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Bathing A Puppy

How To Ensure Your Cocker Spaniel Puppy Enjoys His Bathtime!

Bathing a puppy for the first time can be a frightening experience for a young dog, but it needn't be so.

This article explains how to acclimatise your puppy to bathing to ensure that he has a good bathtime experience.

Begin By Playing With Your Puppy In An Empty Bath

If you intend bathing your puppy in the family bathroom, place a non-slip bath mat into the bath and put your puppy onto the bath mat.

Black Cocker Spaniel puppy enjoying his bath! Photo reproduced courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/yoko69/530907523/ Don't run any water into the bath at this stage.

Praise your puppy and give him a treat.

Give your puppy his favourite toy and let him play for a couple of minutes.

If he doesn't seem interested in his toy, let him explore the bath.

If he tries to get out of the bath, or cries, distract him with a couple of treats or more play, and continue to praise him.

If you feel it's necessary, climb into the bath with him for the first couple of sessions.

The aim is to keep your puppy in the bath for a couple of minutes each time, to let him see that no harm will come to him, and that the bath is a fun place to be.

Repeat the above process each day for a few days, or until your puppy gets used to being in the bath.

Run Some Water Into Your Puppy's Bath

When you think your puppy is ready, run a couple of inches of warm water into the bath.

Don't run the water while your puppy is in the bathroom as the sound of running water may frighten him at this stage. You may have to let him get used to the sound of running water before bathing a puppy for the first time.

Put your puppy into the warm water and praise him. Give him a treat, and then let him play for a couple of minutes if he wants to.

Once your puppy is comfortable standing in a little warm water, (this may take a session or two) try running water (gently) into the bath while he's in the bathroom so that he gets used to the sound.

However, don't put your puppy into the bath until you've finished running the water; allow him to get used to the sound in his own time.

The next stage is to run the water while your puppy is in the bath.

When bathing a puppy, care should be taken to turn on the tap very gently at first, not to startle the puppy, slowing increasing the water flow to the desired rate.

Don't forget to check that the water is not too hot before you put your puppy in the bath.

If you intend to use a spray when bathing a puppy, turn on the spray and adjust the temperature.

Your objective is to get your puppy used to the feel of warm water, and to hearing it run and splash around him.

Bathing A Cocker Spaniel Puppy

When first applying water to your puppy's coat, begin by taking one of his front paws and wetting it gently with warm water. Let him see where the water is coming from, let him feel it running onto his paw.

Now that you've acclimatised your puppy to his bathtime, bathing a puppy should be easier from now own.

When you've finished bathing a puppy, don't worry if he just sits there - he may be overwhelmed if this is his first bath!

Drying Your Puppy

Your puppy may be familiar with a hairdryer if you have used one whilst socializing your puppy. If this is the case, you may finish drying your puppy with a hairdryer.

Never use the highest heat setting; use the coolest, or a warm setting on your hairdryer, and don't hold it too close to your puppy as the heat may burn his delicate skin.

Hopefully, after following the above advice, bathing a puppy was carried out without any tears (yours or his!). Your puppy's experience of bathtime has been a happy one.

He's been bathed and blow-dried; his coat will now be clean and shining - your puppy will not only smell clean but will feel soft and silky to the touch.

Brushing Your Cocker Spaniel Puppy

It's advisable to get into the habit of brushing your puppy before he has his bath; bathing a puppy will only make tangles and matting worse.

Your Cocker Spaniel will be fairly easy to brush while he's very young; however, as he grows, his coat will grow longer and he'll develop feathers, which will attract dirt, leaves, burrs, twigs and other debris - all of which can cause tangles and matting.

Click here to learn more about brushing your Cocker Spaniel.