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 Try and make your dog's bath time a pleasant experience.
Get Equipment Brush, comb, detangler, shampoo, cotton balls, towel. Give a puppy it's first bath when it starts getting a strong doggy odor. Do not bathe often because it may remove the dog's natural protective oils and may cause dry itchy flaky skin. Give your dog a good brushing before you bathe to get out any knots in the coat. Mats in the coat will become much more matted when the dog's coat gets wet. It is also very difficult to get all the soap out of the dog's coat if it is matted. If soap is left and not rinsed out completely, it will make the dog's skin itchy. Use conditioner or detangler to help remove stubborn mats. Once you dogs coat is all brushed out it is time for his bath Using a bathtub or sink start the water running slowly and be sure to check the temperature. The water should be warm. Place the dog in the tub. Talk soothingly and move slowly to keep your dog calm. Only add a few inches of water and there will be less splashing and mess. If your dog has floppy ears put cotton balls in his ears to prevent water going into the ear canal and causing ear infections.
Hold on to the dog firmly and start wetting the dog down by using a bucket or a hand held shower head held very close to it's body. Start at the rear of the dog and saturate all the hair down to the skin. Cover the dogs eyes with your hand when washing the head and direct the water towards the back of the head to avoid getting water in the ears. Never spray water directly into a dogs face. Now gently massage your dog with shampoo remembering to wash his feet and legs. Use a warm soapy facecloth for the face. Once you are done shampooing start rinsing your dog, holding the water source very close to the hair to ensure the water reaches the skin. When all the soap is out and if you want to use a conditioner put it on the dog according to the directions on the bottle. Then repeat the rinsing procedure.
When you are sure all the conditioner is out of the dog's coat, drain the tub and again rinse the dogs legs and feet. Be sure to keep a good hold on your dog so that he doesn't try to shake all the excess water off of himself and give you a shower. Once the water is drained remove the cotton balls from his ears and squeeze out all the excess water on his legs and feet. Then gently rub him with the towel. If your dog is long haired don't rub vigorously because you can put mats back in the coat.
After you dog is towel dried lift it from the tub. It can be allowed to air dry in your house or if it is a warm day you could put it outside in a crate in the sun or on the patio, somewhere where it can't get dirty until it's coat is dry. Or use a blow dryer to dry the coat.
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