Important Guidelines For Bathing a Dog

Having a clean and healthy dog is a must for both you and your dog's happiness. Cleaning the ears, teeth, and coat, while keeping their hair free of ticks and fleas are for sure the essentials to washing a dog. Dogs do need to be bathed nearly as much as people do, and sometimes they will not think that it's very pleasant, but afterward will typically feel really good and be very joyful.

This is also a great time to brush their teeth, clean their ears and check for ticks and fleas, because considering that dogs don't like to sit still for a good bath, when bathing a dog it makes much more sense to do it all together.

Cleaning Dog's Teeth

Most veterinarians would recommend that you brush their teeth twice a week, but that's not a rule of thumb, and it does not mean that bathing a dog, in general, has to be done this often.

You can pick up special toothpaste and brushes made for dogs at your favorite pet store. The paste alone is designed to be tasty to our canine friends, so they shouldn't give you any fuss.

Use small circular strokes on the main teeth, and an up and down motion to take care of their pointier teeth.

If for some reason cleaning a dog's teeth does not sound like your cup of tea, you may also try dental treats or biscuits which can do the trick but are by far not nearly as good as the real thing.

Checking For Ticks And Fleas

When bathing your dog, it's very important to take this precautionary step. Ticks above all are the nasty little bloodsuckers that can carry diseases and make your dog very unhealthy, to say the least. A dog will typically pick these up in a wooded area (humans too), but you should do a thorough routine check throughout the warmer months of the year anyway.

Check under the collar, the belly, and deeply into the coat. They are very good at hiding in unusual places. If you do locate one, you can use your hands to remove them, but you will want to wash your hands afterward, and you will have to be very careful. You may perhaps use a pair of tweezers instead. Always remove a tick by its head, and not the body. If not you will end up with a nasty mess.

You can locate fleas when washing a dog by one big giveaway - their droppings. Flea poop looks like little flecks of black pepper. Fleas can vary in size, but they cannot be removed like ticks by simply picking them off.

You will need a good plan of action for this if you do find one. You can buy flea shampoo, but never ever start shampooing anywhere until you've started with the head FIRST. If you don't - they will "flea" to the dog's head and scramble into their eyes. Make the head a no-flea zone first by shampooing it before any other area.

There are also programs for treatment that are typically little droplets that you can apply to the coat of your dog. Consult a vet or expert first before using these. Too much can be harmful when bathing a dog.

Cleaning a Dog's Ears

Ear mites can be a real problem for dogs. They literally live off of the waxy secretion in a dog's ears. They have a short lifespan, and over time their bodies start stacking up, which creates a thick black dirt-like substance.

You can also pick up cleaning solutions for ears at a pet supply store. Use a cotton swab that has been dipped into a little bit of the solution, and gently wipe the ear. If when washing a dog they try to resist this process, hold them down and do it anyway - it goes by very quickly, does not do any harm, and will keep them healthy and ear mite free.

If not, your dog could end up with an ear infection or earache. As you have noticed by now, taking the time to do a little extra pampering can make all the difference in the world.