Without a doubt, the simplest way to bathe and dry your Alaskan Malamute is to have the job done by a professional groomer. But, with a little planning, you can adapt similar techniques to accommodate your dog at home, and thus gain an immense sense of accomplishment from bathing this beautiful animal yourself.

The following steps should help you in this mission.

Before you even think of rounding up your dog for a bath, you must prepare. First, determine where you will be bathing the dog.

This is actually possible in your own bathtub with a rubber mat on the bottom if you don’t mind cleaning the bathroom from floor to ceiling afterward, but it may also be done outdoors (on a warm day, of course) in a child’s wading pool, a metal wash tub, or just out on the grass or patio with a hose and the dog tied to a sturdy anchor.

Prepare the site ahead of time, filling the tub with lukewarm water, hooking up the hose, whatever you need to do to accommodate your water needs.

Now gather your supplies. You will need:

• several clean, dry towels
• a shampoo formulated for dogs (perhaps a flea shampoo or one that also includes a conditioner)
• a couple of clean washcloths
• a large plastic cup to assist in rinsing
• a blow dryer (optional)

Place these all near the tub and you’re ready to begin.

Proper Bathing

Because this breed is so adept at reading minds, your Malamute will probably guess before you even make a move that you intend to give her a bath. She may try to avoid you, to stay just out of reach or perhaps to disappear. Whatever you must contend with, retrieve the dog and bring her to the bath.

Your first challenge is to wet the dog from head to toe (or perhaps from neck to toe, some dogs being more amenable to the bath if their heads and faces can remain dry until the end). This can be a challenge because that thick double coat will fight full saturation.

Spend as much time as you can in accomplishing this, and you will find the rest of the bath proceeds much more smoothly. Now, faced with a wet dog, begin the shampooing. Just as you attempted to wet the coat down to the skin, now you will try to massage the shampoo through the hair and down to the skin, as well.

In doing so, don’t neglect the areas beneath the tail, the groin, behind the ears, and the profuse growth of hair at the bottom of the dog’s feet.

Once the Malamute is sufficiently cleansed, it’s time to rinse. This time it’s even more critical to saturate the dog completely as you must remove every bit of soap from the dog’s skin and hair.

Rinse from the top of the neck and back and work your way down to the legs and feet. Then rinse, rinse, rinse again. When you no longer see soap or bubbles falling from the dog, rinse one more time.

If you have reserved the washing of the dog’s face and head for the end, wash the head with a drop of shampoo, the face with a clean washcloth and water, and you have successfully completed the bath.

Proper Drying

Equally important to the rinse cycle is the drying of the dog. To prevent the animal from becoming chilled, you will want to make sure she is completely dry before she runs off to resume her normal activities.

To tackle the drying of that thick double coat, begin by first patting and rubbing the dog with clean towels. Once the bulk of the water has been dried or shaken off, confine the dog in a warm dry spot, perhaps a corner of the kitchen, the garage, or a sheltered area outdoors to finish drying.

You can accelerate the process by using a blow dryer set on warm, not hot, blowing the hair dry by directing the air against the lay of the coat (so as to dry the undercoat as well).

Because the noise and sensation may startle some dogs, it is wise to introduce your pet to the blow dryer at a young age, allowing her first to explore the dryer as it sits unplugged on the floor, then introducing her to its sound, and then to the feel of the air on her coat.

Most dogs, when introduced to it properly and positively, learn to enjoy being dried with the blow dryer, which can certainly help to ensure that the dog is dried all the way down to the skin.