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Washing Dogs' Heads


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Jasmine the Maremma had a bath today because she was FILTHY!!! However, I have often been told not to wet the dog's head because they may get water in their ears, shampoo in their eyes etc etc.

Jasmine is now snowy white but with a brown head!! How can I clean her head??

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When my pup had his first vet visit I was told he should never go swimming because of the deep ear canals and problems with possible infections with water getting trapped in there.

He's a spaniel, a water dog! I went back and told my breeder and she laughed. If the ears get wet you just dry them!

I have always let him swim and never had an ear problem.

I wash his head too without a problem. Just use a gentle baby shampoo like no more tears and dry carefully with a towel afterwards.

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Whenever I wash either of my dogs, I prefer to sponge/wipe their faces clean with a wet wash cloth as opposed to pouring a bucket of water over their heads. I've never had any problems with either of them.

Also, wiping their faces allows you to have better control of making sure their eyes and ears are cleaned properly... tho I usually do this with a barely damp washcloth.

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Hi Divine Angel. :laugh:

I always washed Bindi the Beagle all over.

Used to turn him into a big white cloud.

I'd rinse the soap off with jugs of water; the last rinse clean water.

However, I always cupped my hand over his eyes so that the rinse water never went in his eyes.

We never had a problem.

:):hug:

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Hi Divine Angel. :laugh:

What makes you think Jasmine sits still that long in the bath??? :laugh:

If Jasmine isn't frozen like a statue during bath time I would be very surprised. :)

And very interested to know if Maremmas have an uncharacteristic lack of concern for bathing.

:hug:

Edited by pewithers
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My dogs get bathed at least every second weekend and sometimes weekly for shows. I use the bath as I don't have a hydrobath (my poor back). I have to wash their faces/heads well as they have fairly white muzzles and they get very dirty. I haven't had any problems even though I pour water over their heads with a jug. I use a very gentle shampoo.

Can't stand stinky heads :hug:

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i bath Mav almost every week due to showing and have done since 8 weeks - i do his whole body first all shampooed and rinsed then with a cloth do his face and ears - mainly as he shakes the most when doing his head - i know other people that put cotton wool in their ears but Mav hates that more so i just wipe his face which has a black mask anyway so it looks clean enough - NEVER stop a dog from shaking when bathing this is when problems arise as they cant get water out of their ears but other than that get them used to the bathas early as poss makes life a lot easier whne their bigger!!

when we first got Mav in the middle of winter he was always rolling around inthe dirt n the garden and getting filthy so was being bathed every few days!!! until he learnt it was easier not to - but he loves baths actively jumps in when its time and loves having his head massaged and face rubbed - i think i could get used to that too!!! - when their little it helps to have 2 of u one to distract and give treats the other to do the washing!! :hug:

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Hi. I just cup my hands over the dogs eyes and place the lower part of that same hand across the nose and gently hold down...so that the dogs nose is facing the ground...this way the ears end up downward too...stops water getting in both ears and eyes :hug:

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Toohey, I hope you don't mean a human brand of no more tears - humans have a different acidity to dogs, and using our shampoo on them can lead to itching and irritating in the best case scenario, to severe life scarring for a worst case scenario. I find the oat meal shampoo and conditioner that you can get at vets to be quite gentle and pleasant smelling.

I wash my guys in the bath, on a rubber mat, with a shower attachment for the tap - this way they get properly washed and rinsed with a good temp of water. For their ears I pull them back, put my thumb over the ear canal so no water gets in and just wash them that way. With their eyes, well when I start their forehead they know to close their eyes because they are next! :hug:

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Toohey, I hope you don't mean a human brand of no more tears - humans have a different acidity to dogs, and using our shampoo on them can lead to itching and irritating in the best case scenario, to severe life scarring for a worst case scenario.

Yep. Have always used human shampoos at my breeder's recommendation. Never had a problem :hug:

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humans have a different acidity to dogs, and using our shampoo on them can lead to itching and irritating in the best case scenario, to severe life scarring for a worst case scenario.

Have you seen this? Or do you have evidence that it has happened?

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Chelsea is pretty sensitive to people shampoos (until I got her, I always washed Cougar with them 'cos he was fine - and I didn't know any different) and gets itchy flaky skin if I wash her in people stuff, even if I rinse super well.

But I'm pretty sure Johnson Baby Shampoo is Ph neutral... so I'm guessing probably wouldn't cause a problem on most dogs.

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UPDATE:

Yesterday I washed Jamine's head. She instinctively put her head up as I poured water on her head (not too much water though). None got in her eyes or her ears. I washed her head using Excelpet Conditioning Shampoo and also cleaned the inside of her floppy ears (but too far down).

She was happy, she was clean, no dramas :worship:

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Good on you DA - I see you got some Exelpet... good stuff for the price.

When I do the whole dog, I always wet and wash the head last. That way they stay more comfortable and I can rinse the shampoo away from the head immediately.

Keeping their head high helps to avoid water in the nose and ears . :worship:

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