How to Best Give Your Dog a Bath
Take the stress out of doggy bathtime with these tips.
Do you shudder at the thought of bathing your dog? Does your Zippy run and hide when you break out the special ratty towel and dog shampoo? Let’s lose the unnecessary trauma. This week, how to get your dog clean without sending your whole household into therapy.
How Best to Give Your Dog a Bath
Winter is the perfect time to start changing Dogalini’s mind about baths, or to set her up to like them in the first place. With any luck at all, several months will go by without the need for an actual bath–meanwhile, here’s your chance to make the bathtub into a very special place. If your dog is totally phobic about the tub already, you may need in-person help with this. Otherwise, the following casual approach should do the trick.
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How to Convince Your Dog the Bathtub Is a Great Place
Every day, stash a delicious treat or your dog’s favorite toy in the tub and let her find it. (You might have to clue her in a few times, till she gets the idea of looking there herself.) Turn jumping in and out of the tub into a game–have Dogalini watch you toss a treat into the tub, then let her go in after it. While she’s there, give her another treat, then encourage her to get out of the tub and do it again. Do five or six reps a couple of times a week. You’ll know you’re on the right track when Dogalini lingers in the tub instead of getting out right away.
The slippery tub bottom will spoil the fun for a lot of dogs. Leave a rubber mat in place so your dog always has secure footing as he hops in and out. A nonskid absorbent mat on the bathroom floor is a good idea too.
Teach Your Dog to Get In and Out Voluntarily
If the tub is too high for your dog to jump in and out of, invest in a set of well-constructed nonskid steps and teach Zippy to use them. You know it’s safe to pick Zippy up and put him in the tub, but the loss of control has high odds of scaring him. It’s almost always a better bet to teach your dog to volunteer the behavior you want rather than physically manipulate him.
Get Your Dog Used to the Water a Little at a Time
And now for the water. Even dogs who love to wade and swim often don’t care for water when it’s coming from a faucet. No, I don’t know why, and I don’t think anybody else does, either. To get your dog maximally comfortable with being bathed, keep up the bathtub toy and treat games, now with a trickle of water running. The water should be comfortably warm. A handheld shower attachment makes bathtime much more efficient, so hook one up and water the sides of the tub–no spraying the dog just yet.
When Dogalini’s completely unfazed by the running water, wet her down a bit with the handheld. Don’t set the water pressure on “stun,” by the way–a gentle spray will do nicely. Follow up with a treat, the cue to get out of the tub, and a brisk rub with that large, soft towel you have stashed conveniently nearby. Do a few reps over a couple of weeks, gradually getting your dog comfortable with standing in the tub while you wet her down. Use your hands to squeegee out as much water as you can, then towel-dry her thoroughly and keep her warm.
How to Make Your Dog’s Bathtime Easier
Now that Dogalini’s at ease with the process, here are some tips for the actual bath. Brush her beforehand to keep loose hair from clogging your drain. Use a dog shampoo, not a human shampoo. Use less shampoo than you think you need, but rinse more than you think you need to. Few dogs need conditioner.
My friend Adriann the vet tech, who inspired this article, tells me that you usually don’t need to wash your dog’s head, but that if you do you should use a tearless puppy shampoo. Medicated shampoos can cause eye damage, and stingy eyes from any shampoo can undo all the work you did to teach your dog that baths are peachy keen. If your dog has a history of eye or ear problems, talk to your vet about how to protect them during baths. There’s an inexpensive eye-moisturizing ointment that works well for many dogs. Cotton balls in floppy or hairy ears can help keep water out, which is important because water remaining in the ears can breed infection.
If you need to bathe a dog who doesn’t hate it enough to run away but hasn’t had the full pro-bath conversion experience either, have a slew of small treats on hand. Deliver one every few seconds while you work. A helper is nice for this; if you don’t have one, treat delivery will slow you down some, but that beats a wrestling match. Plus, it rewards your dog for complying with an activity he’s not wild about.
Keep Dogs Warm After a Bath
No matter how thoroughly you dry, Dogalini will still be damp, and nobody enjoys a post-bath chill. So I would totally go with a towel warmer if I had one. Some dogs get the zoomies after their bath. Others head right for the nearest upholstery and roll like mad. I’m fine with the zoomies but not so much a fan of wet dog on my couch. Stuff a food-dispensing chew toy in advance of the bath and park Dogalini in her crate with it after. You can cover her bed with old towels to absorb the damp from her coat.
Two last bath-related grooming tips. Warm water softens nails, so Zippy’s after-bath spa routine could include that pedicure you’ve both been dreaming of. And once he’s fully dry, give him a brushing to remove water-loosened hair.
About the Author
Jolanta holds professional certifications in both training and behavior counseling and belongs to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She also volunteered with Pet Help Partners, a program of the Humane Society of the United States that works to prevent pet relinquishment. Her approach is generally behaviorist (Pavlovian, Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian learning theory) with a big helping of ethology (animal behavior as observed in non-experimental settings).
