I call this the “12 steps on how to wash your pet “, with the focus being that this is all about choosing the RIGHT shampoo for the RIGHT condition.
Step 1 – Spot is your friend. Make sure you choose the right shampoo! – We can help you with that. Always do a spot test of any new shampoo or any new batch on a hairless area. Red is bad, no reaction is good.
Step 2 – Does your pet enjoy a bath? – try to make bath time a “Fun” bonding time for you and them. Bath = Fun. If this is not the case, outsource bathing to someone who can make it fun. Skip steps 3 to 12 and run to your local dog trainer and Fear Free groomer.
Step 3 – Get your materials in order – Start with plenty of towels.
Step 4 – Get your shampoo and conditioner organised, and ready to use – pre-measured is our recommendation. You can get too much of a good thing.
Step 5 – Set up a music playlist with the following pattern – 5 min to wet them down, 10 min to shampoo them, 8-10 min to rinse them, 5 min to towel dry them, 5 min to moisturise their coat. (About 35 min of music).
Step 6 – Materials in order – Get your yummy treats ready.
Step 7 – Take big breaths – gain confidence – you can do this. This should be FUN! If it’s not, just ask.
Step 8 – Now start – Lukewarm water. Wet them down thoroughly. Your First Five Minutes starts.
Step 9 – Lather, lather, lather – I know it’s a bother, bother, bother – but Step 10 is 10 minutes of lather lather lather.
Step 10 – Onto the next set – Rinse rinse rinse. “Gonna wash that man(shampoo) right out of my (pet’s) hair (from the musical South Pacific if you are not into musicals), choose your own 8- 10 min music set of Rinse Rinse Rinse.
Step 11 – Dry Dry Dry – gently – think of your furry friend like a woollen jumper – gentle encouraging the moisture out of their coat. Hairdryer? Sure – low temperature, away from the coat, swinging it back and forth, back and forth – nice and slow and gentle. Be prepared for the wet shaking dog.
Step 12– Moisturise – (I won’t write those three times as that just seems wrong). Shampoo’s can be drying, but also therapeutic. Moisturisers or conditioners are intended to return the skin to a normal state. Those are particularly important with Malaseb and Selenium-based shampoos!
Shampoo Options: So many choices, but the right one for your pet depends on what is going on at the skin level. We can help, just ask, as it depends if their skin is normal, with no infection, or skin is abnormal with either a bacterial and/yeast infection.
Moisturiser Options?
QV bath oil – dilute 2 tablespoons per 400 mls of water in a spray bottle. Shake well before use. Spray daily( Tip – label the spray bottle, and call it “(your pet’s name)” Skin Lotion
Dermcare – Pyohex Conditioner ® or Virbac – Resichlor ®
Any questions, just reach out and ask the “Mad Vet of Bellambi”, aka Dr Liz. This is all my own work, my own words, with the knowledge that I, as a human being possess, compared to AI, which is way way smarter than I am. Even so, I humbly thank you for reading my human blog.
