# Bath question



## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Somewhere, sometime I picked up the idea/fact? that when bathing dogs, I should not get the head wet; not wash above the neck. However, Penny's hair behind her ears seems oily and in need of a bath. Along with the rest of her.

What is the general advice or way to wash their head?


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I read recently that dogs don't like getting their faces wet - but I know Tesia will stick her whole head into the water to pick up a rock she can see. 

That said, I do her face and head last when I bathe her, and I use a cloth so I don't need to spray her face. Very little shampoo, and rinse with the cloth. I do dry her face first , too, just because I know people tend to want their faces dry first.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Penny doesn't like getting ANY part of her body wet from a hose or shower nozzle! :uhoh: Not your ideal candidate for a bath. :no:

Sounds like I can soap a LITTLE bit higher on her neck and work it into the neck hair behind her ears. I was thinking that just a wet cloth for her face would be enough.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

I use a tear free dog shampoo on my dogs to be on the safe side. The yorkies don't like it but too bad it has to be done. Buddy is fine. I also put cotton balls in his ears to discourage water for accidentally entering them- I don't with the Yorkies none of them have ever had an ear infection plus their ears are not floppy.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

I was wondering about cotton balls. Penny has never had an ear infection but I hate to tempt fate.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Penny's Mom said:


> I was wondering about cotton balls. Penny has never had an ear infection but I hate to tempt fate.


I don't - but I do take care not to let water get in her ears - mostly because it wouldn't feel so good. I cover her ears as I would a small child's while washing their hair. And then I make sure to dry them well.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Because Maggie is prone to ear infections, I do use cotton balls in her ears. Mine get washed EVERYWHERE. Usually I just rub my soapy hand over their noses and the same to rinse there.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I took my shower head off in the extra bathroom and installed one of those hose wand type shower head things. They don't look that great, but they make it 100x easier to give a dog a bath.
That way you can hold the head against the part of the body you want to wet and rinse. really don't know how you would rinse the abdomen without one (when Brooks needs a bath, like this morning, it is because he has waded into a stream and has that black silty soil all in his lower legs and underside)


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

I use one of those things...I call it a hand shower because I can hold it in my hand. Like you said, it can put the water right against their fur/skin. She hates it anyway.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

*se*

I put cotton balls in their ears and wash away. My dogs are fine with it and learn as puppies. I start with a washcloth, and tearless shampoo. Ultimately everyone is fine having their faces hosed off. They are, after all, water dogs... Faces need to be clean!


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

When I wash the face, it's always nose down. Water doesn't run into the nose, so they don't mind it. The inside flap of the ears is washed with a washcloth - and rinsed that way too, no hose.

They fight to be the first in the shower for bathtime.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Pointgold said:


> I put cotton balls in their ears and wash away. My dogs are fine with it and learn as puppies. I start with a washcloth, and tearless shampoo. Ultimately everyone is fine having their faces hosed off. They are, after all, water dogs... Faces need to be clean!


Never thought to use a wash cloth!:doh:


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

BajaOklahoma said:


> They fight to be the first in the shower for bathtime.


That's amazing. We have to put the leash on her BEFORE she gets an idea of what we're doing! lol Same with brushing. She's just not into being girly-girl!


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I had always heard to do the head last, something to do with preventing them from shaking the water off during the whole bath.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

As much as Pen hates her bath, she DOES listen when we tell her not to shake! Go figure.....


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

cubbysan said:


> I had always heard to do the head last, something to do with preventing them from shaking the water off during the whole bath.


I do head first, always.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Maybe you are missing something? Like a Rubber Ducky to make bathtime so much fun?


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

TOO cute Laura!!!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> TOO cute Laura!!!


Crew LOVES his bath. He pouts if he is not the one in the tub. Now, his mother Zoom on the other hand... she says "Take your stupid duck and get me outta here. I worked VERY hard for this dirt and now you wanna wash it all off?????"


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

HAHAHA! Penny and Maggie love their baths. They see me get their towels out and Penny runs and hops in the tub. When Maggie sees she is out, she hops in. Cody on the other hand.... not so much. He has the nickname of Mr. Naughty for a reason I guess.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Pointgold said:


> Crew LOVES his bath. He pouts if he is not the one in the tub. Now, his mother Zoom on the other hand... she says "Take your stupid duck and get me outta here. *I worked VERY hard for this dirt and now you wanna wash it all off?????"*


Mine is practically the polar opposite of this. If she is REALLY dirty, like the park was a swamp and we played ball anyway :doh:, she will actually walk into the house and go straight into the bathtub. I don't even need to say it! I like to run a little water, put the rubber mat down, and then put her in - but often she beats me to it all!


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

I've seen Penny leap OVER 4 foot breakers in the ocean (on a long line) and she always makes a dead run for Lake Michigan but rain? a bath? even getting the hose out to fill the horse's water buckets? she's outta there!!!


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## Pixies_big_sister (Apr 13, 2012)

When my grandmother Bathes her (obedience) dogs, she uses Johnson & Johnson(is that right?) no tear baby shampoo on a washcloth and washes the whole face and ears, being careful to not get it in the eyes and nose, then she rinses it off with a wet washcloth

it works really well, the dogs don't argue with it(even the dog that hates baths and has to be restrained in the dogtub) they actually seem to like it. and Oh! they smell so good after!


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Thank you for asking this question - I've always done Max's face last, soaped up with my hand, gently, and then rinsed with the shower head. He's not really a fan of that part! I'm gonna try the washcloth, that sounds so much nicer! 
Question - what's the proper temperature for the water? Is warm to me too warm for him? I keep it just on the warm side, since I get in the shower with him, I don't want to freeze my tuckus! And I do mean just warm, not anywhere near hot.


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## toliva (Nov 24, 2011)

This is a good thread - it never occurred to me to wash my dog's face  I guess I will need to start doing that! I do wash his ears though.

I keep the water warmish - about the same as what I use for my kids. If it's lukewarm or cool, my pup shivers. As of now, he likes his bath, so I guess the temp is good


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Laura, Zoom's expression is a dead ringer for the one Brooks gave me this morning when I had to bathe him after he went into a silt filled stream. He also manages to flatten his side against the side of the shower wall so I literally have to pull him off it in order to get that side of him washed. Today he also had briars all in his tail, that feels good on bare hands


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

I use just barely warm water...maybe 100 degrees. About the same as their body temp. We have hot/cold water in the garage so even outside she can have a comfy bath.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Thank you! That's about what I do, warm enough so I'm not going "OH HURRY UP!" but not too warm. 
Great information here, so nice to see people sharing!


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

I wash the dogs' faces but do it last and am really careful about no water getting into the ear canals. I find dogs really want shake as soon as their face and ears are wet. Seems to be the "shake your body button". Lol. So I do it last, but usually just with warm water and no shampoo.


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

laprincessa said:


> Thank you for asking this question - I've always done Max's face last, soaped up with my hand, gently, and then rinsed with the shower head. He's not really a fan of that part! I'm gonna try the washcloth, that sounds so much nicer!
> Question - what's the proper temperature for the water? Is warm to me too warm for him? I keep it just on the warm side, since I get in the shower with him, I don't want to freeze my tuckus! And I do mean just warm, not anywhere near hot.


 
Hey Susan!

The best way that I found for washing Buddy's face is to use a squirt bottle...kind of like a platic ketchup bottle but mine is bigger. I squirt in some shampoo and fill the rest with water and shake it...then I squirt it on his nose, between his eyes....very slowly.... I am so paranoid about getting anything in his eyes. I used a glove (that people use in bath houses)..they lather well and just sort of massage it on his face. I just kind of use my thumbs and circle around.

I use the squirt bottle on his feet too


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

laprincessa said:


> Thank you for asking this question - I've always done Max's face last, soaped up with my hand, gently, and then rinsed with the shower head. He's not really a fan of that part! I'm gonna try the washcloth, that sounds so much nicer!
> Question - what's the proper temperature for the water? Is warm to me too warm for him? I keep it just on the warm side, since I get in the shower with him, I don't want to freeze my tuckus! And I do mean just warm, not anywhere near hot.


Hey Susan!

I find that using a squirt bottle works well for us when washing Buddy's face. It is kind of like a plastic ketchup bottle but bigger. I put in some shampoo and fill the rest with water and then put the opening..what do you call that? Spout? Anyway, you know what I mean...on the very top of his nose and let it come out slowly. I am very careful not to let any near his eyes. Then I use a bath glove that lathers well...I just sort of massage it with my thumbs. 

I actually use the squirt bottle all over as I like to dilute the shampoo. It lathers much better this way and if you use the glove, makes it that much easier.


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

Looks something like this


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

mybuddy said:


> Looks something like this


 
Yep. I use an old dish soap bottle. I also have a garden sprayer that I put shampoo into and put on the hose in my tub. Dilutes as much or as little as I want, and cost me 4 bucks. Works great! Looks like this:


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

Pointgold said:


> Yep. I use an old dish soap bottle. I also have a garden sprayer that I put shampoo into and put on the hose in my tub. Dilutes as much or as little as I want, and cost me 4 bucks. Works great! Looks like this:


That's cool. I have never used a garden sprayer before. What is the stream like? Do you use this all over? If the stream can be adjusted to a stronger one, I suspect this would make an awesome lather!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

mybuddy said:


> That's cool. I have never used a garden sprayer before. What is the stream like? Do you use this all over? If the stream can be adjusted to a stronger one, I suspect this would make an awesome lather!


I wet them down first, then attach the sprayer. It has a pretty good stream. I'm not so much about lather, it is more a visual for the consumer than actually good for the hair/coat. The ingredient in shampoos that make lather (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) is also used in car washes and engine degreaser! Anyway, the garden sprayer is very adjustable and I can get as diluted or as strong a mix as I want during the bath. I've saved a ton of money on shampoo, too, as the dilution cleans every bit as well, so I use less.


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

Pointgold said:


> I wet them down first, then attach the sprayer. It has a pretty good stream. I'm not so much about lather, it is more a visual for the consumer than actually good for the hair/coat. The ingredient in shampoos that make lather (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) is also used in car washes and engine degreaser! Anyway, the garden sprayer is very adjustable and I can get as diluted or as strong a mix as I want during the bath. I've saved a ton of money on shampoo, too, as the dilution cleans every bit as well, so I use less.


 
What kind of shampoo do you use?

I wonder if this would attach to a regular shower hose..??


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

mybuddy said:


> What kind of shampoo do you use?
> 
> I wonder if this would attach to a regular shower hose..??


I mainly use Isle of Dogs products. I do use Dawn Dish Soap, and also Mane and Tail periodically.


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

Pointgold said:


> I mainly use Isle of Dogs products. I do use Dawn Dish Soap, and also Mane and Tail periodically.


 
Dawn dish soap...never heard of that and know for a fact I cant buy that here.

I never heard of Isle of Dogs here either. I will have to look. 

I am having a problem finding a suitable shampoo for Buddy. I always buy ones that I feel are good quality but he ALWAYS scratches for about 2 days after a bath. I bought Pet Head and that was pretty good....although he did scratch a bit. Just bought an oatmeal one by Natural Coat but he scratched 

I will be going by the pet store on Monday so will see if they have Isle of Dogs...

No scratching with this product?

I used Main and Tail years ago...maybe I will give that a try again. We have that here


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

I have the hand held shower head thingie so I don't think that sprayer would work, darnit, cuz that looks like an awesome idea. I will definitely try the bottle thing, though. Thanks!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

laprincessa said:


> I have the hand held shower head thingie so I don't think that sprayer would work, darnit, cuz that looks like an awesome idea. I will definitely try the bottle thing, though. Thanks!


I have a designated dog tub, and the hook-ups are just like those for regular garden hoses, so it works for me. I don't know of anything that might allow the sprayer to be attached to a regular shower type connection, but you might check with a plumbing supply store and see if there is some kind of adapter, maybe. I'm astounded at all the different stuff that you can get to make nearly anything fit!

My Tub, also known as "The Lilac Legend" (long story )


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

Holy cow, that shower area is amazing. 

The showers here are kind of strange but am thinking now, it might work!

Let's see....on the tap, there is a hose that runs up to the shower head. You can unscrew the head so thinking that the garden bottle might actually just screw into that. Hmmmm

Anyway, after I move, I will check it out.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Holy cow, that's nicer than what Max's groomer has! I'm pea green with envy here, that's really awesome! I think I'll have to show my husband these pictures and see if he can jury rig something, he loves to figure out stuff like this. 

Thank you for what might be his newest project.


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

Then maybe you can all come over to Taiwan and rig something up for Buddy and I!!!!


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## Pixies_big_sister (Apr 13, 2012)

My grandmother uses a Square plastic tub sink, it's big, I'm not sure what it's actual purpose is, maybe for laundry but it's big enough to fit a German Shepherd in it(and when I was little I used to be bathed in it) it's like 36" long/wide/tall it's a utility tub or something

it's got a regular sink Faucet(well a little taller) and a sprayer hose


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

laprincessa said:


> Holy cow, that's nicer than what Max's groomer has! I'm pea green with envy here, that's really awesome! I think I'll have to show my husband these pictures and see if he can jury rig something, he loves to figure out stuff like this.
> 
> Thank you for what might be his newest project.


The tub was $5 at a yard sale. The maintenance guy at the kennel I managed found it, and told me it was in good shape, but "mauve". I didn't care what color, and "mauve" was perfect - sorta beige, right? I told him to go ahead and get it. Next day, there she was in all her very LILAC glory, and all 750 pounds of her. Porcelain over cast iron. YIKES! How we got it into my van is beyond me, and how the Dogfather and I got it OUT, and onto the frame he built is even more amazing. I think I was like a mother whose child is trapped under a car, and adreneline enables her to lift that car up to save her baby. I wanted that tub SO BADLY... LOL. It has been awesome not to have to bend over to bathe dogs. And lemme tell ya, that thing is NOT going ANYWHERE. If there is a tornado, or a nuclear attack or something, I'm gettin' in that tub and holding on!!!!! LOL

A closer (older) picand photos do not do the actual color "justice", it is very lilac - lol)


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

I LOVE the color. I would even choose that over beige if I were buying a new one  I love color. I wonder why everyone always has such neutral colors. Hmmmm...now I want a yellow toilet..no pink.....oooooh, yellow with pink flowers!

As for bending over...it is getting rough on my back. :uhoh:

I would love a standing bath area. I think your bath area is fantastic!


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

This would go great with your bathtub! :wavey:










Is that lilac or are my eyes playing tricks? One minute is looks purple and the next white....


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

Hey, this is cool!!!!


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## Pixies_big_sister (Apr 13, 2012)

Pointgold said:


> The tub was $5 at a yard sale. The maintenance guy at the kennel I managed found it, and told me it was in good shape, but "mauve". I didn't care what color, and "mauve" was perfect - sorta beige, right? I told him to go ahead and get it. Next day, there she was in all her very LILAC glory, and all 750 pounds of her. Porcelain over cast iron. YIKES! How we got it into my van is beyond me, and how the Dogfather and I got it OUT, and onto the frame he built is even more amazing. I think I was like a mother whose child is trapped under a car, and adreneline enables her to lift that car up to save her baby. I wanted that tub SO BADLY... LOL. It has been awesome not to have to bend over to bathe dogs. And lemme tell ya, that thing is NOT going ANYWHERE. If there is a tornado, or a nuclear attack or something, I'm gettin' in that tub and holding on!!!!! LOL
> 
> A closer (older) picand photos do not do the actual color "justice", it is very lilac - lol)


oOOooooo that made me laugh! :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

You guys have succeeded in making me laugh so hard it brought on a coughing fit! 

I love that color! OMG, I can so see me doing the same thing - "Bear! There's this tub I need!" and we would figure out a way to get the darned thing in the house. I freakin love that tub!


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

laprincessa said:


> You guys have succeeded in making me laugh so hard it brought on a coughing fit!
> 
> I love that color! OMG, I can so see me doing the same thing - "Bear! There's this tub I need!" and we would figure out a way to get the darned thing in the house. I freakin love that tub!


 
Me too man! Seriously, I do!

When I was a little girl, my mother said that I could redo my room anyway I wanted. Well...you think your bathtub is mauve! My walls were mauve, my bed was mauve, my wallpaper was mauve and I even painted my dresser mauve. My curtains were deep purple like Donny Osmond's socks. Yes, I had his picture on the wall.....and....."The Fonz...ehhhhhhhh"

Yeah, it was a little mauve but I loved it. Mom was just sort of ...uhhh...you sure you want mauve? Anyway, I loved it.

So...this mauve bathtub is bringing up some very happy memories for me


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

I took my oldest granddaughter shopping for her birthday last year and while we were in the store, she told me she wanted curtains for her bedroom. I told her to pick out fabric and I'd make something for her. She picked out the most hideous bright green shiny fabric - and I made the bloody curtains - and she LOVED them! 

Your mauve room reminded me of that. Lord, I hope she doesn't get the idea to get a tub that color!


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## mybuddy (Mar 2, 2007)

Eeeeeek

I painted my nails this afternoon, as I usually do on Sundays.

I just glanced down and realized...they are lilac! Do you suppose that has anything to do with the tub??


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