There are inherent risks in bathing a dog straight after being hand stripped.
The most serious is post-grooming furunculosis, which can affect dogs with wired hair coats that have thick hair shafts. These hairs are easily damaged during shampooing.
Any vigorous washing or brushing can increase any likelihood of infection.
In particular, contaminated shampoo can aggravate this furunculosis, so shampoos should be diluted on the day and not saved from the previous day.
Sterile mixing bottles and pumps if a bath is required straight after a hand strip.
Risks
The symptoms of furunculosis can include:
- A puss-filled boils
- Lameness
- The dog licking the affected area excessively
- Inflammation
- Swelling
- Change in the position of the tail
Mitigation
To avoid furunculosis, groomers should not bath dogs straight after a hand strip.
Groomers should ask the owner to bring the dog back in two weeks for their bath.
If the owner insists on bathing straight away, then they should be made aware of the furunculosis risks and be asked to sign a waver.
