Bathing My Chow Chows, Empress Qin and Emperor Han
It's bath time for my Chow Chows.
My dogs are groomed and checked for ticks and fleas every day. I have always been a firm believer in regular brushing and bathing - every couple weeks for the dogs, and about once a month for my cats. Yesterday was bath time for my gorgeous Chow Chows, Empress Qin and Emperor Han. I actually love to do this task myself when I am home, but since I was away on a business trip, Carlos was happy to do the job. When bathing pets, it’s important to always use lukewarm water and only mild pet shampoos - we use my own Martha Stewart shampoos and conditioners from my collection on Amazon.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Empress Qin is ready for a good summertime bath. Here she is in the back of my Polaris Ranger. Everyone at the farm loves our fleet of Polaris vehicles. They’re extremely efficient, easy-to-drive, and can go where other vehicles cannot.
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- The Chows are getting washed in the stable. This shower stall is located at one end. It is a large stall with padded lower walls for animal safety. The faucets are housed in a cabinet on the right to keep them out of the way. The shower stall is also equipped with heaters suspended from the ceiling if needed. The boom sprayer is very flexible and can swivel around easily.
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- My line of shampoos and conditioners are all-natural, hypoallergenic and gentle enough for regular bathing. The formulas are also paraben and sulfate-free. My moisturizing shampoo and conditioner cleanse and intensely moisturize the dog’s skin and coat. When bathing a dog, it’s essential to use products made especially for dogs because of the differences in pH balance.
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- Han is first – once he feels the lukewarm water, Han starts to relax. Han is four-years-old and such a good boy.
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- My dogs are very accustomed to being bathed. They’ve had many baths, but always keep an eye on any dog who is getting washed – just in case they want to make a quick move.
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- Apply the shampoo from the back of the ears to the tail and always be very careful around the face, ears, and eyes.
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- Carlos makes sure to apply shampoo to the dog’s stomach as well. My shampoo formulas are all great for pets with sensitive skin.
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- After applying the shampoo and letting it soak into the coat a few minutes, Carlos rinses well with lukewarm water. It is very important to get all the shampoo out – a rule of thumb is to keep rinsing until there are no visible bubbles on the coat – and then rinse a little more. Next, Carlos also applies conditioner and then rinses Han thoroughly again.
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- Qin is a champion show dog, so she is also very used to getting bathed and groomed. My Qin is so beautiful. Here, Carlos pours a small amount of shampoo to Qin’s coat – it lathers pretty quickly.
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- Carlos wears a full rain suit and boots, so he doesn’t get wet. Here he is stopping for a quick photo with Qin. Carlos shampoos Qin’s entire coat from head to tail.
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- Carlos scrubs carefully to soap every part of Qin’s body.
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- Carlos also makes sure to clean the feet, legs and underneath where dirt can accumulate. He talks to her as he is scrubbing. Qin is a good girl and stays very still for the entire process.
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- After soaping and rinsing, Carlos applies the conditioner and brushes Qin while it is absorbed into the coat.
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- Then she is rinsed thoroughly once again, making sure there is no shampoo or conditioner left on the coat at all – the water needs to penetrate all the layers of the dog’s heavy coat.
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- Carlos dries Qin very, very well. Here she is getting wiped down with a large terry towel. This is a good time to have the dog shake the water off. Train the dog to shake on command, so no one gets wet in the process.
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- The coat must be dried thoroughly. Carlos uses a professional pet hair dryer to blow the coat. Drying completely is crucial. Otherwise, the hair closest to the skin will pack down, retain dirt and moisture, and cause skin irritations.
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- The benefit of using a hair dryer specifically for pets is that they’re not really drying the dog by heat so much as blasting the water out of the fur. These powerful dryers also blow loose fur from their undercoat which means less shedding later.
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- Carlos dries the feet thoroughly, including in between the dog’s pads. If one chooses to use a hair dryer for humans, always put it to the no-heat setting. Never use high heat on a dog’s coat. Dogs are much more sensitive to external heat than humans are and have a far more difficult time dissipating heat.
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- Here’s Qin after she’s dry and well brushed. She looks great. There are two types of coat on a Chow Chow – rough and smooth. Both are double-coated. Qin is a rough-coated Chow. The outer coat is abundant, dense, and straight. The undercoat is soft and woolly. Chows should be sturdy and squarely built. Its body should be compact, and heavy-boned – Qin has a perfect body.
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- Here’s Han getting dried and brushed. I think Han enjoys his “spa” treatments.
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- According to the breed standard, Chows must have a lovely thick mane, with small rounded ears, giving it the appearance of a lion when all grown up. Han is a handsome boy.
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- All clean and ready to go! Once they’re done, the Chows are driven back up to my Winter House in my Polaris. Next for a bath… my Frenchies.
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