A pet can be bathed for the obvious reason ... it's dirty and needs to be cleaned.

A medical condition has been diagnosed and bathing a pet with a specific shampoo can be very therapeutic.

Shampoos act as tools to the veterinarian. One shampoo or another can make the difference as to whether your pet improves the skin condition it has. If your dog has scaly dry skin, bathing that dog in a shampoo designed for scaly dry skin will improve your dog's coat. If a different shampoo is used, let's say a grooming shampoo or a supermarket generic, then your dog's coat and skin will not improve nearly as much.

Sometime pet owners will confuse the words: bathing and grooming. Bathing is the washing, drying, and combing of your pet. Grooming is done by professional stylists that personalize and cut your pet's fur. A groomer will bathe your pet during the grooming process, much like you get your hair washed before it gets cut. On the contrary, one does not usually get a haircut every time one takes a bath.