Stress-Free Dog Grooming Bathing Tips for the Coton de Tulear

Requirements for dog grooming, bathing in particular, is different for every dog. While some Coton de Tulear owners tell us that their dogs only need a bath a few times a year (really?), most Cotons get a bath somewhere between once a week to once every 4 to 6 weeks. Check out what our visitors said about how often they bathe their Coton dogs here. And please share your tips with us as well. We love hearing about your own experiences.

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. Pups 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.

Bathing Poll

Here's Luc after a bath. He gets so many baths during allergy season that he's decided it's faster if he dries himself than to go through that whole blow drying nonsense.






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:
How to bathe a dog:

bathing a do
  1. Wet coat (shower or hose attachment works great)
  2. Apply shampoo to the coat and work into lather
  3. Wash the head last so that shampoo doesn't get in his eyes while you're washing the rest of him
  4. Wash every part of the body
  5. Rinse thoroughly (protect eyes from shampoo, and watch out that you don't get water in the ear canal)
  6. Stand back - you know he's going to shake out his coat
  7. Towel dry (don’t rub!)
  8. Let air dry for about 15 minutes if possible
  9. Blowdry (make sure it’s not too hot)
  10. Reward your beautiful clean dog so he looks forward to getting a bath


Check out these favorite Coton Grooming Solutions our visitors recommend

dog bath cartoo

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. I give Luc a bath in our carpeted garage and it works out perfectly.

  • 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".

  • Use a detangler such as Cowboy Magic to prevent matting. Our visitors swear by this product! Never bathe a dog with a matted coat since it will just make the mats and tangles worse and harder to groom.

  • Using a shampoo specifically for long haired white dogs helps keep the coat that beautiful, brilliant, white color.

  • 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.

  • 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 shaggy dog!

wet do


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