The Fur Majesty Blog

This is for owners who want to stretch the time between professional grooms without doing any harm. A bath at home is straightforward for most coats. It is also the single easiest thing to get wrong, and the two most common mistakes — under-rinsing and under-drying — both cause problems that show up days later.

Brush first, always

Water tightens mats. A tangle you could have combed out dry becomes a solid pad once it is wet, and the only way through it then is clippers. Brush the whole dog before the water goes on, paying attention to the places mats start: behind the ears, in the armpits, along the back legs, and under the collar.

If the brush will not pass cleanly to the skin, stop and book the groom instead. Dematting is charged at $15 per 15 minutes here precisely because it is slow, careful work — and a bath will make it slower.

The bath itself

• Use lukewarm water. Warmer than you would think comfortable is too warm for a dog.
• Use a dog shampoo. Human shampoo is formulated for a different skin pH and tends to leave a dog itchy.
• Work from the neck back. Save the head for last and keep water out of the ears.
• Rinse for twice as long as you think you need to. Residual shampoo is the leading cause of the itching owners blame on allergies.

Drying is the part people skip

A towel-dried dog is a damp dog. Damp fur next to skin is where hot spots and that "wet dog" smell come from, and on a double coat it can stay damp for a full day. A hair dryer on its lowest heat, held moving and at a distance, is enough for most short coats.

Thick and double coats are the exception. Drying those properly needs a high-velocity dryer that pushes water out of the undercoat rather than baking it — the same tool behind our Deshedding Treatment (75 minutes, $55).

When to book instead

Three coats are worth handing over rather than attempting:

• Curly coats — doodles, poodles, bichons. They mat as they dry, and they mat close to the skin where you cannot see it.
• Heavy double coats — huskies, shepherds, corgis. Getting an undercoat dry at home is genuinely difficult.
• Wiry coats — most terriers and schnauzers. Repeated washing softens the harsh outer coat that gives the breed its texture.

Everything else is fair game. A Bath & Brush here runs 45 minutes at $38 if you would rather not, and includes the ear clean and nail trim that most home baths skip.