how often to bath?

ClifftheBRD · 08-15-2008, 05:55 AM

i am wondering how often it is ok to bath my dog? i have heard that too much can be bad or the skin. in this texas heat, she gets kinda stinky after a while.

thanks
Cliff

RonE · 08-15-2008, 06:57 AM

Oh, you mean the dog?

Use a good quality dog shampoo (never human shampoo) and make sure to rinse it out thoroughly. There are products meant for a "dry shampoo" that might help in-between. Some benefit from a conditioner to help prevent drying of the coat and skin.

Some dogs are bathed weekly, some annually. There are no hard-and-fast rules.

akatvg · 08-15-2008, 10:23 AM

I have a Beagle, and I've adopted an "as needed" policy.

Yesterday he rolled around in the mud after it rained, so he needed a bath. He won't get another bath until he needs it.

It works for me.

RonE · 08-15-2008, 01:33 PM

I learned, with my double-coated lab who would sometimes get into the mud, that it was more efficient to let him dry and then just brush him out.

Bathing him was a major production and not lightly undertaken.

Esther hasn't had a real bath in over a year and Molly is still waiting for her first bath. We got her in September.

I'm thinking maybe some time this month for both of 'em.

merrow · 08-15-2008, 02:31 PM

i bath my lhasa apso once a week as he needs it and dosnt get dry skin but i feed a good diet and use a grate shampoo

kenRC51 · 08-15-2008, 09:36 PM

I bath Stitch and Melanie once a week. Stitch gets so dirty where some times the water turn brown. Melanie is alot cleaner then Stitch but I still bath her once a week.

Patt · 08-15-2008, 09:48 PM

I only bathe when needed. I think the last time was a year ago when they tangled with a skunk. I use pet wipes and this keeps their coats pretty clean.

musicmom116 · 08-16-2008, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by merrow

i bath my lhasa apso once a week as he needs it and dosnt get dry skin but i feed a good diet and use a grate shampoo

What diet do you feed him and what shampoo do you use? I just bought some Coat Handler conditioner and plan to buy some of it's shampoo soon.

rosemaryninja · 08-16-2008, 12:19 PM

I've read really good things about Coat Handler conditioner on this forum.

Acadia · 08-17-2008, 08:29 PM

Depends on the dog.

I have two maltese dogs and we bathe them about every week, sometimes every two weeks when they have their puppy cut. Any longer and their hair gets greasy and kinda smelly.

My boyfriend has a black lab. His family got him last September/October and he's had one bath since he's joined the family.

So it just depends on the dog and when you think s/he needs a bath.

Lonewolfblue · 08-17-2008, 08:51 PM

All depends on the dog. I just bathe when needed like some of the others above. I think it's been about 6 months since I've bathed Betty, and she's still looking great and doesn't smell. I've bathed Nell once after I got her, and may be taking her to a professional groomer when I'm on vacation. She still has some of that farm smell that I can't get rid of. She's not so bad now, probably because she get's to swim quite a bit, but I would just like to get her done once by a pro.

Kathyy · 08-18-2008, 12:12 AM

My old dog has really dry skin and allergies and I haven't used shampoo on her for months now. She gets a 10 minute rinse with warm water about once a week. I am hoping the rinsing will remove some allergens and preserve much of the skin oils. The younger dog doesn't have the dry skin and only gets a five minute rinse once a week. He has medium length fur and so far the coat looks like it has been shampooed in fact his greasy looking ear fur doesn't look as greasy now. Neither dog has much odor that would need to be washed away since they started eating home cooked and raw food. Yet. Younger dog is fond of mud and smelly mud doesn't rinse away. I have tried. Generally right after a bath.

I don't need to bathe the old lab mix if she gets mud on her tummy and legs, it just flakes right off. Mud sticks to the younger spaniel mix however. He will get mud balls on his feet and feathers that don't come off easily, I have to soak them back into mud. Lab type coats are so practical. I remember taking a walk on a too muddy trail with her. I scraped two inches of mud from my shoes and looked at her feet. Nothing on them. Nothing. Back when I washed them in the tub the lab mix was always clean and the spaniel mix had mud washing off. Next dog, lab type coat and spaniel type personality.

kenRC51 · 08-18-2008, 02:20 AM

I would love to give me dogs a bath 2 times a year or even once a month. I do not know how you guys do it but not bathing you dogs for so long and they still stay clean. I've been asking myself are my standard of clean higher then you guys? or does my dogs get dirtier faster then your dogs?
I have heard many things that what food you feed you dogs makes their coat better. I feed Stitch Innova EVO red meat and Melanie Wellness puppy. Both the dogs are outside 70-80% of the day and comes in at night to sleep. During the day both dogs comes in and out of the house. I live in a house with a good size back year in Los Angeles County. My back yard consist of grass and brick walk ways. I do not know how my dogs gets so dirty in 1 week.
Tell me how you guys do it.

0hmyd0g · 08-18-2008, 02:33 AM

Every week or two for my shih tzu cross. Her longer coat picks up a lot of dirt.

Lonewolfblue · 08-18-2008, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenRC51

I would love to give me dogs a bath 2 times a year or even once a month. I do not know how you guys do it but not bathing you dogs for so long and they still stay clean. I've been asking myself are my standard of clean higher then you guys? or does my dogs get dirtier faster then your dogs?
I have heard many things that what food you feed you dogs makes their coat better. I feed Stitch Innova EVO red meat and Melanie Wellness puppy. Both the dogs are outside 70-80% of the day and comes in at night to sleep. During the day both dogs comes in and out of the house. I live in a house with a good size back year in Los Angeles County. My back yard consist of grass and brick walk ways. I do not know how my dogs gets so dirty in 1 week.
Tell me how you guys do it.

A lot has to do with what type of dog you have. I have a Border Collie and an ACD, both have a minimum maintenance coat on them. Hardly anyting sticks to them, when they wrestle in the yard and kick up a dust storm, Nell just shakes and she's clean. And Betty somehow never get's dirty, except for the time she went sheep herding in the mud, lol. Some dogs just have a higher maintenance coat on them.

FilleBelle · 08-18-2008, 01:36 PM

Nature's Miracle makes dog wipes from a formula similar to their enzyme cleaner. I find that this works wonders on my big dog. Clifford is a smelly guy and could probably do with a once a week bath, but I'm too lazy for that. Instead, he gets them twice a month and a doggy wipe on his face and feet nearly every day.

Alvin gets a couple of baths a year. Maybe.

jbray01 · 08-18-2008, 02:45 PM

i think it depends on the dog. i have a lab and we bathe her about once every 1-2 months or if she starts to get stinky.

she never gets dry skin, but oyu have to make sure to completely dry your dog after a bath, or it will just defeat the purpose, and you'll end up with a wet dog smell...

musicmom116 · 08-18-2008, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FilleBelle

Nature's Miracle makes dog wipes from a formula similar to their enzyme cleaner. I find that this works wonders on my big dog. Clifford is a smelly guy and could probably do with a once a week bath, but I'm too lazy for that. Instead, he gets them twice a month and a doggy wipe on his face and feet nearly every day.

I thought at one point someone on here said they use baby wipes. Would that be the same thing? Or does anyone think baby wipes are bad for the dogs? I used them a few times on Dallas, but she doesn't really like me to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbray01

i think it depends on the dog. i have a lab and we bathe her about once every 1-2 months or if she starts to get stinky.

she never gets dry skin, but oyu have to make sure to completely dry your dog after a bath, or it will just defeat the purpose, and you'll end up with a wet dog smell...

How does one go about completely drying their dog's coat after a bath? I never seem to be able to keep them still long enoughtfor that.

rosemaryninja · 08-19-2008, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicmom116

I thought at one point someone on here said they use baby wipes. Would that be the same thing? Or does anyone think baby wipes are bad for the dogs? I used them a few times on Dallas, but she doesn't really like me to.

I've heard that baby wipes work, but I'm not entirely sure. You can look into Earthbath's grooming wipes as well.

kenRC51 · 08-19-2008, 12:02 PM

those dog grooming wipes are expensive. I use baby wipes on my dog and they work fine. I even asked the vet if it was ok, they said that it was fine.