grooming
How to Bathe A Dog Correctly © Kelly Ladouceur
The first thing you should do when you’re getting ready to bathe your dog is to assemble everything beforehand. I go into the bathroom and lay out two bath towels, shampoo and conditioner, and prepare the tub. I use a mesh “hair catcher” in the drain of the tub, to catch any hair. This way your septic or sewer system doesn’t get clogged by dog hair. You can buy these at most hardware stores.
Anal Glands The first thing I always do is empty the dog’s anal glands. I face the dog away from the taps, standing. This may be a two person job if the dog really dislikes having this done – one person to keep the dog standing and another person to empty the glands. Use one hand to lift the tail straight up – this forces the glands to be more superficial and easier to locate. Place your thumb on one side of the anus, with your forefinger on the other side, with the tail coming under the web between your thumb and forefinger. With your fingers at approximately 4 o’clock and 8 o’clock, squeeze your fingers together. You should feel two small glands (pea-shaped), and they should empty as you squeeze. The stuff that comes out should be any shade of beige to brown, and liquid, and it doesn’t smell good at all. Sometimes it is thicker, but if this seems painful to the dog, or it’s very tough to do, take the dog to your vet. Anal glands can become impacted, and this can be very painful for the dog. Rinse the stuff down the drain and try not to inhale. CLICK HERE for an article on anal glands with diagrams from PetEducation.com.
Before bathing, place a 100% cotton ball in each of the dog’s ears. This prevents water from entering the ear canal. I use a removable showerhead for bathing the dogs – I use two settings. One is the normal setting that most people use in the shower, and the other is the “pulse” setting with sprays the water out with some force. Because many Cockers have thick coats, I find it necessary to use the pulse setting to thoroughly wet the hair on the sides, belly and legs.
Use a gentle shampoo that doesn’t contain detergents or too much fragrance. Personally I like Buddy Wash and Buddy Rinse (http://www.cloudstar.com) and Plush Puppy products (http://www.plushpuppy.com) – but different things work for different dogs. Make sure you lather the dog up well. I usually start with the feathering on one ear, ensuring that I get all crumbs and crusty stuff out. Then I wash the underbelly, the chest, the front leg and the back leg, in that order. Make sure you really massage the soap into the coat, and get the feet clean. I always pick up the feet and wash between the toes too. Rinse thoroughly. Then use a good conditioner on all feathering. I never condition the back coat if the dog is not being shaved on the back. Correct back coat on a Cocker should be coarse and water-repellant, not soft and silky like the longer hair. If you condition this coat, it softens and can no longer be the waterproof “jacket” it is meant to be. I use conditioner on the ears, legs, side coat, chest and belly coat. I leave it on for 1-2 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. I squeeze as much water from the coat as I can before pulling the dog out of the tub and wrapping it in a towel.
Please note that if your Cocker has a significant length of coat (maybe ½” or longer), you should not rub the dog dry with a towel. If you do rub the coat dry, you run the risk of causing friction tangles. Instead, squeeze the water out of coat with the towel. Some people use chamois towels, like the ones used to dry cars after being washed, because they wick out more water.
There are many different types of blow dryers you can use on your Cocker Spaniel. If you just have one or two dogs with short coat, then you may not need to blow the dog dry at all. Air-drying may be an option for your dogs. However, if you prefer to blow your dog dry, there are many options. The first option is to use a handheld human hair dryer. It is important to keep the heat setting as low as possible, and to monitor how hot the air gets during drying. It is easy to burn a dog’s skin if you hold the dryer in one spot for too long, or if you have the heat setting turned up. The second option is to use what many groomers and show folks call a blaster. This is a forced air dryer that doesn’t typically heat the air, but blows it out with a lot of force, in order to literally blow the water off the dog’s coat. Blasters come in many makes and models, and in a wide range of prices. On the lower end of the price scale is the Metro Air Cadet, which ranges around $99 USD. It is a lighter powered forced air dryer, but it will still work more quickly than a regular handheld blow dryer will. As you increase the motor power and airflow force, the price increases. There is the Double K Challengair, with two motors and a significant amount of airflow volume. It gets the water off the dog very quickly, but because of how noisy it is and how hard it blows, it can be very intimidating for some dogs. The third option is to use a stand dryer. These can be very expensive, so they are typically a necessity only for people with several dogs to groom or for somebody with a lot of disposable income. These dryers don’t blow as much air as the forced air dryers do, but they heat the air. Depending on which make and model you purchase, you can control everything from speed of airflow to air temperature.
I always use a pin brush to brush the dog’s hair while blow-drying. A slicker brush can cause the hair to stretch and break, which may lead to mats later on. A pin brush has longer bristles, and is effective for locating and removing tangles. My dogs are taught to lie down during the drying process (on their sides), which gives me easy access to the armpit and groin areas, as well as the insides of the legs.