What is the proper way to bathe my Yorkie?
 

I give her a bath 1-2 times a week in my bathtub while I hold her. I can't seem to wash her head without putting water there. A towel doesn't get all the baby shampoo out. I want her to like her baths.
After I towel dry her, I watch her run all around the floor in circles & getting on her back to get the water of. I blow-dry her & she sits there for me to do it. I have been using Chris Christensen shampoo & conditioner. It smells soooo good. I read it on a thread from this website & I ordered it. I was reluctant but am glad I did. It is great!!!

Can someone tell me how I can get her to love her bath & not be so scared? I need to trim her nail & I am scared I will hurt her. How far down do you go?

Bath time
 

I have two yorkies and I bathe them once a week with oatmeal shampoo. I do the bathing in the kitchen sink. I use a wash cloth to do the face and ears. They used to be afraid, but now seem to enjoy the weekly bath. I dry them with the hairdryer also. The oldest one comes into the bathroom and jumps on the toilet to get dried, the 5 month old let me dry her, but I have to hold her. They seem to learn to like things by habit. Good luck with the baths.

Nancy
:animal-sm
( chloegyrl)

I use a nozzle to do all of their body -and put it on gentle near their face and on their head - also - holding a dry washcloth over their eyes keeps the water out .....make sure you wash ALL the shampoo off - rinse your puppy really well cause it will make her itch -

I bathe mine weekly in the tub. Unfortunately they do not like their bath, brush or being clipped. When I take off their collars, they run and hide. They constantly come up with new ways and places to hide. Zowie shivers through her hair cut, bath, and brushing (it is pitiful)
I agree that you must get out all shampoo. I use a large plastic glass to pour over the top of their head (with my hand on their chin) and then under their chin and down their chest. Mine both stand up through the entire bath.

It's after bath time that they love! Running and rolling :p Just make sure that she is rinsed really well, soap residue will make them itch and flake. I either use a small plastic cup to rinse their faces or the nozzle from the shower head put on really slow. If you clip the toenails, make sure that you don't do too much. Keep quik stop handy for emergency. If you haven't done it before, have your vet show you how far to only trim that way you find out how to do it. Some of them never like it at all, my Andy hates his nails done, the vet usually has to do it. The other two are good with it...Theresa & The Boys :aimeeyork

Maximus hates his bath! I have found that if I am getting all wet too then he does a lot better. I either bathe him in the sink and let him rest his paws on my shoulder... this causes a very wet shirt! Or I put on my bathing suit and hold him in the shower. If i don't hold him in the sink he bolts! I think he is getting better, I only shower with him on bad days when he is really squirmy.

For his face I use a small cup to pour water in specific places. I cover his eyes with a cloth. And since he hates the blow dryer we have been working our way up with that. The first time I did it for a couple minutes and have been building everytime. He is getting a lot better with that, but I love to let him run around for a couple minutes before the blow dry because he acts so crazy and cute! He runs around the room and rubs against the towels, it's funny!

My yorkie will happily stand still and get clean but as soon as I go anywhere near his eyes or muzzle he starts wriggling and I know I have about two minutes left before he bolts.

Once a week?????????????????

Wow - I was told never to bathe them more than once a month since it would dry out their fur!!!

So that is good to hear - I shouldn't worry and can take them to the bath whenever we're going somewhere :)

I use the shower and #1 shampoo with minkoil and then a gentle conditioner - then blowdrier and towels.

:aimeeyork Hi, I am new here, and this is my first post. I have a female yorkie named windi, and she is 14 months old, and she weighs three and one half pounds. I have a question I hope someone can help me with. Windi's hair is silky and very fragil. So, here is my question what shampoo is the best for yorkies? I do not buy any thing on line. I shop at a pet store for what I need for her. It just seems every kind of shampoo I use on her doesnt do a good job. I have used baby shampoo, suave shampoo [strawberry], I love the different fragances. I bath her twice a week. I hardly ever take her outside unless we are in my car. She loves to go riding, lol. Thanks in advance.

Hi Windi's Mom/Dad! :) Welcome! I just got my Yorkie (little boy named Tucker) Friday so I am by no means a bathing expert but I'm sure you'll find plenty of help here! Everyone's GREAT! :)

If you ever decide to buy online, a lot of the members here, including myself use Day to Day Moisture Shampoo and Ice on Ice Conditioner. It is the best I have ever used. Here is the site: http://www.chrissystems.com/

Human shampoo is a little harsh for the little ones. Their body chemicals are very different from humans. You might look into the above.

I bath Lil Bit about every two weeks....would like to do it more often but I'm afraid "too often" would not be good for her....plus I believe she would die of a heart attack!!!!

I bath her in the sink.....she shivers the whole time......yes, I use warm water....she HATES anything on her face....so I use a few drops of Johnson's baby bath (tearless) and wash her fash and rinse it good using a cup. Rinsing her face with a cup takes forever because I am obsessive about geting all the soap out....the rest of her body I use the nozzle sprayer and that works well....

I had been using a puppy shampoo until last week....I bought some 'oatmeal shampoo with coat conditioner' at Pet Smart....it did just fine....

She also loves to run around after the bath rubbing against EVERYTHING.....my chi thinks it is great fun to run and play with her....after a few minutes of them playing and biting Lil Bit smells like she needs another bath!!!

I blow dry her on a very low, gentle setting...brushing as I go. She hates the blow dryer, too....I have to hold her 'up' (she want to lay down and curl up) while I blow dry....which means I really need 3 hands to do it all.

I cut Lil Bit and Apple's toenails....but I have been cutting nails for years and years so I have a good idea where to cut.....after I cut toenails I make sure I have time for a LONG WALK at the outlet mall or out on some concrete...to sort of "file" off some of the rought edges....the grandkids say the newly cut nails are sharper and more painful than the old long toenails.

GOOD LUCK!!!

IMO, bathing 2 times a week is a bit too often. That is unless the baby smells or needs medicated shampoos. Once a week usually is enough and as others have said,,RINSE,RINSE, Rinse. I like baby/puppy shampoo so if it should accidently get in the eyes we don't have such owee problems..

i gave macy her first bath last week, and she did not like it lol. My kids thought it was funny how she looked all wet. I bath her in the kitchen sink and use the sprayer to rinse and a washcloth for her face.

Sydnee gets a bath anymore whenever she wants it. Since she is constantly jumping in the tub with me. At least she swims really well now. I have been using the dove shampoo and conditioner because for some reason it keeps the fleas down and doesn't dry out the hair. There is another link on here about using Dove soap to help with the fleas, also. I have honestly given up trying to keep her out of my bath. If I leave her out of the bathroom she cries and whines like she is dying so I let her in and if she feels she needs a bath she jumps in and if not she just lies on the edge of the tub.

That is the cutest thing I ever heard! Chloe just sees me taking out her grooming gear and she runs under the table! Never did take a bath with her (husband would definitely have me committed) maybe jealous?? :D
Thanks for the tip of Dove for the fleas..Chloe just delivered (see photo gallery) and is full of fleas :eek: (I live in a hot climate, israel) and haven't used any products on her since the conception and even the pups have a few fleas) so I will go out right this minute (if I can tear myself away from the computer) and buy some.

Wow! Doesn't he/she get yucky after a month? The 10 days I had to wait to bathe Syd after surgery was awful. She was sooooooo stinky!

I would suggest using a wet wash cloth around her head to wet, until she gets used to the running water also bath her in the sink instead of the bath tub, the larger space can be overwhelming and it is easier to control her and the water in a sink.

None of them enjoy getting wet but making a game out of getting blown dry and brushed seems to make them not hate it as much.

That's what I originally thought too! I noticed that when I bathe my comet more that once a month, he would develop alot of dry skin and dander. Now I use these great puppy bath wipes in between his monthly baths. I use those almost every other day, and he gets brushed alot too! ;)

Hmmmm....I might try those wipes in the winter. However we usually need to do a flea bath once a week in the summer anyway.

I use leave in conditioner and Missing link to help with dry skin. So far that is helping

Tino and Bunny get weekly baths. Bunny doesnt really need one weekly at this point bc she is still a puppy, but I want to get her in the habit. Tino LOVES getting his bath!!! He gets so excited when he sees me getting out his shampoo and all of his grooming supplies!!! Oh and I can't even tell you how much he LOVES being blown dry!!! Its like he knows how beautiful he looks when we are all done!

...thanks Sydneys Mom for the great tip! I'll try the Missing Link! the puppy wipes do a great job for those in between cleanings.

I bought a great shampoo at Petsmart. It is called: 8 in 1 Perfect Coat. I had the groomer tell me which one was the best. It is a gentle hypoallergenic shampoo and doesn't have alcohol in it. Alcohol is very drying. I always check the ingredients for alcohol. Nasty stuff! Then I bought a spray called: Nova Pearls. It smells great and I use it to brush her.
As for cutting nails. If y ou look at the back of the nail, you will find a line that is hollowed out. Cut there, not any further. You will see what I mean when you look at the back of the nail. A great help, is to lput her foot in a piece of nylon sock. The nail will stick out and it will keep the hair back. That way, you don't need another hand for the hair. I have someone hold her to their chest and hold out one paw at a time. If no one is there, I hold her between my legs while I am sitting on a chair. It just takes practice. My Snoodles is a brat when it comes to cutting nails. She turns into Cujo!
Pat

Today I was in the shower and he was in the bathroom waiting for me. He started whining for me, so after I was done, I grabbed him off the floor and gave him a shower. I put him on the tub floor away from the stream to lather him up and then put him under the shower head to rinse him off. He loves being held, and did great. He didn't even try to get away, he just started trying to lick the water. We gave him one when we first got him and we did it in the tub and he was freaking out. I was glad it went better, I felt so bad for him last time.

This may be the new way he gets clean from now on. :)

Pat, what an excellent tip about the nylon to hold back the hair!! GENIUS!!

Gosh I love this website...

I bathe Bia in the kitchen sink every Saturday, the sink is the best I think because you have less space for them to get away in and more control. I also use an oatmeal shampoo on her body and use tear free baby shampoo on her face so that I can clean the crustys out of her eye without her eyes getting burned. I have trouble too rinsing her face becase she hates the water to get in her nose and eyes, so I have be rinsing with a washcloth latley and it seems to be doing the trick. They are scared of bathes at first but if you talk to them in a soothing voice and reassure them that everything is ok them they will get better. Also a treat afterwords is a good thing as well.

Duh! I never thought about the ktichen sink. I always bathe Miko in the bathtub and when I get up! My back is killing me! Thanks for the tip.
I've been putting drops in Miko's ears because I think he might have ear mites.
It makes his hair so oily! Right now he looks like he hasn't had a bath in months! but he is going to get groomed on Saturday, so I don't want to give him a bath before then..

Have you tried the sink? The bathtub is so big, and they are so small,
it might be better for your back too. :)

When I first got Roxy and TJ I bathed them every Saturday in the kitchen sink. It used to take me an hour to do them both! They hate baths and they hate the blow dryer, BUT they love how they look and feel when it is done! They both prance around...

Now, they can hold out 3-4 weeks until then turn into little greese balls (actually TJ could probably go even longer, his hair is more course and curly). They do get constant washes in the 'privates' and hinny area all the time.

THANKS for the tip about making sure to RINSE, RINSE and RINSE even more. Also about the dry face cloth on their eyes when trying to wash their faces!

At our house, we have a bathroom by the back door and no one uses the shower. We purchased a laundry tub at lowes and sit it inside the bathtub. We removed the shower head and replaced it with a shower hose. I can now give my doggies a bath without breaking my back. When I am finished, I just close the shower curtain and nobody knows it is there (except nosy people that want to see if I clean the shower lol) Works great. Thanks for the tip about the hose and nail cutting.