DIY Dog Spa: 10 Easy Steps

We all love to spoil our pets and nothing says love like a DIY Dog Spa. Grooming your pet is not only good for them, it’s a great way to save money, bond with your pet, and lower your own stress levels. Pets are natural mood enhancers and it’s been scientifically shown that grooming your pet can lower your heart rate as well as lower your own stress levels.

Remember that you don’t need to bathe your pet often. Unless your dog has gotten into something smelly or dirty, they will only need to be bathed only every two to four months. Bathing too frequently will dry out their skin and strip the natural oils from their coat. This is just one more reason why you should make bath day extra special for your pet. Here is a little DIY Dog Spa Day Primer that we put together.

[heading style=”2″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]Preparation[/heading]

1. Throw on a pair of old sweats and a t-shirt because you’ll probably get wet! (We also recommend having chocolates nearby – for you, not your pet).

2. Next, gather together the things you’ll need. We prefer the DERMagic line of products for our dogs hypersensitive skin and we strongly recommend you give them a try for your pets. Here is a list of things you’ll need:

3. Start out with a relaxing tub of warm water. Never use hot water as it can scald your pup. If you have large animals who aren’t fond of the tub, an Oster Professional Rapid Bath will help you out a lot). It’s a good idea to have a plastic bathmat in the tub to make your pet feel a little sturdier and prevent them from slipping. Once you have your dog situated, thoroughly wet their coat.  For indoor baths, we like to use the Rapidbath Indoor Shower Kit. It’s simple to control and offers a steady stream that is forceful, but won’t stress your pup.

[heading style=”2″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]Exfoliation[/heading]

4. Open a fresh jar of DERMagic Dead Sea Salt Scrub. It comes with a little shell you can use to scoop out the salts. Start at the base of the tail and massage the salts into the skin. Slowly work your way forward. The salt scrub helps to loosen dead skin and remove loose hair. It’s wonderful for any type of coat and your dog will love it!

5. Next, give your pet a good rinse. Once you have all the loose hair and skin exfoliated, you’ll want to follow up with shampooing.

[heading style=”2″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]Shampoo[/heading]

6. Our favorite is the DERMagic Rosemary Lavender Shampoo Bar. We love using this on our dogs. Not only does it leave them smelling fresh, it contains no harmful sulfates. It moisturizes and cleanses the skin and removes all those dead skin cells you just scrubbed away.

The “bar soap” is super easy to use while you’re holding your pet in place, and it lathers up beautifully.

We like the Rosemary/Lavender bar because lavender is a natural calmant, which helps you and your pet relax.

But lavender offers more than that – it’s a natural antifungal. Scientists in the UK recently discovered that it  contains an antimicrobial activity of lavender oil that consistently inhibits the growth of methicillin-sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA). MRSA is one of the reasons it is so dangerous to go to the hospital. Lavender is also incredibly effective at treating fungal, yeast and mold infections.

Rosemary Rosemary is also a natural healing agent. It has so many benefits, we had to look them up. Natural News had this to say about Rosemary:

• Due to its antioxidants, rosemary can help prevent cataracts.
• The natural acids present in rosemary help in protecting the body`s cells and DNA from free radical damage.
• Rosemary stimulates liver enzymes.
• Rosemary encourages enzymes which flush harmful toxins out of the liver and the body.
• Rosemary oil is used to stimulate hair growth, boost mental activity, relieve respiratory problems and pain, and reduce disorders in menstrual cycle, menstrual cramps, peptic ulcers, urine flow, prostate, gall bladder, intestine, sperm mobility, leukemia and kidney stones.

7. Rinse your dog with clean water.

[heading style=”2″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]Conditioner[/heading]

8. Finally we follow up with the Rosemary Mint Conditioner Bar from DERMagic. This is a brand new product that we absolutely love because it’s the key to having a soft pup for months.

Just run the bar over your dog once, moving with the direction of the fur. It only takes one stroke, so be sure to use it sparingly. This is our favorite part of the spa because our pets stay soft for weeks, and the bar lasts forever, making it an amazing value. Follow up with another quick rinse.

[heading style=”2″ color=”#006666″ style_color=”#006666″]Brushing[/heading]

9. Follow up with a quick towel dry and wrapping our very relaxed dogs into their very own bath robe. We use the FUR Dry from FURMinator. This is their favorite part because it helps accelerate the drying process without losing the all-important “fresh dog” scent that you worked so hard to get.

10. Once your pet is dry, you’ll want to follow up with a good brushing to remove any final shed hair.

Voila! Clean, relaxed dog and relaxed you.

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