Bath Time

As some of you my friends may already know, I am an indoor dog. I get to lay on leather couches and sleep on beds, and as a requisite for having these luxuries, I had to trade in dirt and stink. That means a weekly bath. Mum uses special natural shampoos so my skin doesn't dry out, and I use only the best products. This is to ensure I smell clean and nice, and stay handsome. Hygiene is a very important aspect of living in my house, and everything needs to be clean and tidy, and that includes me.

Mum gives me a command "Go Bathe" and I will walk into the shower willingly. No need to force me, no leash, no fuss, no lures, nothing. Make no mistake, I am not jumping for joy, but I'm not scared either, I'm just willing. I will not come out of the shower until Mum says "Free".

We always start with wetting my whole body down with warm water, then she lathers me with the shampoo which has been diluted with water in a mixing bottle. We start on the upper back, and work down the sides (flanks), and finally the legs and feet. She uses her fingers to rub and scrub my body, and its a very relaxing massage, I love getting bathed by mum. Mum then tells me to turn around (and I do) and she would expel my anal glands. Its really stinky, and she washes my bum thoroughly with extra shampoo. Then I get rinsed off. The last body part is my head. She tilts my head up and works the lather onto my head, ears, cleaning inside as well, and the muzzle, beard and chin. Then she rinses me off, and tells me to "Shake". Shaking helps to expel any water that may have gotten into my ear canal. It also helps to get rid of excess water from my coat. I then get rubbed dry with a clean towel.

We use a special dog hair dryer, it is called a Forced-Air dryer, because there is a lot of power and the air comes out faster and expels water out from my thick coat. The forced-air dryer is much better than a regular human hair dryer for a dog, because of several reasons.

1. Water trapped in a thick coat can lead to dampness and dampness leads to skin problems.
   The forced-air dryer forces the hair strands apart, pushing out the water on each fur strand drying right down to the skin.
2. It saves a human time and energy. I am a relatively big dog, to dry me 100% with a forced-air dryer takes 15-20 mins, depending on the length of my coat, but a human dryer will take 45-60 min to do the same thing. In Seattle, when it rains so much, it takes forever to dry, and it is cold too. To get me dry sooner makes me more comfortable, and I can resume normal activity right after drying.
3. Since it saves time and energy, I'm saving my parents a tonne of money, so they can use the money to buy me delicious treats instead.
   
4. All professional dog salons use forced air dryers and stationary kennel heat dryers. The forced-air dryer also causes the coat to shine and gleam, and makes brushing light work.
   

Getting rubbed dry with a towel, and then blown dry with my dryer. I use the Double K brand of hair dryer. I have never been groomed by any human other than my Mum. She went and took a grooming course and is now fully certified and is specially certified to groom the "Non-Sporting" and "Terrier" groups. Her certification comes from IPG (International Professional Groomers).

All done. When I was little, the sound of the dryer used to scare me because it was quite loud. But Mum never made a fuss, and I soon learned to get used to it. I'm not fazed anymore.

Having my head brushed out nicely happens after every shower.

Mum starts with the head, and moves down the neck, back, and finally the legs. My coat is now getting long again, and I've been panting a fair bit on sunny days. I heard Mum mention that it is time to have me hand-stripped again. I cannot wait. I love to stay cool.

Love,
Kimi