Bathing a dog is not rocket science , that much is true , but it ’s a little more complex than some pet owners initially expect .

Some are even hesitant and would rather drop money on a groomer .

If you are unsure about how to bathe a dog at home , this guide is going to help you .

How to Bathe a Dog at Home for the First Time

Table of content

How To Bathe Your Dog At Home

1. Assess Your Dog

If this is your first clip bathing a dog , then I can not accentuate enough the importance of this tone .

The bathing procedure will extremely depend on the type of dog you have , their health condition and more .

This also applies to groomingdifferent coat types , which is something every dog groomer knows .

Bathing a medium or large dog

For example , if your hotdog has arthritis in his wooden leg or thyroid egress , you ’re going to ask to be far more careful with bathing .

I do not recommend bathing your pawl in a bathtub .

alternatively , fetch them to a dog wash post . If you have adog bathat home , then even better and easy . or else , you’re able to habituate the hose in your backyard or something interchangeable .

Getting your dog wet in a bathtub

For dog with arthritis or other similar issues , you’re able to also corrupt adog rampordog footmark , or make them yourself .

In my pet grooming studio apartment where I work , we always apply dog ramps to help not only senior dogs into the washing stations , but all of them .

It ’s just gentle for the dog ’s joints disregardless of their condition .

Wetting the area underneath the dog’s ears

If your dog does not have any wellness problems of this eccentric , then your own unconstipated bathtub is fine .

frump owners with small cad can simply pick them up and plunk them the right way in .

Those with bigger dogs are going to have to put their backs into it . My dog is a 50 pound Labrador Retriever and Pitbull mixing , so she ’s a medium sized dog .

Time to Lather Up Your Dog

I will usually wash my Fido in a washtub .

2. Get Your Dog Into a Bathtub

If you have a average or large sized bounder , here ’s what you do :

If your wienerwurst looks like mine in the photo above , which is Anastasia , stop what you ’re doing and let them relax for a minute .

assign tension on your doggo before they can even get into the washtub will ensure that they hate bath time forever .

How to rinse the dog in a bathtub

Once this pic was taken , I backed off instantly until I know that Anastasia was ready to give it another snapshot .

Once again , if you have an older dog , or a detent with wellness issue , use a hosepipe , a dog washout place or adog neaten mesa .

I ’m allege this twice because it ’s extremely important that youdo not strainyour dog just to get them neat .

Dry Your Dog Off and Clean the Ears

3. Make It Rain!

Once your doggy is in the tub , the fun part of bath your dog begins .

First , ascertain that the water is at amedium hot temperature to lukewarm . You do n’t want the water to be too spicy or too cold-blooded , just hot enough that your domestic dog will be fairly comfortable .

commonly , Ifill the tubful up halfwayso my dog can still abide up and finger the water on her leg . When I need her to sit down so that I can rinse off the max off her tum , half the work there is already done .

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Never commence bathing a dog by getting him plastered with a shower .

I ’ve really spoken to the great unwashed who , once their dog is in the tub , will turn the rain shower on to get their beast completely wet .

Do not do this .   If this is your first time bath a dog , and your pup is well frightened , he will no doubt scrape you while trying to latch onto you and get out of the wash bathing tub .

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you could   see in my   flick below how I am wet the area aroundmy dog ’s head .

I ’m using a small cupful to slowly pour water with her head wobble , down to her back . or else , you could get a orotund cupful , a juice jug , or even a bucket .

Fill it up with the quick bath water and soak your andiron .

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I ’m form certain that Ido not underprice wateron the head of my   doggie , and I ’m always very   cautious of her ears .

In the photo to the right , you may also   see me   wetting the areaunderneath her ears .

It ’s best to just leave the dog ’s face alone because you do n’t want to get anything in their eyes , nose and ears while bath .

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If you absolutely must rinse your hot dog ’s brass , then wet your hand and rub around .

Do not apply soap to the hot dog ’s human face . Always keep water out of their ears .

If you do pass off to get water in your dog ’s expression – nozzle , pinna or eye – make clean them out straightaway and carefully .

I will get to that in a bit .

4. Time to Lather Up

Lathering your frankfurter up is reasonably simple , but you must take exceptional care in doing so .

If you ’ve terminate knead the grievous bodily harm through your domestic dog ’s fur but you do n’t see any lather , you ’re doing it wrong .   Would you just scratch shampoo over the top of your head and gargle it out ?

Nope . Look at the photo above , and you will see how the lather should be .

You should also be get the soapstraight down to the skin , not just on the fur .

To do this decently , scan your weenie ’s furagainst the grain , as pictured in the below photo , to ensure that you ’re exhaustively lathering your dog up .

During the whole frankfurter washup process , assure that you give your pet some love and tell them how good their behavior is . Pet your pooch and keep on to interact with him while you ’re bathe the dog .

yield him a little   delicacy while he ’s in the tub is also a good theme .

4. Rinsing Your Dog Off

Rinsing your dog is the simple stair of this whole how to bathe a dog at home guide .

You must ensure that all of thesoap is totally off .

Soap left behind on your cad ’s pelage will dry and irritate the wienerwurst ’s skin , especially if it ’s a regular frankfurter shampoo and not a specialisation one .

If you use an oatmeal bounder shampoo , however , this should not happen , but you should get all of the goop off anyway .

Take note of what I ’m doing in the picture above .

This is the good manner to ensure that all of the liquid ecstasy has been completely washed off .

As you may see , I ’m carefully working my hands through Anastasia ’s skin and fur there , while slightly embrace , to see if any soap derive up .

You should be able-bodied to find the soap either way if there is still some left-hand . If so , preserve to rinse .

If not , your hot dog is uninfected .

5. Dry Your Dog Off and Clean the Ears

This may be uncomfortable for your canine tooth , but unless you have a super absorbent material bath mat hold back on the floor , drain the tubbefore getting your bow-wow out of it .

While you ’re doing so , it ’s a good thought to get your hound arouse over how effective he was behaving during the whole bathing process .

Even if you had to struggle the entire prison term , show him a bundle of tenderness .

Once all the water has drained from the tub , speedily give the dog ’s paws a rub , and allow him to jump out himself .

let your detent leave the bathing tub on his own gives him a sentiency that he ’s in command now , and will let him recognize that bath clock time is officially over .

employ an absorbentdoggy toweland dry your andiron off any agency you like .

This step does not ask any particular instructions as long as you ’re heedful around your whelp ’s face and head , so just get him as dry as potential .

you’re able to also use apet dryeras an alternative .

take down : Those of you test to study how to bathe a domestic dog at home in saltation or summertime time , or when it ’s loosely fond outside , can take their Canis familiaris on a walking or permit them operate around in the backyard to fully dry .

However , if it ’s winter , do n’t even think about doing either . Let your bounder air dry in the house .

Before you do anything else though , you ’re going to need to houseclean your dog ’s   ears . This is extremely authoritative , peculiarly if you find water in your pet ’s ears , and can be done while towel dry him . It ’s a 2 - step outgrowth .

1 . Place your index finger inside the towel , or a hygienical rub for dogs , and put your finger’s breadth inside his spike canal .

2 . Simply twist around your finger around for half a minute , take your finger out , wipe the visible part of his ear off , and reduplicate with the other ear .

When you move to the next ear , utilise a sporting section of the towel , or a new wipe .

And you ’re done !

Learning how to bathe a dog at plate for the first time is not that hard .

However , there are important things you must do and instructions to watch over during doggy bath fourth dimension to ensure that the experience is not a terrible one for your bow-wow so he ’s not afraid to take another bath when the direful time comes again .

6. Tip: How to Make Bathing a Dog Easier

reckon on how fussy your dog is , the bathing appendage might be either very wide-eyed or very difficult .

fortuitously , there are a numberof very cheap dog supplies you may get to make the pawl bathe procedure much simpler and light for you and more pleasant for the dog .

Below are some of my favorite tools I sometimes urge to my clients .

Commonly Asked Questions

How often should a dog be bathed?

You should be wash off your dog no more than once every two to three month . Dogs really do n’t need to be wash and it ’s just more of a preference by their owner .

Can I Use Human Shampoo On a Dog?

No , you should never utilize human shampoo on your cad . You risk damaging the “ acid Mickey Charles Mantle ” or pH of their tegument which make the skin more susceptible to dissimilar pathogens .

Washing your wienerwurst with human shampoo also deprive the natural oil their hair bring forth and can causedry antsy cutis problems .

Do dogs like warm or cold baths?

Our dog ’s ability to maintain torso heat works other than than ours . This means ideally half-hearted is the best bet ; they do n’t do well being wet and frigid and you do n’t need to burn them with too hot of water either .

How To Bathe Your Dog At Home For The First Time: Take Home Message

We verbalize about different steps on how to bath your dog at home for the first metre .

Bathing your dog should be dim-witted and fun for both of you . ensure you make them feel comfortable and take proper attention to get them into the bathtub without scaring or hurting them .

lease us know your experience of washing your dog at home plate !

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