Step one: brush out before any water
The full groom actually starts with a brush, before the bath the question lists first. Dry brushing removes loose hair and, crucially, finds and loosens mats and tangles while they can still be teased apart. Water does the opposite: it tightens a mat like felt, so a dog bathed with tangles comes out with them set harder, pulling on the skin underneath and taking far longer to dry.
This first pass also lets you feel the whole dog — lumps, sore spots, ticks, a tender paw — while he is dry, calm, and easy to examine. Note anything you find now, because the same spot is much harder to assess on a wet, soapy dog mid-bath.
Step two: nails while he is dry and settled
Trim nails before the bath, standing on a dry, non-slip surface where you can see the foot clearly and the dog feels secure. Nails trimmed now are one less job waiting at the end when he is damp and impatient, and the bath afterwards naturally softens and cleans the feet. Take small slices, check the dewclaws, and stop for a break if he fidgets — a quicked nail on a struggling dog turns the whole groom sour.
If your dog is one who tolerates nails better when tired and clean, doing them after drying is an acceptable swap; the order that matters most is the one around water and brushing, not a rigid rule about clippers. What does not work is trying to trim wriggling wet paws straight out of the tub.
Step three and four: bath, then a thorough dry
Now the bath, working shampoo through a coat that is already tangle-free so it can actually reach the skin, and rinsing longer than feels necessary — leftover shampoo is a common cause of post-groom itching. Keep water out of the ears as much as you can, and wash the face last with a cloth rather than a pour.
Drying comes next and is not optional padding: a coat brushed while still damp breaks, mats faster, and hides damp skin underneath, especially in thick double coats and long furnishings. Towel first, then use a dryer on a comfortable setting for the breed, brushing lightly as you go so air reaches the skin. The dog should feel dry at the roots, not just on the surface, before you call this step done.
Step five and six: final brush, then ears
The final brush on a fully dry coat sets everything in place, lifts out the last loose hair the bath loosened, and shows you the finished result — including any mat the earlier steps missed, now easy to spot and gently work out. This is also the moment a trim of feet, fringe, or sanitary areas sits best, because the hair is hanging as it naturally will.
Ears go last for a reason. Checking and gently wiping the outer ear at the end means you catch any bath water that got in, look at clean rather than soapy skin, and finish the groom with a health check: colour, smell, and discharge all read clearly now. Order matters because each step sets up the next — dry work before water, water before finishing, and inspection when everything is clean.
Running the sequence the same way every time
A six-step groom is easy to forget halfway through a wet afternoon, and steps quietly reorder themselves when a different person bathes the dog. Write the sequence down once, in order, with your dog's specifics attached — mats behind the ears, dewclaws, dry at the roots — and tick each step off as it is done. That shared, step-by-step routine in KinsLe Care Teams keeps a full groom complete and comfortable, whoever in the household runs it.