Parkway Animal Hospital's
PET OWNER'S GUIDE TO
Bathing Your Pet
Steps For Proper Shampooing Of Your Pet:
-
Your pet's skin is quite different from human skin. It's thinner, has no sweat
glands, and has a different PH. Therefore most human shampoos are not
satisfactory. Neither are many over-the-counter pet shampoo products, especially
if your pet has any type of skin abnormality or disease.
-
Bathe the pet whenever it is dirty or smells bad. We recommend you routinely
bathe the pet every 10-14 days to prevent excessively drying the hair coat
BUT with our recommended products, it is SAFE to bathe whenever
necessary.
- BRUSH and COMB out mats BEFORE the bath.
- Pack cotton in the ears.
- Lubricate the eyes with mineral oil, castor oil, Vaseline, or
eye ointment to prevent burning or irritating the eyes with the soap or dipping
solution.
-
WET THOROUGHLY before applying soap. Use luke warm water for pet’s
comfort. Use COOL water if the pet is “itchy.”
-
THOROUGHLY LATHER. Add more water (instead of soap) to increase the
lather. Allow the soap lather to stand on the pet’s body for 3-5 minutes.
(Medicated soaps: 5-10 minutes.)
This step is very important!!
- Use a sponge to wash the face. Using the fingers is better
than any brush for lathering and scrubbing the skin!
- RINSE THOROUGHLY to prevent skin irritation.
- Repeat the soap procedure if the pet is extremely dirty.
- Squeeze hair to remove excess water before applying dip
solution.
