如何正确帮狗狗洗澡 | How To Shower Your Dog Correctly

How often should I shower my dog and what shampoo is suitable for puppy use?

Due to our hot and humid weather in Malaysia, we can shower our dog once a week. Showering too often may remove moisture from the skin and cause itchiness. When choosing a suitable shampoo, mild ingredients are recommended, especially for young puppies. Shampoos that have whitening or colour-enhancing ingredients are better used only on adult dogs. Human shampoos should be avoided on dogs because a dog’s skin tends to be mildly alkaline, while human skin is more acidic in pH.

What are the correct steps to shower my dog?

You can prepare a bottle to dilute the shampoo, so that it’s more convenient to use later. Portioning the shampoo amount out and mixing it with water also helps to balance the shampoo usage during the shower, and prevents any wastage too. Besides that, a scrubber glove can be used to enhance the cleanliness, and helps with lathering too.

First of all, rinse your dog’s body until it’s thoroughly wet. For groomers, this is when we’d do the anal gland squeezing. This is a very important step for the basic grooming for small dog breeds. You should hold the shower head close to your dog’s skin, so that they’re not frightened by the shower noise. If your dog is scared of direct water contact to the head, you can wet it slowly with your hand instead.

Pour the diluted shampoo onto their coat. When you rub the shampoo on, it’s recommended to rub the coat in downward movement instead of rubbing up and down to avoid the hair from getting tangled. You can use your fingers to rub in between their toes, but remember not to lift the leg too high.

For the face area, you can also use your fingers to do the cleaning, but avoid getting water into the dog’s eyes and nose. When rinsing the face area, lift your dog’s face up and be careful to avoid water from going into the nose. Place the shower head right close to your dog’s head, so that the water will flow down naturally.

Use the same method to rinse the body. Remember to rinse the bathtub’s surrounding too, so that your dog’s coat won’t be dirtied by any leftover shampoo stains on the bathtub or floor.

You can use a grooming towel to wipe your dog dry as it has stronger absorbency power and easier to maintain hygiene too. If you’re doing this at home, you can use a hair dryer to blow the fur dry. Use a pin comb to check if there’s any tangled hair in the coat. Blowing dry and brushing at the same time can enhance the fluffiness of the coat. For more details, we’ll share it in our next video.

Some additional tips:

Feeding is not recommended right before a shower. If you plan to send your dog to a grooming centre, avoid feeding it any food 2 hours before the appointment.

Do not shower your dog 7 – 10 days after a vaccination shot. If your dog is scheduled for its vaccination, shower it one day before the appointment.

Hope these little tips help, especially for new pawparents!

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