Of course it is really nice to pamper your dog from time to time and nothing beats a trip to a great grooming salon, even if it is only for a freshen up bath and nail trim. Our customers tell us that they can never get their dog smelling as good, when they bath them at home in between trips to the salon. There are a few tips and tricks that you should do if you are washing your dog at home, to achieve better results and make it worth washing him-after all it is a lot of effort to go to if he or she is going to finish up smelling like ‘wet dog’!.

Big dogs like Sasha need a non-slip mat in the tub and care when helping them into the bath.
First of all, you need to think about the logistics. How big is your dog? Can you manage to get him up the stairs and into the tub? Maybe you will need a friend to assist you. You do need to be able to wash your dog in the bath or shower, I am not going to advocate washing in the garden with a cold hose pipe, you wouldn’t like to wash this way and neither would your dog! Plus a cold wash down is the fastest way to a stinky wet dog smell and a greasy, smelly coat. If you have a tiny dog, a sink may be an option, but make sure that you have a shower attachment on the taps, or a jug of ready mixed water on stand by because you will not want to run the taps into the sink with your dog there, in case you scald him!
Once you have established that you have somewhere suitable to bath your dog and can get him there, its time to think about which products to use. There are some really good products on the market for dogs hair and skin, do a bit of research and pick a shampoo which will benefit your dog. You get what you pay for, so I advise buying a good quality salon shampoo and conditioner. Anything less and you might as well not bother washing your dog at all. I have tried so many of the shampoos readily available in pet stores and most of them just do not do the job well enough. One exception is the Animology range, which is available in a few stores, and is actually praised by professional groomers, many of us use gallons of it in our salons, so if you can get hold of a bottle of that you will be fine. Otherwise try online for salon shampoos such as Groomers Jasmine and Lemongrass Shampoo 500ml
-you will find the fragrance is more effective and pleasant, and they really clean deep down and get rid of all the grease and dander which is causing your dog to smell.

Get puppies (like Boris here) used to gentle bathing from a young age.
Get organised before you start, making sure you have all your stuff to hand, as it’s difficult to grab a forgotten item once you have a soaking wet, wriggly dog to hold. You’ll need your shampoo and maybe conditioner, cotton wool to place in his ears to keep out excess water, a couple of towels, an Aquasorb Towel
to help get him dry super-fast, perhaps a jug to mix shampoo/rinse him off and definitely a collar and lead or slip lead to help keep him in the vicinity of the bath! I would advise you to use an anti slip mat in the bath, if you haven’t got one of those, then a towel placed in the bath will do to stop his or her claws scrabbling and slipping. (You will find that if your dog becomes at all nervous, the nails will start to protrude from the feet more, and if the dog is on a shiny surface he will slip, leading to more panic-and so on)
If your dog is large, be careful when lifting him into the bath, get someone to help you. If necessary use two large towels as ‘slings’ under his tummy to help lift him, but be very gentle and steady. Always keep one hand on your dog when he is in the bath, so that he does not jump out and injure himself. Test the water temperature constantly- over the years I have developed the habit of running the shower over one of my hands and onto the dog, so that I can tell instantly if the water temperature changes.
Shampoo and rinse your dog twice, making sure to keep shampoo away from his/her eyes. Remember to wash all of the dog, not just the middle of the back, also wash the bits that are harder to get too, the legs and feet, the tail, and rinse very thoroughly. Conditioner can now be used and again rinsed thoroughly.

Rinse your dog thoroughly, getting any shampoo residue out, as it can make your pet itch.
This is Benson being rinsed with the shower
Your Aquasorb Towel
comes into it’s own now as you try and get your dog as dry as possible with the towels. Even in the professional salon this is a key step to speedy drying. You can even wrap your dog in a couple of warm dry towels and let him relax for ten minutes (if he will lie still-many dogs would rather go round the house wiping themselves on the sofas and beds and sneezing at this point!). You can get a special terry towelling bathrobe for the dog to wear after his bath, which sounds funny but really is quite useful to save on drying time.
If you are using your hand held dryer to dry your dog, try and get some assistance from a friend or family member. If you have successfully removed the worst of the wet with towels, if should not take too long. Do make sure that you are not burning the dog by getting the dryer too close. Brushing the coat at the same time will really speed things up, and also make the coat dry more evenly and give the coat a better, glossier look. If your dog is large and heavy coated, or is a ‘spongey’ coated breed like the cocker spaniel it may be worth investing in a high velocity dryer/blaster. This can also be used to good effect when you come back from a wet walk, to blast the water of your pet’s coat and get him dry in next to no time.
Toby is ready to be towelled dry
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