Posts tagged bathing

Most of our customers ask us how often they should bath their puppy, what shampoo they should use, and other good questions.  We offer this puppy article to help answer most of the more common questions in regards to bathing your puppy.

Bathing your puppy is a sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating time for you and your puppy.  Following these helpful hints will make bathing your puppy easier and hopefully less frustrating for you and your pet.

After a period of time, your puppy will be use to the bathing routine and what was once a frustrating time for you and your puppy will become a fun time.

How often should I bathe my puppy? There is no firm rule for this, but a good rule is, when your puppy is dirty, smelly, or it has been several weeks since your puppy has received a bath.  Bathing on a regular basis will allow your puppy to become use to the bathing process, and it will be less scary for your puppy each time you do it.  We often suggest to a new puppy owner to consider bathing their puppy every week or every two weeks.  It’s maybe not so much that the puppy needs a bathe as much as it needs to stay in the routine.

What kind of shampoo should I use to bathe my puppy? While there are many brands on the market use a shampoo that says on the bottle that it is a tearless puppy shampoo. Also confirm on the label on the back that it contains aloe or lanolin to prevent your puppy’s skin from becoming to dry.  Dry skin sometimes will make your puppy itch causing your puppy to scratch excessively. The conditioners aloe or lanolin will  help ensure that the coat and underlining skin will not become too dry from the bathing process.

Where is a good place to bathe my puppy? A good place to bath your puppy is any one of the areas in your home that you are comfortable using and that is not to big or small for your puppy. For example, a utility tub works great for a smaller type of puppy while the bath tub may be more suitable for a larger breed of puppy. Since you’ll be getting your puppy wet and rinsing it, having a hose attachment on the faucet will be very helpful to you, and allow you to wet or rinse your puppy with ease.

How do I bathe my puppy? Start by turning on the water and getting a temperature that is comfortable for your puppy, lukewarm to the touch is the correct temperature.  Place a cotton ball into each ear to prevent water from entering into the ear canal during bathing.  Water left in an ear canal can cause ear infections, so always do your best to avoid  excessive water from getting in the ear canals of your puppy.  Wet the puppy thoroughly with the lukewarm water; apply the shampoo to the puppy allover the body and massage for a minute or two, if using a medicated shampoo follow the directions on the package.  Do the head and face last because the usual response when getting this area wet or soapy is instinctively for your puppy to vigorously shake off the soap and water.  Rinse thoroughly, so you don’t leave any soap on the puppy at all, this will prevent soap residue from causing dry skin areas. Rinse buy using either the hose attachment or by dumping small containers or fresh water over the puppy.  Towel dry your puppy the best you can, then remove the cotton balls from each ear. Take dry cotton balls and dry out each ear thoroughly, go only as deep as the cotton ball will allow you.  To prevent injury to the inner ear do not ever use a q-tip in your puppy’s ear. Praise your puppy for being so good during the procedure and offer a treat when done, so that the next time you bathe your puppy they know that there is a treat involved for their good behavior and patience.

My puppy is clean now what? When the bathe is done, and you have toweled dried you puppy, there is one more thing you must do to complete the grooming process.  Brush or comb the fur, as thoroughly as you can to prevent any tangles or mats. Brushing or combing your puppy will aid in the drying process.  Remember if your puppy is damp, or wet at all, do not let the puppy out of doors if the temperature is cool outside, so you don’t accidentally cause your puppy to become hypothermic.

I hope this will help you to bathe your puppy, in a fun and not too frustrating way.  Remember you and your puppy are learning together.  Your puppy will be getting clean and, you may be getting a little wet in the process.  But what is love if you don’t share in the ups and downs of taking care or each other.

Fun Fact: Purina Puppy Chow and Purina Dog Chow are two of the most popular and recognized brand names of pet foods today.

Fun Fact: In addition to being the smallest dog ranging from 1-6 pounds, the Chihuahua is one of the shortest ranging from 6-9”.

For more information on Designer Puppies / Pure Breed Dogs go to www.uticapet.com and click on any of the articles that are of interest to you.  If you are interested in purchasing a Designer Dog or if you are interested in purchasing a Pure Breed Dog you can check our inventory at

www.uticapetsupplyllc.com/price.php

Also, please consider Utica Pet Supply if you are considering a puppy adoption.  Our adoptions are simple, fun, and extremely cost effective.  Sometimes, you can adopt a fully vaccinated puppy between 12-16 weeks of age in some cases as low as $99.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, we hope you enjoyed it and found it informative.

About the Authors

John and Roxanne Goeth established Utica Pet Supply LLC in 1999 and assisted in developing Reliance Animal Hospital with their Staff Veterinarian Y.D. Youanes DVM in 2002. John Goeth also serves as Director of Reliance Animal Hospital LLC.