[mrshodges]

My puppy daisy needs a bath. It would be her first. She is 2 months old and still needs one more puppy booster and her rabies. I can't remember when I gave the other one, Roscoe, His 1st bath. Does it matter when I do? :confused:

[shazamataz]

You can bath her now, I would actually recommend it.

My mum breeds Miniature Poodles and they get their very first clip at 3 weeks of age. First bath is at 6 weeks.

Grooming them and bathing them early gets them used to it. What you do when they are puppies can shape their behavior in the future.

Bath the pup regularly for the first few months, once every 2 weeks to get into a good routine. While bathing have some treats handy so that the pup associates being bathed with something good and (hopefully) will look forward to them in the future.

Once pup is good with being bathed then you can just bath when you need to (I bath mine every 6-8 weeks but short coated breeds need it even less)

Do you let your dogs air dry or do you use a hairdryer?

[Aurora_Bell]

If you don't have any dog or puppy shampoo, I have always liked using Dawn dish soap. I don't like bathing them too young, I always wait at least until they are 8 weeks. Making sure they don't catch a chill and drying them thoroughly.

But Shaz makes a good pint, getting them used to it early on will make it a much easier job when they get older.

[mrshodges]

That's what I was worried about. I didn't want her to get sick. I use an oatmeal shampoo for dogs. Roscoe has dandruff and it works wonders. I towel dry. We snuggle until we are all dry. My hair dryer trips the breaker. Don't know why it is the only thing that does. I did give the 1st bast, she was scared at first but then she relaxed and of course she got treats. I bathe roscoe every month and a half. I gave him a bath every 3 weeks when he was a puppy. Even with treats he hates them. He has mental issues though. I think they might have inbreed him.

[shazamataz]

As long as you keep her warm she will be fine.
When I bathe mine I just flick the heater on and they sit in front of it, we have one of those little fan heaters... fantastic alternative to a hairdryer ;)

The main thing is to make it as fun as possible. Don't worry too much about her being naughty, it just needs to be fun fun fun! You can worry about getting her to stand still or sit down in the bath later.