How to Wash Your Puppy in 7 Easy Steps

A puppy’s life is full of new adventures, from discovering that the TV remote is fun to chew to taking those first steps outside on a walk. Whether they’ve got mucky and need an urgent wash, or you’ve decided it’s the right time for your puppy’s first bath, you want to make sure you get it right. This guide will teach you step-by-step how to wash your dog for the first time and make the process quick and easy for you and your pup.

When can you bathe a puppy?

Using Animology Puppy Love shampoo, you can bathe your dog from 6 weeks old. It’s a mild, PH balanced shampoo with an easy rinse formula that makes bath time easy and leaves your pup’s coat feeling soft and smelling of baby powder.

puppy in bath after first wash with animology puppy love shampoo
Puppy Spaniel after his first bath with Animology

Step 1: Pick your shampoo

We recommend our Puppy Love shampoo for your dog’s first bath. We also have a range of shampoos for different hair types, as well as a sensitive skin shampoo and our famous Fox Poo or Deep Clean shampoos in the event of a messy rolling incident.

Step 2: Prepare for washing

It’s a good idea to give your dog’s coat a brush before you wash them to remove tangles and knots. All you need to do then is take off your dog’s collar and have a towel at the ready. Your dog may try to shake the water off when they’re wet, so move anything that you don’t want to get wet out of the way and avoid wearing your favourite top!

Step 3: Test the water temperature

Whether you’re using a showerhead, kitchen tap or a bucket of water, getting the temperature right will help keep your dog relaxed in the bath and prevent it getting a shock when you start to wash them. The best way to test the water is to run it on the back of your hand and make sure it’s a comfortable temperature.

Step 4: Wet your dog’s coat

Start with their neck and work down towards their legs and paws. To wet their head without spraying water directly at their eyes, try covering them with your hand and be gentle with the water. If your shower pressure is too high, you can break the flow with your hand so it’s softer on their coat.

Step 5: Apply shampoo

Rub the shampoo into their coat, working it through the hair and making sure you cover all their coat. Again, it’s important to avoid direct eye contact. You’ll notice our shampoos don’t lather up as much as a human shampoo would. This is because they’re designed to be easy to rinse out to prevent foam from lingering in their coat and potentially causing irritation. Rest assured, the shampoo will still be doing a great job of cleaning your puppy.

Step 6: Rinse off

Just as you did in step three, carefully rinse your puppy’s coat with clean water. Make sure you get all of the suds out of their hair and run your hand down their coat to draw away any excess water.

Step 7: Let the drying fun commence

Cover your dog with the towel and agitate their fur to help dry them quickly. They may take matters into their own hands and try to rub against you, the bathmat or anything they can find to dry off. This is normal and they’ll soon forgive you after a treat or two! Success! You’ve just given your puppy its first bath. Let us know how it went on social media by tagging us @animology