Owning a small dog has some advantages. For one thing, smaller dogs can be much easier to bathe at home. However, at times small dogs are frightened by the noise and activity of a pet salon. Why not save yourself the expense and your dog's nerves by following these simple steps for bathing your small dog at home?

Collect the materials you will need so you will have everything close at hand. These materials generally include combs and brushes, pet shampoo, clean towels, and perhaps doggie treats.

Allow your dog a bit of time to adjust to the idea of getting a bath. If you have a new pet, or a puppy getting that first bath may be somewhat frightening, so take things slowly. If you can help your dog to associate the tub or sink with pleasant things by placing the rubber mat a few treats your dog is much more likely to be more responsive the you efforts to get him or her cleaned up. Be ready to hand out lots of praise and a few treats to make the bath a pleasant experience for your dog. Your pet is much more likely to be a happy participant, rather than frightened or perhaps ready to try and run and hide.

Here Are Some Helpful Tips

• Groom your dog's coat before bathing. Tangles in your dog's coat will be much harder to remove once he is wet. If you find yourself chopping or cutting away matted fur consider have using a professional groomer the first time, then groom your pet more regularly to avoid matting in the future.
• Decide, the bath tub or kitchen sink. Your dog's size will most likely be the deciding factor here. It is also important to judge whether your dog is likely to remain calm and obedient during his bath. If there's any chance he might jump away from you, you should bathe your dog in a bath tub, rather than risk a fall from the kitchen sink.
• Place either a rubber mat or a small towel on the bottom of the sink or bath tub. This will keep your pet from slipping on the wet surface, and will help him feel more comfortable.
• Test the water temperature before beginning to wet your dog's coat.
• If you're using the kitchen sink, a spray hose attachment makes it easy to wet your dog down. Sprayers emit a sound that affects some dogs so you may wish to have a small plastic pitcher handy to pour water over your dog.
• Use a shampoo designed specifically for pets, rather than your own personal shampoo. There are also tear-free shampoos that will not sting a dog's eyes. (Keep in mind that just like human tear-free shampoos, they simply contain an eye-numbing agent, and the soap exposure can still irritate or damage the eyes. Make an honest effort to keep all shampoo, tear-free or not, out of the eyes as much as possible.) A great smelling conditioner is also a nice addition.
• Avoid getting water or shampoo in your pet's ears. Gently place a cotton ball in your pet's ears to help keep the inner ear dry. Rather than using the spray hose on your pet's face, your pet will be happier to have his face cleaned gently with a warm, wet wash cloth.
• Rinse all shampoo out of your dog's coat thoroughly.
• Blot up the water left in his coat by wrapping your dog in a bath towel. Change towels as needed to continue drying your dog's coat. Let his coat air dry once you have blotted up as much water as you reasonably can.
• Blow-dry your dog's coat to get your dog dry more quickly, if your pet will tolerate this. Always use a low-temperature setting (warm or cool) to avoid inadvertently burning your dog's skin. Using a lower fan setting will undoubtedly be easier for your dog to endure. Some dog hair gets very static-y. There are sprays that limit this, help keep the hair smooth and easier to brush.
• Praise your dog and give him a doggie treat as a reward for good behavior. He'll quickly learn that getting a bath is not a frightening experience.

Some Additional Tips

• Bath time is also a good time to examine your dog carefully for skin irritations, fleas and ticks, or other health concerns.
• If your dog tends to shake try placing one hand over the back of the neck when washing. This can stop the shake before it starts and help to keep you relatively dry as well.
• Some small dogs prefer placing their front paws on the edge of the bath away from you. If this is the case with you pet, consider putting his paws up in the side of the tub facing the wall. It helps keep him calm and from that position he can't jump out.
• It is very important to brush your dog after every bath so that their hair doesn't get matted.

Some Things to Remember

• Be careful not to get water in the small dog's nose as they can choke very easily. Try covering its nose with the palm of your hand. Or, as mentioned above, use a wash cloth around his face, rather than spraying or pouring water over his head.
• Try not to bathe the dog too often as this may strip the dog of its natural oils causing its skin to dry out. Regular grooming and brushing will go a long way to keeping a dog healthy between baths.
• Do not bathe the dog with soap of which is use by us humans. It can damage the dog's skin by making it dry and forming flakes, also creating chemical reactions. Remember human skin and the skin of a dog are not the same.
• Use cold water slowly. Continuously running cold well water might only be 60 degrees and the dog's body cannot make the running water warm Imagine having someone run an equal amount of water over your body, at 60 degrees. If you weigh 120 and the puppy weighs 12, that would be 10 garden hoses worth of water being sprayed over your body, at 60 degrees. If it would continue, it is definitely uncomfortable, even dangerous to you puppies health.
• Dry your small dog thoroughly and keep her sheltered until she is completely dry - small dogs can be vulnerable and catch a cold quite easily.
• Do not try to use your own shampoo for your dog. Although it might be safe to just wash the fur of certain long-haired dogs, it's better to stay risk-free and use a dog shampoo. Tear-free will make the job easier.

What Are Some Things That You Will Need?