Bathing your Pet

One very important part to bathing your pet successfully is knowing how and where. You will need to consider first of all the size of your pet. There are different places you can do this such as the bathtub, laundry sink, shower stall, a wide bucket etc. Don't expect to stay dry during this process though. Most dogs do not enjoy standing on a slippery surface so you should place a rubber mat or nonskid strips on the surface of the bathtub to secure the dog's legs and help calm its tension. In the case of cats, a towel works well, especially because they tend to try to escape the grueling experience and a towel will serve as a way of anchoring it.

Cats also tend to scratch at their owners with their paws. In order to avoid this from happening you can wrap the cat's paws with some surgical tape so that it cannot spread its claws out. When you having finished bathing your cat make sure to remove the surgical tape off by pulling in the direction the fur grows so that you don't hurt the little fellow.

Prepping before bathing your pet: Make sure to have everything ready for bathing your pet beforehand. The last thing you want is to be running around looking for things while you are trying to bathe it. Have the shampoo, brush, comb, towels, crème rinse, conditioner, anti slip mat, nail clippers, etc all set out in place. Never use human shampoo on your pet as it can cause a lot of damage to your pet's skin and coat. There are many different types of special shampoos specially formulated for dogs and cats. If you are not sure what type or brand of shampoo to use ask your veterinarian to suggest the best one. If your pet has a skin condition or problem you will definitely want to get your veterinarian's advice on what is the best option.

Make sure to brush and comb out your pet's hair before bathing it. This is suggested in order to get out all of the mats and tangles your pet's hair may have. If you don't brush and comb out the hair you may run into problems during the shampooing because it becomes very difficult to get all the residue, dead hair, dander etc out of wet hair with shampoo. You should also have your pet do its needs before bathing it.