BATHING
AND BRUSHING BATHING
AND BRUSHING
First a word of warning from a Pug
dog owner & Lover. Her Pug was making honking sounds that her Vet called
"Goose Honking" ... I was
not being careful enough with getting water in their faces as I was rinsing
their heads; water would drip down the face. Instead of these Pugs blowing it
out their noses, they would suck it down. So, essentially, they were getting
water into their lungs(causing an upper respiratory infection). Now when I
bathe, I am SO VERY CAREFUL about the faces. I use only a damp rag with shampoo
first, then rinse with a damp rag. There is never any water dripping down. I was
just never used to bathing dogs without snouts. -Toni & Troop Boca in South
Florida
Some Pugs love baths. They love baths so much, that they will jump in and join you in the bathtub. Many Pug lovers take showers with their Pugs.
Something you might want to consider with the Pug and bathing is that they have a lot of extra hair. You should try and protect your pipes from getting clogged with hair by putting something over your drain, such as steel wool.
Pug’s do not generally need many baths, but some people like to have a freshly groomed pet as often as once a week. Sometimes, in the Winter months, your Pug may get dirty and you are not sure you should bath him and get him wet and chilled. They have over the counter products at Pet stores that can dry clean your baby, however, sometimes these irritate a Pug’s sensitive skin. A natural method you can try is to take cornmeal and apply it all over your Pug’s coat. Brush it out and you will have a nice clean coat. I also like to spray a little bit of doggy perfume on my babies. If I have one with sensitive skin, I will spray the doggy perfume on my hand and gently rub it on their head where it does not seem to do them any harm. A Pug friend of mine, Donna Price, loves lilac. She buys little bottles of lilac from the natural food stores and after her Pugs are groomed, she applies the lilac to their coats. She sais it also works wonders if they are sprayed by a skunk as her Winnie the Pug was.
To give your Pug a bath:
Fill your tub with lukewarm water. Make sure you test the water first and that it is not too hot or cold. Do not allow the water to be any higher that Puggy’s stomach.
Place a drop of mineral oil in Puggy’s eyes to prevent shampoo irritation. Their eyes bulge out slightly and it is easy to get shampoo in them. Gently smear a little bit of vaseline around Puggy’s eyes.
Baby shampoos make excellent cleaners as well as oatmeal based shampoos. Thoroughly wet down Puggy. Wash her hair just as you would yours. Lather her up. I like to use a bathtime doggy brush to go massage and loosen dirt on my Pugs skin.
Don’t forget to clean Puggy’s rectal area and her feet. You can clean these areas using a small, soft hand brush or a cloth.
Next, completely rinse out the shampoo using clean water to do so. Do not use the bath water sitting in the tub as any shampoo residue on your Pug’s fur can cause scratching and irritation.
If your Pug has a tendency toward dry skin, you can condition her coat with VO5 hair ointment. It is very thick and greasy. Put about a half of a teaspoon in the palm of your hand and dilute it with a tad of water. Rub this through her coat and with a well rinsed doggy brush, massage this into her coat. Horse conditioners used for their manes and tails are also a very good, concentrated conditioner for your Pug. One of my favorite ways to keep my Pug’s smelling fresh and keeping their skin nice and soft is by mixing a generous capful or two of baby lotion with about 2 Cups of warm water. I can either spray this on their coats daily, or rub it in. If their skin is irritated from allergies, I will add a tablespoon of baking soda to the solution and mix it well. The baking soda helps relieve itchy skin.
You can use this time to apply vaseline to dry noses and to inspect under her nose roll and in her ears. Tend to them if needed.
Once she is well rinsed, get a big, fluffy towel and get her out of the tub and completely dry her off. She will be very excited and anxious to run and fly through the house.
If Puggy does not have a problem with dry skin, once she is nice and dried off, you can apply a tad of baby powder to her coat (fawns) and brush it through. She will smell baby fresh and have a marvelous soft coat. I would only use baby powder once a month, not on a weekly basis.
There are many types of brushes out there. The bristle brush is very good for the coat of the Pug. It will bring a nice sheen to his coat. Some show folks like the rubber brushes and grooming mitts.