Top Tips From the Groomer for Bathing Your Dog at Home

How can you get the wonderful results achieved at the salon and have your dog as fresh and as clean from bathing at home?

These bathing tips are sure to help you maintain a clean and healthy coat for your dog with an at home bathing routine.

The most common feedback we get from families after their dog's visit to our salon is regarding how clean and how wonderful their dog smells. Our dog bath is our signature service. Our bathing process is thorough and intentional. While we want you to bring your dog to us for this service we also understand that sometimes your dog needs a bath at home and we want you to be ready for that circumstance. Following the bathing tips below will ensure that you are able to achieve the best results. Bathing a dog requires time and energy so we want to help you make sure you are getting the results you're after.

Lets dive into our top five tips for dog bathing.

Tip #1 - Use quality pet bathing products and dilute the solution before application

You should always use pet specific shampoo. We recommend Natures Specialties products. We use this line of products in our salon and we offer them for sale to you. Natures Specialties has solutions targeted for specific coat types and specific concerns that are common. As your groomer we are here to help you choose the solution that is right for your dog whether we are bathing them in the salon or making recommendations to you for use at home.

You should not use shampoo made for humans. The ph balance for humans is different than for dogs. You can cause your dog skin irritation and coat problems. Using baby shampoo is not good for your dog. Using Dawn dish detergent is also not good for your dog. We understand that tv commercials show wildlife being bathed in this detergent after an oil spill. Dawn dish detergent is a degreaser. We only want to degrease a dog in certain circumstances and we really want to chose a product specifically made for a dog when this occurs. As your dog groomer we can help you with this recommendation as well.

When bathing your pet you want to dilute your shampoo. In the salon we use dilution bottles specifically made for this process. Natures Specialties gives you the dilution formula directly on the product bottle. For instance, if the dog will be washed with Natures Specialties Plum Silky shampoo the dilution ratio is 24/1. So you will need 24 ounces of pure water and add one ounce of shampoo to it and shake it up well. You can purchase a dilution bottle from us or you could simply use a plastic water bottle from the convenience store or dollar store.

The purpose of dilution is to make sure the product is gentle enough for the dogs skin by diluting it to the correct concentration. Another purpose for dilution is to help you evenly distribute the product all over your dog. If you squirt a dollop of shampoo into the palm of your hand and then try to smear it into your dog and achieve a lather, you aren't going to get the clean results you're looking for and you risk causing irritation to your dogs skin in the area that the concentrated product made contact. A huge obvious additional benefit to properly diluting the bathing products is that you are getting more for your money. Your purchase of a 16oz bottle of Plum Silky shampoo is multiplied to 24, 16oz bottles of shampoo when you are diluting and applying the product correctly.

Tip #2 - Always shampoo your dog twice and rinse completely

We purposefully shampoo every dog twice. The first time you shampoo the dog, the solution is essentially acting as a wetting agent. Have you noticed when you prerinse your dog before washing them it seems like the coat is almost dry by the time you have applied water to the whole dog? The water pretty much rolls off of the coat leaving it damp. When you apply your diluted shampoo solution all over the dog it works as a wetting agent so that the product can get all the way to the dogs skin by the second time you apply the shampoo solution.

This first shampoo helps to remove the sebaceous oils held on the dogs skin. We recommend applying your first shampoo to the head, neck and chest first, then move to the rear end, belly and feet of the dog. These are the dirtiest areas of your dog so letting that solution sit there first and then applying it to the rest of the dog works best to achieve the highest level of clean. After you have evenly squirted your diluted shampoo all over your dog you want to gently scrub all areas of your dog. You can use your finger tips or you can use a scrubbing brush made for washing dogs. After this step you want to completely rinse all of the product off of your dog. This rinse will remove not only the product but the dirt, oil, and some of the dead coat that you have just released from your dogs coat and skin.

Now its time to start the second shampooing of your dog. You can apply the shampoo in the same order on your dog as last time. You will notice your shampoo is going to react differently the second time. It's really going to lather up! Now you are getting your dog clean. You want to repeat the gentle scrubbing action again making sure the most sebaceous areas (neck, behind ears, belly, rear end and feet) are getting a focused clean. Once you are sure you have applied shampoo and gently scrubbed all areas you can go ahead and rinse your dog. You want to rinse, and rinse and rinse some more.

"Always rinse the dog completely, until the water is running clean and then rinse 2 times more!" Linda Easton Warner ~President of International Professional Groomers

Tip #3 - You must use coat conditioner on your dog

Using a high quality dog specific conditioner on your dog after shampooing is imperative. When discussing home bathing with most pup parents they tell us they didn't know they should be using conditioner. In our section about shampooing we mentioned the sebaceous oils we are removing from the skin and coat. We need to replace oils with humectants provided in the conditioning products. The conditioner also works to close the hair follicle and smooth the cuticle. We cannot skip this step.

As stated with the shampoo products, we need to choose an appropriate conditioner that is made specifically for dogs. We recommend pairing a Natures Specialties conditioner intended for use with the shampoo you used. So in the example above we used Natures Specialties Plum Silky Shampoo now we want to follow up with Plum Silky Conditioner. Again, we are going to dilute the conditioner according to the dilution ratio shown on the bottle. Conditioner is typically concentrated higher than shampoo. Your Plum Silky Conditioner ratio is 32/1. So you will use 32 ounces of pure water and add 1 ounce of conditioner and shake well before applying. A gallon of conditioner always last twice as long in the salon as a gallon of shampoo does. Remember, we are shampooing twice but only conditioning once and with a higher concentration rate your conditioner will last you longer at home too.

Once your dog has been well rinsed and your conditioner is diluted you can go ahead and apply it to your dog. We use a different application order in the salon for conditioner than we do shampoo. Start at the back of your dogs neck and run your squirt bottle of diluted conditioner straight down the back, right along the spine. The solution will naturally roll down either side of the dog. After that, squirt your solution down the chest and legs of your dog. Follow up running it down the rump and tail. There isn't a need to scrub or rub the conditioner into the coat. Once you start rinsing, the conditioner will work its way into the coat and the dog's skin.

Rinsing conditioner seems to take longer than rinsing shampoo. You will see what we mean. Because the conditioner is working its way into the coat and onto the skin with the rinsing cycle it will take longer and more water to rinse it out. You want your water to run clean off of the dog. If you are working with a dog that has a long coat leaving a light amount of conditioner in the coat wont hurt.

Tip #4 - Wash that dog's face

You may have noticed in the shampooing section that we did not mention shampooing the dog's face. We feel this is a specialty area that needs specific instructions and a specific product. Washing your dogs face is important. Their face gets dirty and can hold a smell. We have noticed in the salon most dogs that are new to us automatically seem anxious when they feel like we are getting close to their face in the tub. Some breeds especially need protection from water getting into their nose but we protect all dogs from getting water in their nose and ears and shampoo in their eyes.

Let's start out with a product specifically made for washing the face of a dog. We choose Natures Specialties Pawpin Blueberry Tearless Shampoo. This shampoo dilutes 16/1, is tearless and apparently has a great taste because many of our clients immediately begin licking their face once we apply it. lol

We have developed a method of face washing that seems to work well for all dogs in our salon. We use a wash cloth and saturate it with water and then press the water into the face starting under the snout. We gently work our way to the cheeks and top of head using this method, refilling our cloth with water as much as needed to wet the whole face. This seems to be more tolerated by the dogs and avoids getting any water into their nose and ears. We then use a brush made for pedicures on all faces. We squirt our diluted face wash either onto the head or into the brush depending on what the dog will tolerate and start brushing all areas of the face and head using enough product to be sure the whole face has been cleansed. We then rinse the face using the same method with the soaking wash cloth as we do to initially wet the face. Most dogs seem to relax and enjoy the experience of their facial this way. We hope you will practice this method of face washing in your home bathing routine. Your dog will thank you for this.

You can get the Pawpin Blueberry Shampoo at Charming Pets or if your dog has sensitive skin we also carry Natures Specialties Truly Hypo line which is suitable for use on faces as well. You can get a pedicure brush at most drug stores or dollar stores. There is no need to use conditioner on your dogs face.

Tip #5 - Do not let your dog air dry, they need to be blown dry

In the salon our drying process of your dog is part of our cleaning process every single time. We lift and separate every hair on your dog while examining every inch of their skin. You may be one of the people that we have reported back to when we find something notable under all that fur. We strategically use our dryer to do some of the work that a brush or rake would do. Even though we might use a different tool than you would use at home blowing your dog dry is a step that should not be skipped.

Allowing your dog to dry in still air can cause some unexpected problems. A dog that isn't fully dried can develop odor. The hair or fur on your dog can get a musty smell from towel and air drying. A damp dog can grow yeast in their folds, places like the neck and underbelly in particular. Air drying causes tangles and matting as well. Especially in breeds with curly hair, long hair, or thick and long double coated dogs. Most wet dogs are going to lay down and it prolongs the dampness. This does apply to dogs that swim or wade in water. We notice a higher instance of skin infections in dogs that are pool, lake, and pond swimmers that are air drying frequently.

If you plan to adopt a home bathing routine we recommend you invest in a small high velocity dryer specifically made for drying dogs. Our first at home dryer purchase was a Shelandy. We recommend this dryer. Its affordable and effective and holds up well for at home use. We actually passed ours down to someone else when we upgraded. That dryer is still being used weekly by the new owner. If you plan to retain this information about home bathing for the occasional need you can use your blow dryer just make sure you aren't using it on high heat. Your dog's tolerance for hot air blowing at them is going to be much lower than yours. Make sure you are drying the under side of your dog. If they are wanting to get away from you, you can stand them up on your clothes dryer to keep them where you want them. Make sure to dry their feet, because feet are a common place that dogs get irritated and start licking and chewing. However, you will want to hold the dryer a little farther away from the feet than other areas of the body because the feet are sensitive. Please protect your dogs ears by not letting forced air get in there. Do the same for the anus and eyes.

We are certain that following these tips for at home bathing will get your dog safely clean and keep them charming

We hope that you learned something new by reading this post on dog bathing. We are always her for you if you want us to clean your dog or if you want our help while you keep your own dog clean. If you have questions please feel free to reach out to us. Please share our post with your friends and make comments about what you enjoyed the most about this post. Also, feel free to make suggestions on post topics you would like to read.