How To Bathe Your Lhasa Apso The Right Way?

Bathing is one of the first things you will have to learn as a proud Lhasa Apso owner. Without proper bathing routine and products, a Lhasa Apso would never look as pretty as they do and they would most likely develop certain health problems. Taking care of their appearance also means keeping them healthy and happy at all times.

How to bathe your Lhasa Apso the right way? Each time you bathe your Lhasa Apso, make sure you gently brush their coat to remove soil and all the mess they gathered up in their hair. Prepare the bathing area, get a good shampoo, dog conditioner and never forget the towels! Use lukewarm water and make sure to focus on the body, tail, and legs before going for their head. Using a pH-neutral shampoo, wash your Lhasa Apso’s body and then start concentrating on their head. Gently clean their eyes, and try not to get too much water in their eyes, ears or nose. Make sure you apply the conditioner every time you bathe your Lhasa Apso, a conditioner will keep their coat soft to touch. Rinse the conditioner after each use and gently get rid of the excess water on their coat.

Small but very hardy, Lhasa Apso is a dog breed everyone wants to pet and hug! Whoever walks by a Lhasa Apso, simply has to look after them and get a smile on their face. With their joyful and very independent temperament, Lhasa Apso’s really tend to stand out more than most of the dogs of this size. They are quite different than most small dogs and unlike most of them, they actually do not have issues with a small dog syndrome at all! Popular in the show ring, Lhasa Apso is also a great therapy dog too! Their beautiful, glamorous coat is something we all notice right away, and also why a Lhasa Apso requires regular grooming chores. In order to keep the beauty and well being of your Lhasa Apso, there are many things to watch out for.

The process of bathing your Lhasa Apso is supposed to be an enjoyable and positive experience. Make bathing something your Lhasa Apso will look forward to, do not be the boring owner who never lets their Lhasa Apso get dirty! Lhasa Apso is a dog, after all, they deserve to explore and enjoy nature just like any other dog out there. Cleaning them should not be considered to be a duty but something fun and enjoyable! Read my recommended bathing products here.

Bathe Your Lhasa Apso At Home

Lhasa Apso is a real mischievous Tibetan dog breed who requires a lot of grooming and baths in order to maintain their luxurious appearance. This lovely little dog will require a bath once a week up to every 4 weeks depending on how active they are and how long their coat is.

Knowing the grooming chores for a Lhasa Apso are a little bit more time consuming than with most dogs, teaching them how to love it is essential. With their thick and very dense coat, it is obvious to say their coat easily gets tangled up and requires immediate attention at times. The quality of the products you choose for the grooming chores can highly influence the time spent on grooming chores, but also make your life a lot easier.

Always Brush Your Lhasa Apso Before Bathing

Most of the time, your Lhasa Apso will require a daily brush as soon as they get home from a walk. Their coat can seem matted and very tangled up, which means the brushing is unavoidable. Brushing your Lhasa Apso should be a priority, get the tangles out and other unknown matter accumulated in their coat. If you want, you can always moisten the coat a little bit in order to help the brushing process. Take your time with brushing, do not rush. Lhasa Apso do not like rough and fast movements, they like it when things are done in a slow friendly matter. Being rough when brushing your Lhasa Apso can make them run away next time you show them the brush. As brushing is one of the daily things in a life of a Lhasa Apso, you might want to make it a fun and enjoyable experience, not just for you, but for your Lhasa Apso as well.

It is always better to take some extra time to brush their coat out before getting them wet.

Lhasa Apso Coat Types And Skin/Coat Related Challenges

Lhasa Apso will not always have the same type of coat, they change a few coats throughout their lives and it can certainly be a challenging thing for all of the new owners.

Curly Coat

Lhasa Apso actually has a slightly curly coat until they hit at least fourteen months old. After they reach this age, their soft ‘’puppy’’ coat will get replaced by the adult Lhasa Apso coat.

Double Coat

Lhasa Apso has a double coat featuring hard top and the soft underlayer. This type of coat is meant to protect them from Tibetian cold.

Straight Coat

Lhasa Apso features a long, straight coat going along their back all the way down to the ground. This long, straight coat actually protects them from the environment and is a lot easier to groom than others.

Coarse Textured

Once your Lhasa Apso hits adulthood, they will have a straight and very textured coat. While it is a little bit harsher to the touch, this type of coat is much easier to maintain than the original, puppy coat of a Lhasa Apso. It insulates and keeps your dog safe from the elements.

Dense

Lhasa Apso’s coat is very long and thick, it is basically a trademark of this adorable little dog.

Skin And Coat Challenges To Pay Attention To

Dry Skin – Lhasa Apso can develop flaky, dry skin throughout their life. This is often very challenging to treat as their coat is so very dense and thick.
Matting – The coat of a Lhasa Apso can mat very easily, especially in the period when your Lhasa Apso is leaving the puppy life and enters the life of an adult dog. Matted Lhasa Apso is a hard thing to deal with, which is why brushing them is the only way to keep it all under control.
Allergies – Lhasa Apso’s tend to be sensitive to certain sprays and shampoos, they can even develop a rash, get itchy skin and an allergy outbreak.
Tangling – Lhasa Apso’s coat is prone to knots and all kinds of tangles you could possibly imagine.
Shedding – Lhasa Apso sheds very slowly throughout their life. They do not have the specific time of the year when they shed at all, just like humans, they only lose their hair when necessary.

Understanding all about Lhasa Apso’s coat and their health problems, you should be aware of how important it is to keep your dog clean, tangle-free and on a healthy diet. As a Lhasa Apso owner, it will take a bit of sacrifice to keep your dog lively, intelligent and healthy. Without effort and a lot of patience, a Lhasa Apso will show their unhappiness and maybe even completely change their personality towards you.

Bathing Process

Once you are done with all that brushing and making sure your Lhasa Apso is tangle free and ready for a bath, get the place prepared and start washing your little diva. Have your ph-neutral shampoo nearby, prepare the conditioner too and use the products that will help you give them a proper bath. Having towels nearby is a must as you will be required to tap dry your Lhasa Apso too!

Upon getting your Lhasa Apso in the shower or bath, start gently moistening their coat with lukewarm water. If you are using a bath, it is suggested you have a few inches of the lukewarm water already in the bath, that way your Lhasa Apso will get used to the temperature and you can pour the water onto the coat slowly.

The next step you need to do is apply a pH-neutral shampoo with no added scents on your Lhasa Apso’s coat. – Make sure you do not get any water or shampoo into their eyes, nose or ears at any point while giving them a bath. If you do, they will shake and make the bathing process a lot more complicated than it is supposed to be. Keep their head dry and focus on their body, tail and their legs first. Most Lhasa Apso’s enjoy back massages, so try to massage them meanwhile washing their beautiful coat.

Once you are done washing their little body, you can slowly concentrate on their head. Gently clean their eyes as Lhasa Apso’s eyes are often prone to producing a brown stain. Rinse your Lhasa Apso thoroughly and remove all the soapy water off their coat. Once their coat is fully soap-free, apply the conditioner and then rinse it off in order to keep your Lhasa Apso’s coat soft and silky. Before removing your Lhasa Apso from the bath/shower, use your hands to get the excess water off their legs and body, lift them up and start with the drying process.

Drying Process

You have finally managed to give a bath to your Lhasa Apso, now it is time to properly dry their beautiful coat! Place towels on the floor or a place of your wish and put your Lhasa Apso on them. Most Lhasa Apso’s will be rolling and scampering all over the towels, so that is why the floor is maybe a better choice.

Take a dryer, it does not matter if you have a professional dryer for dogs or just a regular dryer and use a cool mode to dry them. Never use hot mode and make sure you keep on talking to them and rubbing your fingers through their coat until they are completely dry. It is extremely important you dry your Lhasa Apso well, if not, your Lhasa Apso’s skin could get very itchy and you probably do not want that to happen.

Want a professional grooming dryer for your Lhasa Apso?

If you would like to have everything you need for your Lhasa Apso and their grooming chores, take a look at Shelandy Stepless Adjustable Grooming Blower/Dryer. This blow dryer features a rather powerful and stable motor, it will help you dry your Lhasa Apso faster than before. Aside from being powerful and very durable, this blower can be adjusted to have a different type of airflow too. Most importantly, this dryer is also very quiet, much quieter than most grooming dryers out there.

Brush Your Lhasa Apso Regularly

It is quite obvious Lhasa Apso dog breed is all about regular brushing and a lot of coat care. Your daily brushing routine will require a lot of patience to get used to, using an untangling spray can make the brushing sessions much easier. Start at the tail of your Lhasa Apso and work your way forward using the untangling brush. As their hair is long and they have a double coat, you will find it much easier to lift their hair layers and do the job. While most Lhasa Apso owners decide to cut their coat short to avoid all the brushing every single day, daily brushing will certainly help your Lhasa Apso no matter whether they feature a long or short coat. Pick the best brushes you consider for your Lhasa Apso and gently brush them every day. Try to have some kind of a schedule for it as well, as they might get used to it a lot easier that way.

Pick Professional Grooming Products

The quality of the products you use to groom your Lhasa Apso can have a huge impact on how well the grooming chores will go. While preparing and getting your Lhasa Apso used to the grooming chores is important, buying decent products is also as important. Without proper brushing products, bathing your Lhasa Apso can turn into a nightmare. You must know about all of the brush types and know how they are used and for what purpose.

Read my recommended bathing products here.