too much bathing?

angelic00 · 03-25-2007, 01:32 AM

How much is too much to bathe a dog,It is now spring here and it is sooo muddy outside(even in my yard)and when my puppy comes in from her outside time she is covered in mud.
So more or less my question is it ok to bathe her everyday,she is a purbred mutt,hehe and she has a short coat.

Aussiefan · 03-25-2007, 02:22 AM

Hi, well you run the risk of skin problems if you bathe everyday. I live about an hour north of Seattle, so i know all about mud LOL, but i just keep a towl at the door, and clean/dry them off before coming in. You may want to find an alternative to daily bathing, your dogs coat will become very dry and unhealthy, dandruff problems, and like i mentioned, other skin problems. I only bathe once every two to three months since the mud/dirt simply falls right off of them when they dry off, and they never smell like "dog" so i have no reason too, it would just be more harm then good with my Aussies, and Sheltie.

If your not using any shampoo, and just rinsing the mud off, you might be okay since your not scrubbing off much of the dogs natural coat oils. Not sure where you live, but here in western Wa its still too cold (in my opinion) to be rinsing them off outside though. Anyhow i hope summer comes soon! We have had the worst winter of my life (30yrs) in the Puget Sound area, and all the rivers around here are flooding again as the rain just keeps coming. GRRRRRR!!!!

angelic00 · 03-25-2007, 02:27 AM

I have tried the towel at the door thing but when she is covered head to toe in mud it would take alot of toweling especially since she is very active puppy still and prob wont sit long enough for me to do that.

Aussiefan · 03-25-2007, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by angelic00

I have tried the towel at the door thing but when she is covered head to toe in mud it would take alot of toweling especially since she is very active puppy still and prob wont sit long enough for me to do that.

Just added more to my original post, not sure if you saw it or not. My profession is turf managment, so if you need any yard advice (or mud reduction advice lol), you can always private message me, i would be glad to help. I have been able to limit the muddy yard, but its tough to completely do away with it here in this moldy area of the country lol.

MaxsMom · 03-25-2007, 01:55 PM

I have been bathing Max about once a week, but only when he absolutely needs it because my vet said the same thing about it not being good for his skin. But sometimes there's no choice but to drop him in the bathtub. haha! I did get "puppy wipes" that seem to work well on his feet so they aren't such a mess. For the most part I try to keep him on the sidewalk outside.

angelic00 · 03-25-2007, 08:41 PM

I live in a small community outside a city and we dont have sidewalks just very wet and muddy flooded roadways.

merrow · 03-28-2007, 01:47 PM

in my pro opinion evet 2 weeks is the shortest a dog should really go show ppl do bath once a week when showing but they use top grade shampoos and no how to look after the coat

if ur dog is getting muddy they all do then just rinse with plan water no soaps or shampoos in it

i just towle my long coated lhasa off and lab and a good brush out will get all the dry mud out

CaseLogic · 04-03-2007, 06:49 PM

If they're really muddy, rinse with water, but repeated shampoo usage is what can be unhealthy because it strips the oils from their coat.

bizzy · 04-04-2007, 06:15 PM

I understand the problem. In the short term you are not going to do any harm. Bathing daily year round I would not recomend but if more often for a few weeks than back to a more normal schedule it should be ok. Ways to help are use a mild shampoo and every muddy adventure does not need a full sudys bath. Just hose the mud off and do a real sudys bath only every couple of days. Good luck

threedognite · 04-05-2007, 08:12 AM

If your dog has mud on it's coat, I would suggest to allow the mud to dry then brush it out of the coat. There are some breeds that should only be bathed with shampoo once or twice a year. I live in Florida and my back yard is more dirt than grass thanks to my three dogs so when it rains, my dogs turn into mud dogs. I usually just take the hose and wash off their feet, dry with a towel and let them in. If I let my apricot-colored doodle go too long without a bath, she looks like a gray, shag rug.