This is an often debated question. I shall simply advise what I do with my pigs. I shampoo my pigs as when required. Certainly, in my opinion, no more often than at 3 month intervals - to prevent drying out their natural oils or even causing irritation. Piggies, especially short-haired types, are extremely successful at keeping themselves clean and well groomed. However it may be necessary to shampoo more often if, say, my piggy's were undergoing treatment shampoo's for a skin condition or if due to illness a pig hasn't been on top of keeping themselves totally clean 'down under'.

3 Good reasons why you may want to shampoo your piggy are as follows:

• Your piggy may be a bit whiffy / dirty. Perfectly understandable considering your piggy lives on hay, may sleep on his poops occasionally & may rampage around your garden. Billy had an extremely active grease-gland so he needed an occasional de-grease !
• If you have a long haired piggy they need regular trims around the 'rear end' to prevent them become soiled and matted (and smelly), carrying out a shampoo after such a trim will ensure your piggy is fresh and clean and I also found that when my long haired piggy Mop had been shampoo'd it was easier to trim just that little bit closer around her bottom with her spread-eagled across my palm whilst her hair was wet - a combination of bemusement/confusion at being wet & warm meant she tended to stay much more still and also when hair was wet it was easier to cut. It is also easier to tease out any knots.
• Your piggy may have a parasitic / fungal skin problem. Also, some people, when introducing a new pig to a herd will shampoo all of their pigs, 1. to disguise their scents and 2. by using a 'anti-fungal/parasitic shampoo to help prevent the passing on of any skin conditions - though if a proper 3 week quarantine has been carried out this shouldn't be a factor. This may also be done after collecting your pig from it's holiday boarding home if it has been in contact with other pigs.

If you want to shampoo your piggy purely to give her a bit of a clean & freshen up you can use any of the shampoos specifically made for shampooing small animals and use sparingly - diluted if possible. In the past I have used Johnsons Small Animal Shampoo and have experienced no problems - think: gentle and as natural as possible. If you are treating a parasitic / fungal problem then use the appropriate shampoo as advised by your vet. Personally I tend not to use 'cosmetic' shampoo's, preferring to stick to more natural one's without so many additives.

Neem Shampoo - Herbal shampoo with extract of Neem leaves - I use this for general 'freshening'	Vet-Sect Repel - A good antifungal & antiparasitic shampoo - with a pleasing citrus fragrance ! Use gloves when using it

You can buy Vet-Sect Repel from the Cambridge Cavy Trust [which is where I first heard of it] or you may be able to order it from your vet.

I shampoo my piggies in the kitchen sink and have a bowl or 2 of clean warm water for rinsing laid out on the draining area. One reason I like the kitchen is that I have a mixer tap there so it is easy to rinse the pigs off by holding them underneath it. The temperature of the room is also normally warm. There is also more work surface space so I can lay out a multitude of dry towels ready for if I'm doing a multiple bathing session. A matter of what works for you. If your piggy is a bit of a 'leaper' you might want to bathe her in a washing up bowl sited in the bath so if she leaps out she hasn't far to fall. You can line the bath with an old towel so she doesn't slip about and hurt herself if she jumps out of the bowl.

• If you are going to trim your long-haired piggy's hair - do this first, maybe the day before to minimise the amount of stress you give your piggy at any one time and to make the shampoo'ing easier [less hair!] - final 'close to bottom' trimming can then be done when the hair is wet as it can sometimes be easier to do this when wet [depending on the pig!].
• Decide why you are shampooing your pig [and if it really needs it - remember, they are generally clean animals, don't do it unless you need to] and get the relevant shampoo.
• See if you need to wear gloves, some treatment shampoo's advise this - surgical gloves fit snugly and don't hamper your shampoo massaging !
• Make sure you have several old towels ready to use - a) to place your piggy on whilst you rub in shampoo b) to wrap your piggy up in when they have a parasitic/antifungal shampoo applied - to ensure they cannot lick the shampoo - wrap up snugly whilst the shampoo does it's stuff and give your pig a cuddle, and c) to wrap them up in once they have been rinsed to keep them warm until they are dry.
• Decide where you are going to carry out the shampoo and if possible put the heating on in there to try and prevent your piggy catching a chill.
• Get a towel lined box / carry case ready to put your newly shampoo'd & damp piggy into and place it somewhere warm to allow her to dry off naturally without chilling - or have your hairdryer ready so you can dry them off with that. My piggies freak at the sound of my hairdryer so I always allow mine to dry naturally in a warm place after a gentle rub down with a towel, and put them into a freshly cleaned-out pen. If your piggy lives outside ensure she is completely dry before you put her back outside and also make sure your piggy has time to dry off before night time so she doesn't go to sleep damp. Avoid bathing pigs in the winter to minimise the risk of chills, if at all possible.

This is how I shampoo mine: I fill the kitchen sink with warm water at a comfortable temperature to a few inches deep, cover the surrounding surface with several old towels to be used later in the process. I also prepare a few jugs and bowls of warm water [depending on how many pigs I'll be bathing] to be used as a final rinse if needed. Get my shampoo ready. Some shampoos need to be diluted prior to use so organise all that sort of thing first. Put my gloves on.

Then, I go and get the lucky pig whose turn it is. Then with one hand underneath supporting the pig I lower them into the bowl bottom first, until they are sitting on the bottom then gently cover them with the water, from their shoulders down, not over their head, until they are wet all over. Beware that the majority of pigs don't like getting shampoo'd/wet and may try and make a freedom leap - they can be very quick so keep your wits about you and if possible face them towards the wall / work surface rather than towards the floor or you (may try to jump at you so you can 'save' them… aaah). Make sure they do not get water up their noses / in their ears / in their mouths etc.

Take piggy out of the bowl and put her on one of the towels you have laid out. Get your shampoo and apply it to the piggy as directed, use both hands to rub the shampoo in, make sure you rub it in gently all over her and under her tummy and around her bottom, also, if you are using a parasitic shampoo ensure you also get the shampoo in the ears to kill any nasties living in there - be very very careful, apply a little lather to your finger and gently wipe in the ear - or for best advice ask your vet for exact instructions - be very careful rinsing this out, do not pour water in the ear. If I am using a 'purely cleansing & fragrancing' shampoo I avoid getting it in the ears in case this causes more problems than it cures !!!

At this point, whilst the piggy is wet I would also try and tease out any knots that may be in the coat of a long-haired pig. If you are using a 'treatment' shampoo you may be advised to leave it on your pig for a period of time (follow the instructions provided - normally about 5 mins) - you will need to towel wrap your piggy and cuddle her until the time is up, to make her feel reassured, keep her warm and to stop her from licking the shampoo.

Next you need to rinse your piggy, for this I either turn the mixer tap on till it reaches a nice temperature (whilst steadying pig on towel with other hand) and hold the piggy under it, turning her around so she gets nicely rinsed off everywhere or, if you do not have a mixer tap fill a bowl with warm clean water and either pour the water over your pig [not over her head!] from a jug which you fill up from there or rinse piggy out in the bowl of clean water. I do not use 'conditioners' on my pigs.

Once the piggy is rinsed, if she is a long haired piggy you may want to 'spread-eagle' her over your palm for support and gently give her a close trim around her bottom whilst her hair is wet & easier to cut. (I use 'proper' hairdressing scissors for this as I find they work the best).

Then, I put the damp & bedraggled piggy on to one of the other dry towels and wrap her up and gently rub her to get most of the moisture out. Then, if it's a bit chilly I place her in the carry box near a radiator (but not too near) or if it's a warm day I tend to just put her back in her pen with the others so she can burrow under some nice clean hay and dry off ! If you've treated her with the anti-parasitic shampoo then make sure you have rinsed her ears out and dried them off too (being really gentle). Again: If your piggy lives outside - make sure she is completely dry before you put her back outside !

I always wait until the next day to comb out long haired pigs so I don't put them through too much at any one time. You'll probably find that the shampooing process will sort out any knots if you have allowed them to develop and the hair will be much softer so this should not be a difficult task.

Pre-Wash for piggies with an over-active grease-gland: Billy had a very overactive grease gland - this is located towards the rear of the pig, above the bottom [at the base of where the tail would be] after a while I would notice a greasy build up in and under the hair to his rear - I would apply a little 'Swarfega' [used by mechanics to clean their oily hands] to the dry hair, just in the greasy area and gently rub in, leave for a few mins to soak [wrap piggy in a towel so he can't ingest any Swarfega] and break down the grease, then rinse in a bowl of warm water, then progress with normal shampoo'ing as above.

Swarfega - An effective de-greaser - you can buy it in any 'car' type shop.	A green gel - do not let your pig ingest any - towel-wrap pig whilst applied

And so you now have a lovely clean & fresh piggy. Might also be a good time to weigh your pig too (for health monitoring purposes). Why not make this a regular 3 monthly clean [if required], trim & weigh your piggy time !

Many thanks to Merry for the wonderful bathing animation - There is a link to Merry's site on the Other Piggy Sites Links Page !

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Page Last Updated: 10/03/06