing in particular, is different for every dog. I'm surprised, though, that there is information floating about on the Web saying that a Coton de Tulear only needs to be bathed 2 or 3 times a year. I'd be interested to know if this works out well for anyone. After 3 or 4 weeks my dog really needs a bath.
It's been written that bathing your dog too often strips the coat of natural oils, but not bathing a dog makes him greasy and smelly. Some dogs get bathed once a week and do great with that. Dogs with skin allergies often do well with weekly baths.
There is no right or wrong answer to how often to bathe your dog. My dog Luc generally gets a bath every 4 weeks except during allergy season when he pretty much gets a weekly bath. Just experiment with what works best for your dog.
Believe me, you’ll know when it’s time for a bath. This will vary depending on the lifestyle of you and your puppy. Obviously if you are outside more you may have to bathe more.
Dog Grooming Bathing: Basic Bathing Steps for all Dogs: - Wet coat (shower or hose attachment works great)
- Apply shampoo to the coat and work into lather
- Wash the head last so that shampoo doesn't get in his eyes while you're washing the rest of him
- Wash every part of the body
- Rinse thoroughly (protect eyes from shampoo, and watch out that you don't get water in the ear canal)
- Stand back - you know he's going to shake out his coat
- Towel dry (don’t rub!)
- Let air dry for about 15 minutes if possible
- Blowdry (make sure it’s not too hot)
- Reward your beautiful clean dog so he looks forward to getting a bath
Additional dog grooming bathing tips from lessons learned: - Use a non-slip rubber mat in the tub to prevent slipping.
- Bathe your dog in an enclosed area if possible to prevent him from running around the house all wet.
- Have a non-leather collar on while bathing so you can grab onto it if your dog tries to escape while soaking wet.
- Put cotton balls in your dog's ears to prevent water from getting in, but if you save the head for last and rinse from above, there shouldn't be an issue with getting the ears wet.
- Hand-held showers are great to wet and rinse. These are easy to find at home improvement stores, and pet stores also have "pet showers".
- Don’t use human shampoos on your dog - the PH of a dog's skin is different than ours and human shampoo is too harsh for them.
- Use a shampoo specifically for long haired white dogs.
- Don’t use flea and tick shampoo if you already use a product such as Frontline or Advantage. This "doubling up" can be toxic.
- Use warm water, not hot. For itchy dogs, use cool water.
- Squeeze a small amount of shampoo onto a rubber brush or clean sponge and scrub around your dog's body rather than putting a handful of shampoo directly on his back and then trying to spread it around.
- Rinsing is very important - shampoo or conditioner left in the coat can be very irritating to the skin.
- Never bathe a dog with a matted coat since it will just make the mats and tangles worse and harder to groom. Work the knots out gently with a comb and/or detangler, making sure not to pull at the skin and then brush the coat thoroughly before bathing. It's essential to have good dematting tools.
- When finished, wrap your dog in a towel and pat dry. DO NOT RUB – this will only make him more prone to matting and tangles.
Dog grooming, bathing in particular, is so important for long haired dogs like the Coton de Tulear. There's nothing like a clean white shaggy dog!
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