Giving your pet a bath

In the case of dogs you should first turn on the warm water (not hot!) and then place the dog standing up inside the tub. For cats on the other hand, you will first want to fill a bucket or the sink with about 4 centimeters of warm water and add a little bit of shampoo in it, swirl the water around and then place the cat inside. Cats tend to be more difficult to bathe so you may want to consider getting some assistance from another person if this is your first time bathing it. One person will need to hold and control the cat, while the other can take care of wetting, shampooing, and rinsing the cat. If you are not able to get someone to help you with this job, make sure you bathe the cat facing away from you. This is suggested since most likely the cat will try to run away and you want to avoid it jumping onto your face in its desperate attempt to escape. Hold on to the scruff of the cat's neck firmly with one hand while you wet and shampoo with the other. You can also try using a leash as this will serve as a good restraint for tough cases.

Whether bathing a cat or dog, you should start by wetting the hair thoroughly but do not wet the pet's head, ears or eyes. If you are using a sprayer, spray away from the animal's head and work directly against the coat to push the water down into the skin. The same applies if you are pouring the water directly over your pet. It will take a little time to wet your pet's hair and especially so in the case of pets with thick or curly hair. Many cats tend to resist wetting so you can pour sudsy water over it rather than trying to apply straight water onto it will help make the process quicker.

To apply shampoo onto your pet's hair, use your fingertips (not your nails) to lather (you can also use a sponge for this) and wash your pet's body, legs, and tail. Cats have some areas of their bodies that are particularly greasy so you will want to concentrate on those such as behind their ears and the top of their tails. On both dogs and cats you should leave their heads for the very end. Use a washcloth to clean their face and be very careful so as to not get any shampoo in their eyes. You may want to put a cotton swab inside your pet's ears too to avoid water from getting in. If your pet's hair is very dirty, repeat the whole process. Most importantly when bathing make sure you talk to your pet lovingly and reassuringly by saying its name constantly. Shampoo from back to front to help the pet feel more reassured and give it more confidence. Never start out by wetting the pet's face, as it will just make an already nervous pet panic.