Bathing A Bichon Frise

The Bichon Bath

Of course, if you have a puppy, a bath every day or two might be necessary depending on how messy it gets.

Because of the Bichon's relatively small size, bathing is a pretty simple task. A bathtub or even your kitchen sink will suffice in most situations.

Always remember to use warm water on a Bichon's sensitive skin and keep water levels several inches below the mouth.

Many Bichon Frise owners also prefer to use a gentle spray nozzle to wet and rinse the coat as well.

After thoroughly wetting the coat, apply a generous amount of gentle dog shampoo and work it into a good lather, covering the entire head and body.

The best shampoo for a Bichon Frise is a natural shampoo and one that is veterinarian approved. Mr. Goodpet's shampoo is an example of an excellent shampoo (as is a natural oatmeal shampoo) for the Bichon Frise's sensitive skin. Many natural dog shampoos are good for the Bichon's skin allergies as well.

During the washing process, concentrate on not getting much soap or water in the inner ears. This could possibly lead to infections and discomfort to your best friend. (And, after the dog bath, make sure you dry the ears thoroughly.)

When rinsing the shampoo out, it is vitally important to rinse thoroughly and then rinse thoroughly again. This must be done because of the sensitive nature of the Bichon Frises' skin. Any remaining shampoo residue could cause irritations or result in a skin allergy. After the rinsing process, carefully lift and hold your Bichon Frise off the bottom of the tub or sink for about 15 seconds to let the water drip from him.

Drying Your Bichon Frise
After the Bath

The next step, and one that many Bichon owners fail to do when bathing a Bichon Frise, is blow dry the coat with warm or cool air. This is usually a lengthy process and could take up to 30 minutes depending on the length of hair. This step is so important because dry hair has less opportunity to become tangled and matted as opposed to wet hair.

When we blow dry our Bichon Frises, we like to use the slicker brush at the same time. Brushing while blow drying will shorten the amount of time needed to dry the coat.

When the coat is dry, you'll need to comb and brush the entire body as discussed in the Grooming a Bichon Frise section.

Bathing a Bichon Frise is not that difficult. Like everything else, make it a fun and pleasurable experience for your white fluffy companion.

• Grooming A Bichon Frise
• Bichon Frises HOME - from Bathing A Bichon Frise