This applies especially to long-haired breeds that are more prone to getting pieces of things stuck and tangled in their hair. Pay careful attention to your dog’s lip folds. Since they’re warm and moist, bacteria can grow there. It’s important to keep these areas clean and dry. If your dog has heavy jowls or facial folds, part the wrinkles and furrows to make sure the skin is clean and free of infections.
If there are any matted areas that you can’t untangle, you might need to take your dog to a professional groomer to get them out.
This isn’t necessary if your dog has very short hair that doesn’t get tangled or matted anywhere.
You can wash your dog’s face as part of a complete bath or separately. If you have a breed of dog with a wrinkly face, you need to clean its face daily to keep it healthy. You can get special canine wet wipes to make this easier. If your dog is prone to yeast infections, look for a wipe that contains chlorhexidine, which has antifungal and antibacterial properties. Additionally, dry the dog’s face well after you wipe it.
You can use your hands to rub the water into the other areas of the dog’s facial fur. Just be careful not to get any water in the dog’s ears or eyes. Put cotton balls in your dog’s ears to keep water out if you aren’t confident you can direct the water away from them.
If you don’t have dog shampoo, you can use another non-irritant shampoo, such as tearless baby shampoo. Don’t use regular human shampoo because it will dry out your dog’s skin. Since human skin has a different pH than dog skin, products made for humans will irritate a dog. You don’t have to use shampoo to wash your dog’s facial hair. If you want, you can just give it a thorough rinse to clean it.
If the dog’s face still has stains on it from dirt or grass after shampooing and rinsing it, gently massage shampoo into the areas again and rinse it out. If there are any stubborn stains that persist, such as from oil, then you might need to take your dog to a professional groomer to clean them.
If there is excess water in the fur around the dog’s face, you can gently pat it dry with a clean towel to keep it from running into the dog’s eyes or another sensitive area. [12] X Expert Source Lancy WooCertified Pet Groomer Expert Interview. 26 February 2020.
If your dog really doesn’t like getting its face washed, start off slowly with a very short cleaning session followed by praise and a treat, then work your way up slowly until you can get through a full face washing. For example, you could just wash the dog’s chin, reward it with a treat, then the next time wash the chin and neck, followed by a treat, and so on.
If your dog has sore eyes or a possible eye infection, use separate cloths to wipe each eye. Don’t use paper towels or paper napkins to clean your dog’s eyes. These types of products can leave behind small bits of paper behind.
If this problem persists, then take your dog to a vet to be examined. In some cases it might be a sign of a problem with your dog’s tear ducts. To prevent stains, wipe away tears as soon as they appear. Prolonged exposure to the air oxidizes the tears and makes them stain your dog’s face.
Never use cotton swabs as you might accidentally poke them inside of your dog’s ears and hurt them.
