Dogs and cats are ordinarily the only animals that pet
owners bother bathing.Of course
the purpose of the dog bath is to remove dirt and odors.And the odors vanish with the
dirt.There is no ideal way to bathe a dog, and there is simply no
substitute for rolling up your sleeves, getting in there, and applying some good
old fashioned manual labor.Fingers
are far superior to any device when it comes to getting your animal clean.
Since dog coats are water-resistant, water alone isn’t
sufficient for dog grooming.Liquid
or soft soap with a 20 or 40 percent coconut oil base is an excellent product.Diluting a 40 percent soap with equal parts of water will prove to be
more cost effective.A 20 percent
product seems to be just about the ideal concentration.You can either add the soap to a bucket of warm water before applying it
to your dog, or you can apply it directly to the dog’s back, pour on an
appropriate amount of water, and lather it up by mixing it on the animal.
Regardless of which method the water and soap are applied,
they must be worked thoroughly into the coat and kneaded until the dirt has been
dissolved or loosened.After
lathering up the soap, and thoroughly working the dirt from the skin and coat,
the soap must be completely rinsed from the animal.Working the fingers through the hair while rinsing is the
best method to remove all soap from the dog’s coat.One washing and rinsing is generally all that is needed, but the process
can be repeated if necessary.
Bathing a dog generally results in loosening of hair, so
once the animal is dry, quite a bit of combing will likely be necessary to rid
the coat of the loose hair, and will give it an attractive sheen.
Kitchen sinks are useful for washing small dogs or puppies.If you are fortunate enough to have a sprayer as part of the fixture,
washing and rinsing small dogs is a remarkably easy task.
Removing tar from the dog’s coat can be accomplished by
soaking it in vegetable oil for 24 hours then shampooing it out.Latex paints can generally be shampooed out quickly if the paint hasn’t
been allowed to sit too long.Some
oil based paints can be removed by using Avon Skin So Soft.
If your dog was sprayed by a skunk, the best concoction for
eliminating the odor is by using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and
liquid soap.Mix one quart of 3%
hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap in a
bucket.Soak the dog’s coat being
careful not to get any in his eyes.Use
a sponge or a cloth to clean his head and particularly the area around his eyes.Work the mixture thoroughly into his coat, kneading it repeatedly with
your fingers.Rinse thoroughly when finished.
