How to Bathe Your Dog

Bathing a dog sounds like an easy, low-stress task but really there are some important things that you need to know before you begin. Whether you are bathing a puppy or an adult dog is it essential that you follow a few professional tips.

How to Prepare Your Dog for a Bath

If you are bathing a puppy, you will need to take steps to acclimate your puppy to bath time. It is important that your dog associate bath time with a positive experience. Use a lot of gentle talking and soft pats and even a few treats to build that relationship between bath and happy feelings. The water that you use should be a medium warm temperature. Dog have extremely temperature sensitive skin and toenails so be sure that the water you are using isn’t too hot or too cold to keep your pet comfortable.

Whether you are bathing outside with a hose or indoors in the tub, be sure that your pet is as comfortable as possible. Use a tearless baby shampoo or dog shampoo and be careful around your pet’s eyes and face. Most dogs will lick their faces when they get wet and a mouth full of soap can be dangerous and unpleasant for you and your animal so avoid soap in this area or rinse right away.

How to Get a Dog Really Clean

Aside from the normal dog smell, certain breeds and dogs naturally have more hygiene issues than others. Cocker spaniels and terriers have a tendency to have tears on their faces. These deposits, like sleep in the eyes, occur naturally and can’t be prevented. Buildup of these deposits can become very hard and sores can develop underneath. It is important to clean these off as often as possible to avoid irritation and infection. To remove, use a warm washcloth and very gently rub the area.

There are products available at most pet stores that can be used as well but be very careful not to get these products in the eye. Dogs with longer hair have a tendency to develop mats or thick knots of hair. These mats need to be cut off your dog as soon as possible to again avoid sores and infections underneath. Sores are cause by trapped moisture that begins to putrefy on the skin. These mats and sores are very painful and sometimes may require medical attention.

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Bathing a Dog

• Acclimate your pet to the bath setting you will be using. Whether outside or in a tub, be sure your pet is as comfortable as possible.
• As you get your pet ready, talk to them in calm, soothing tones. Pet them or offer treats as a reward.
• Start at your pet’s head and move towards the tail. Avoid getting water in their ears and eyes. Use a tearless baby shampoo or a puppy shampoo. These are nontoxic and won’t harm your pet if soap gets into their eyes.
• Rinse thoroughly. Be sure to get all the soap off your pet. Leftover soap will be licked off and can cause vomiting, and diarrhea.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Bathing a Dog

If your pet is overly stressed and fighting with you, it may be in your best interest to let a professional handle the bath. The more your pet is exposed to the process however, the calmer they will become.

(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)
 Loading ...

How to Train Your Dog To Do Anything

From the moment I held my dog, I was in love with him. He was six months old and about 5 pounds with big brown eyes and huge ears. When I took him home and set him down on the carpet, I was less than impressed. He destroyed things, marked things, and made a huge mess of just about everything I owned. But how do you train you dog to go potty outside and how do they get those dogs on TV to fetch newspapers and flush toilets?

Observe Natural Behaviors

Dogs are naturally, creatures of habit. They always walk along the same paths, lay in a certain spot in the living room and eat the green kibbles before the red…or maybe that’s just my dog. Regardless, by noticing natural behaviors that your dog may exhibit you will significantly cut down on training time. Think of a trick or “skill” and observe natural tendencies towards that action. Use those natural behaviors to your advantage.

As an example, I noticed that my puppy always slept on a certain throw I had in my living room. When he would go to lay down I would watch him and say “Go lay down” then reward him. In a day he learned that go lay down meant to find that blanket, wherever it was, and lay on it. It was a great trick when there was company over or I was doing something I didn’t want him getting into.

Be Creative and Consistent

There really is no set way to teach an animal a behavior. The more creative you can be with training, the better. If your puppy like to play, use playtime as a reward when they do something good. A behavior must be repeated over a hundred times with the same result in order for an animal or human to truly learn.

If you are consistent with results like rewards and punishments, your puppy will learn faster. The ultimate trick is housebreaking and the key really is consistency. If you can take your puppy out every hour on the hour, they will learn much faster than if you are only able to take them out three times a day. Alternate treats and pats. Too many treats will create a chubby dog and will teach your dog that they should only obey when there is food involved. An excited tone of voice and a scratch are the best rewards.

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Training Your Dog

• Watch your dog to see his natural habits.
• Use creativity to make the training more interesting for everyone.
• Be consistent with praise and correction

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Training a Dog

Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day and lassie didn’t learn where the well was in a week.

(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
 Loading ...