Tips For Bathing a Dog Efficiently

Getting Your Things Ready 
You can't go to war without your battle gear. That may sound a bit exaggerated but it still applies in your daily life, even when it comes to bathing your dogs. You will just end up having a hard time giving your dog a bath when you haven't prepared yourself for it, so make sure you do the following things first.
If you're going to bathe your dog inside your house, make sure that all the surroundings in your bathroom are secured. You need to prepare a bath mat, so that you or your dog won't slip in case water splashes around. (Or more likely WHEN water splashes around!) You can also try putting some plastic bags like a garbage bag, around the floor, it's not necessary, but it will definitely save you time when cleanup time arises. And it may also protect your other stuff from getting wet.
Prepare the water for your dog. Usually dog's really don't mind if the water is cold or warm, but it's better to use warm water to make him comfortable. Make sure you run the water before your dog enters it. Sometimes when a dog hears running water they immediately get scared and won't enter the bathtub, so you should make sure you do this before he enters the tub. If you don't have a detachable showerhead, you can prepare a pitcher if your dog is large or a cup if your dog is small. This is what you will use to pour water on your pet. Put cotton balls in his ears (not too deep) to prevent water from entering them. 
Bathing Your Dog 
Before you put your dog in the tub, make sure to brush his hair first. It would be better to brush your dog's hair to prevent it from matting. Sometimes matting can get worse if you wet their coat and apply shampoo or conditioner, so it is essential for you to brush his coat first before getting him wet. 
You are now ready to put him in the tub. Start pouring water on his head first before proceeding to pour water on his body. Make sure you avoid his eyes and nose. Apply shampoo on your dog. (Do not use human shampoo; there are dog shampoos for a reason, so make sure to use a dog shampoo.) Make sure not to get any shampoo in the eyes and nose so your dog won't feel irritated. Start lathering his coat from the neck, to his body, his undercoat and legs, and down to his tail. Make sure you have your hand on your dog to prevent him from shaking the lather off. 
Use the pitcher or the cup to rinse your dog off, make sure to cover his eyes and nose. Start pouring from his head and then to his body. Make sure to wash all of the shampoo from his body. This may take several rinsings. After giving your dog a rinse you can now get him out of the tub. Let him shake off the excess water, and have your towel ready to dry him off. You can let your dog dry in the sun, keeping him in an enclosed container to prevent him from running back on the dirt. However if there is no sun, you can just towel dry your dog, or you can use a blow dryer. Please take note: Do not put the blower on hot or high, and avoid putting the dry-blower too near to your dog. And now you have a clean, beautiful dog!

How to Get Rid of Dog Dandruff

Dogs can also acquire dandruff for some reasons. Dandruff can be caused by diet, hygiene or environment factors. Here are some tips on how you can maintain your dog dandruff-free:

Give regular baths

When giving your dog a bath, use warm water and a mild shampoo to massage thoroughly into his skin, and rinse very well. It is advisable that you give your dog a bath once a month during winter season, and twice a month during summer. Regular baths will wash away flakes before they clump up and become dandruff.

Use pet shampoo with sulfur or salicylic acid

You can also try using a pet shampoo containing sulfur or salicylic acid. This might work better than a regular mild shampoo. When giving your dog a bath, lather the shampoo thoroughly on his skin and leave for about 5 minutes, and then rinse well. Never use medicated shampoo of humans because it can cause serious harm to your dogs, as well as prevent from using shampoo that contain insecticide because it can cause dryness to the skin of your dog.

Oatmeal as natural oil or fats storage

Oatmeal has the ability to help store natural oils into the skin, causing it to have enough moisture preventing the formation of dandruff. You can use the oatmeal soap humans use to reduce dry skin and prevent flaking. It will surely help moisturize the skin of your dog.

Oil rinse

Oil rinse also helps store moisture into the skin. You can spray generous amount of oil rinse to your dog's coat, preventing to cause dry skin. This is very useful in a dry climate.

Moisturizing lotion or cream

For moisturizing purposes as well, you can use your moisturizing lotion or cream to your dog's coat to avoid dry skin and flaking.

Natural herbs

Natural herbs mixture can also be very effective on dogs. You can mix equal parts of arum triph, viola tri, comocladia and cina plus chamomillia. Apply generous amount and massage thoroughly into the skin of your dog once a day for 4 days to eliminate dandruff.

Dog Bathing

Taking your pet for bathing is part of your dog's grooming session. Grooming does not only make your pet appear attractive but also keep it clean and germ free. Keeping your pet germ free is also essential to maintain the general health of your family. Especially, if you have small children at home you are advised to take your pet for bath at regular intervals. The following are the steps of dog bathing that may guide you while you take your pet for washing.

Dog Bathing Steps

• At first you are required to collect the ingredients that you would be requiring while washing your dog. Get hold of few clean towels, doggy shampoo, brush, comb and some cotton balls to rinse the dog ears.
• You must know that bathing is usually not an enjoying experience for dogs. They would perhaps get scared. To ease your job you are advised to get some dog treats to keep it engaged and happy.
• Before bathing try to groom the fur of your dog with brush. Get rid of the loose dirt, snarls and mat. The hair tangles should also be freed before the fur of your dog gets wet.
• Depending upon the size and nature of the dog you may either bathe your dog in a kitchen sink in case your pet is small or a big bath tub in case it is of a giant size. Bathing in the kitchen sink might lead to many risks in case your pet dislikes taking bath and has the habit of jumping out of the basin. If you find difficulty in washing your pet in a sink or a tub, you may simply put your doggy under a shower. It is sure to get wet.
• Cover the floor of the bath tub or the sink with a mat or a towel in order to avoid your pet from slipping. A rubber mat at the base will give your pet support to stand and feel comfortable.

Make sure of the temperature of the water. Feel it with your own hands to determine the accurate temperature of the water. Do not make use of your shampoo for washing your dog as the ph level of humans is different from that of dogs. You should also not go for dog bathing every day as that can cause drying up of the fur and damaging of the quality of the coat.