How to sink bathe a Maltese

My Maltese is too feisty to take to a groomer so I enjoy doing it at home and reap the added benefit of saving money and building a closer relationship with my dog.  Necessary tools are a stack of towels, some alcohol to drown fleas in (I pour a capful beforehand just to be ready but this is rarely needed since my dog is on Comfortis-a flea pill), tearless shampoo, Magic Coat Shampoo-White Coat, Magic Coat Conditioner-Detangling, scissors, brush.

I insert a rubber drain pad into the larger side of the sink so he doesn't slip around.

This is my wooden pizza peel which comes in handy to keep his head up so I can reach some hard to get to areas and it helps at times to keep him in the sink.

Next step is to place the dog in the sink.  I have to time this right since if I take too long he realizes what's up and runs upstairs to hide from me.

With the water lukewarm I wet him all over..be sure not to miss the area under the tail.  Although I couldn't get a photo of it I first shampoo his head with the tearless shampoo being careful not to get it in his eyes yet aiming to get the eye area gunk removed.  One way is to wet the hair around the eyes (using caution to make sure the water is very lukewarm) and then use a light weave soft cotton towel to massage the moist hair around the eye til most eye gunk transfers to the towel and comes clean and then use a light spray of water to rinse away any specks that still cling around his eyes.  This same technique works with the ears.  I just rub a towel covered finger around the exterior of the ear and then rinse.

Next I use the Magic Coat Shampoo for White Coat on his back and legs.  It starts out blue but with some rubbing forms into a  nice white foam.

Here is where I use the wooden peel to hold his head out of the way while I suds up his back, underbelly, & legs.  The last step is to thoroughly rinse him off from head to tail (toes included).

Since he likes to attempt escape I put a pile of towels on the left & edge him back into the sink using the peel.  This keeps me a safe distance from his teeth if he decides to resort to drastic measures.

The peel also helps to keep his head up out of the way if I want to trim any hair on his front chest or legs.  Maltese have hair that keeps on growing til it drags on the ground and requires lengthy daily brushings to maintain but most pet owners trim it to make upkeep easier.

Next step is to apply the Magic Coat conditioner which helps detangle mats which tend to form.

It greatly helps to use a wire brush to brush the conditioner through the hair.

Rabbit now has the detangler brushed in and is ready for the final rinsing.

Here I place the peel upright at the front of the sink to impede Rabbit's escape plans.

After a  thorough final rinse with warm water I roll a towel covered cart in front of the sink and allow Rabbit to jump onto it or I lift him out of the sink if he needs some help.

Rabbit has been tortured enough with this bathtime and is ready to get dried off.

Rabbit is a little leary of jumping out of the sink on his own since he has cateracts and can't see too well.

Now he's ready and he's soon out with just a little extra boost from me.

His favorite part of the bath is a thorough rub down with a dry towel.

Bath is over and I can see that I missed rinsing off some specks around his eye but they will hopefully fall off  later as he dries.  If not he has another bath in just a week.

Rabbit does his own dry job by rolling around on the rugs.

After rolling on the carpet the specks by his eye have vanished.  Later I'll vacuum.

Since no amount of towel drying or rolling around gets him fully dry we head out into the breezy sunshiny day to finish the job.

Rabbit is on a single minded mission after every bath and charges down the sidewalk toward Betty and Oscar's house.

Nothing beats a natural blow dry

Being a 15 year old dog it always surprises me how much energy he musters after a bath.  It must be like a stimulating massage that taps some unseen power source within him.  It's either that or he dislikes baths so much that the thought of getting to the pleasant company of his friends overrides everything.

Rabbit is so excited I have to run to keep up with him. 

Since he knows I can't keep up he slows his pace a bit.

Here Rabbit finally stops in front of Betty & Bob's place.

Rabbit gets invited in and meets his friend Oscar.

Mission accomplished.