Advice on Bathing an 85 lb. dirty doodle

[Debbie and Thomas]

This is probably a dumb question but I have never bathed Thomas yet. He goes to the groomer for his baths when he needs to be trimmed. They are booked for 3 weeks and I do not want to try a new groomer at this point after hearing all of the horror stories. We really don't want his hair cut as it is all shaggy and cute right now. But he needs a bath for his Christmas card photo. His beard is kind of gross and smelly at the moment. What is the procedure?? Do I shampoo and rinse him, let him dry and then brush him OR should I brush him before he gets wet, then just towel him dry? Or shud I brush him when he is wet and let him dry? I don't think he would like it if I use the blow dryer on him so is it OK to towel dry him and then let him air dry? Oh yeah, is it bad to use people shampoo and cream rinse? Any advice will be appreciated as we will attempt this "operation" tomorrow.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Lots of good advice in the Grooming Group here. But I brush out any matts and dirt (and twigs and stickers and birds nests and extra food) before I bathe. You will get conflicting advise on shampoos, but I must say, good dog shampoo makes a difference in my two. One has wool and one has fleece type hair and they are much softer with the Oatmeal Dog Shampoo and Cream rinse I use. No itching issues either. Some people swear by cheap people shampoo like Suave. I have used it before, but I wash mine a lot, so needed the right pH for dogs skin.

If you towel dry don't go back and forth with your rubbing as he can get matted again or cause matts. Also he will have a fuzzy frizzy look. i like the air dry look. Always brush dry hair, not wet. You might be surprised and he may like the blow dryer. Mine do. Just watch the heat. that's it in a nutshell, but check out Barb;s Grooming group.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Thanks Sue-I thought I shud brush him out first but wasn't sure.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

LOL ...."But I brush out any matts and dirt (and twigs and stickers and birds nests and extra food) before I bathe."
May I add, leaves stuck to butts, toilet paper and other trash stuck to mouth cheeks, crud inside eyeballs........ on and on. Oh the things we find.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I brush him all the way out, then put him in the bathtub and get him wet by pouring water all over him. After he is wet, shampoo his face first. I use a tearless shampoo for his face, so it doesn't irritate his eyes. If you don't wash the face first, the non-tearless shampoo on your hands from washing his body will get into his eyes.Then move to the rest of his body. Some people use a "bath glove" during this step to brush any stragglers out of the fur. I usually don't find this necessary.

After he is all soaped start rinsing starting with his head and working down. Make sure to get all the soap off or they will get irritated and itchy. A trick I learned (I worked as a dog bather for a summer) is that when they are completely rinsed and you push your hands over the fur, it should sound "squeaky clean". (it literally should feel squeaky against your fingers)

After they are rinsed, have someone (or do this before hand) lay towels out on the floor so they don't get water everywhere, and an extra one to rub them down with. I usually let Darwin air-dry, but blow drying them makes it go faster, and they are nice and fluffy.

I think many human shampoos can irritate dog's skin, although there are a couple different brands that people use and say work well. I use tearless johnson & johnson baby shampoo on him, and he does fine although it makes his fur a little dry, so I think I am going to switch over to a good dog shampoo.

If your shower allows, I would buy an attachment for a sprayer nozzle that is hand held. I had this at the grooming shop I worked at, and it worked great. Now, my shower won't allow for one and it makes rinsing and wetting down SOOO much harder. I have to fill up empty milk jugs and dump them all over him... ha ha.

And lastly, I find it helps if I bring a few treats to give him while he is being bathed... to make him feel like it's not so bad. He is pretty good about staying still while I bathe him now so I think it works well.

Good luck!

[Debbie and Thomas]

Great advice.thanks-especially the part about giving treats!

[Joe R.]

You could just take him to somewhere like Petco and just have them give him a bath and brushing. I've done that when I need to do both of ours. I'll do one at home and take the dirtiest of the two to them. They have various packages and prices depending on what you want.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I also use Petco for Guinness's baths (between grooming). They do a great job, and it's not expensive. I have done "emergency" baths at home as well, but hate the mess it makes in the bathroom.

[Frannie & Callie]

When I've let Callie air dry, she rubs herself around too much and gets mats, so you may want to try the blow dryer. Callie doesn't seem to mind the blow dryer...I think it's just extra attention, as we sit on the floor of the bathroom and I dry and pet her. I also use a wide-toothed comb to smooth out any rough patches as I dry her. I use wal-mart brand dandruff shampoo/conditioner on her at the the recommendation of my groomer, as she tends to have dry skin. Her coat ends up super soft and fluffy.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Only advice I can offer is to take Thomas to one of those "do it yourself" places. We have them all over Nashville - they have all of the supplies and a huge basin to bathe your pup in. I have friends with very large dogs that use these places - one charges $12 or something and everyone says it is well worth it. You can bring your own shampoo if you want. I don't even like bathing 20# Peri in our bathtub. I guess you can do it outside (but is it cold where you are yet??). Just my opinion for an 85#er!

[Debbie and Thomas]

I am searching for 'do it yourself places" right now. I think I may check out PetsMart too to see if they can just give him a bath-no cutting though-I hear they are not so good at grooming doodles.

[F, Calla & Luca]

one of the several Petcos near me has a do it yourself bathing option.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Petsmart is quite a bit more expensive than PetCo for bathing. I believe that to bathe Darwin (he's forty pounds right now) it would cost around thirty five dollars. Petco is much less, especially if you use the self service station. i have used these and they are SO nice! No bending over the tub at home.