Bathing my morkie.
 

I'll be bathing my morkie today. He is two years old. and about 9 lbs. This will be my first time. I never had a dog before and a little nervous about doing it. We have had him about three weeks. Do I have to blow dry him even through it is warm out? He has a short hair cut. Any adivice will be helpful.

i would suggest cotton ball broken up it need be placed in the ears. you dont water to get in. i would say if its warm you dont need to blow dry i just let mine sit out in the sun for a few while im brushing them out. good luck! ps dont be nervous hell know and get nervous too!

For blow drying, if Brandi is shaking really bad I'll blow dry. If not, I'll let her just air dry. Usually i don't have to blow dry ( which she hates anyway) if the ac has been off and the house is warm.

my little guy has a short cut as well
so i just heat up a couple towels in the dryer
and wrap him up till he dries

Most important thing about bathing is to hold on to him!!!! He may squirm but try to keep him from leaping and getting injured. Also towel drying is fine. Brush out after he's dry and use a detangler spray. Good luck !:)
Tracey

Congratulations on getting your Morkie!

No need to be nervous...he'll pick up on it and be nervous, too. Better to be very relaxed...he'll behave better, and this is probably not his first bath ever, so you may not have any problems anyway.

I call their bath a "snuggle wash" because that's what we do...we snuggle and kissy face, they get washed, and I get wet...lol

Mine are really good and I bathe them together in my divided kitchen sink...one on each side...and use my kitchen sink sprayer, adjusting the water flow as needed...stronger for rinsing bodies, and softer, lower flow and pressure for heads I have taken them into the shower with me...if you choose to do that, he won't be able to get away, or jump out and fall. I know others who kneel and wash theirs in the bathtub where they cannot jump out.

I usually mix a small amount of a mild ('natural' and/or 'tearless') shampoo into a solution in a "candy-making" squeeze bottle, wet the dogs thoroughly, then squeeze the shampoo down their backs and sides, gently 'sweeping' the shampoo from top down with my hands and making sure it also gets onto legs, paws, tummy, butt, tail, etc. I don't scrub...just swoosh downward...and let the shampoo do the dirty work. Mine have longer coats, so no need to create additional tangles.

I wash heads last, and faces by hand...no shampoo unless absolutely necessary on faces...just water, then a final rinse to make sure nothing rinsed from the head onto the body. You will definitely want to make sure no shampoo gets in his eyes or ears. To rinse heads, I block faces and ears by putting my hand across their 'foreheads' holding their heads with thumb and forefinger on either side on their heads in front of their ears, and tipping their heads back so the water runs down their backs. I usually use the sprayer, but the rinsed out squeeze bottle would work, too. Repeat with conditioner, and use finishing spray as needed. I make my own, but use oils and rinse most of it out.

I always blow dry because I don't want clean wet hair mopping up new dirt, but it only takes a few minutes after their towel wrap. I would never allow them to shiver. I have a doggie dryer with a stand but still make sure my hand stays in the airflow with them to make sure it doesn't get too warm.

I don't actually need to wear my water wings to stay afloat during the process, but my kitchen counters and floor always gets a little washy-poo too. lol

Have fun!

Thank you for all the advice. I just finished bathing him. He is a little too big for the sink. So I did it in the tub. Thankfully I have a sprayer shower head. He did very well. I only got a little wet. I was surprized how quickly he dried up. I wrapped him up in one towel and use a small hand towel to dry him up. Then took him out and let the sun dry him up also. Thank you all again. :)