how often do you wash your puppy/dog ???

[dali]

My husband keeps saying " he needs a bath!" ..and I keep saying " it can't be healthy to wash him a lot ...."

 

I've washed Dali a few time , the first time because he really needed it ( he rolled around in poop...)

and after so that he would get used to it while he was little .

 

Dali doesn't really seem to mind too much . But I'm wondering about your opinions .

[Lunar]

Personally I only wash them if they stink, which isn't very often.

 

I do wish Zeeke would get bathed more often, because for some reason his fur gets a really oily feel to it that drives me nuts. But that's my problem, not his, and he's too difficult to get into the bathtub unless we REALLY need to...

[border_collie_crazy]

I wash then when they stink, or if their coats start to feel gross from rain and bits of dirt getting caught by the skin, otherwise not much. well for the BCs anyway

 

Electra(Toller) is bathed alittle more often, but not really on any kind of schedual, and she is bathed before shows of coarse. I would love to give her a bth today, her coat feels gross but she has a show next weekend so I have to bathe her on Wed. anyway

 

Rusty(terrier mix)-hardly ever needs a bath, he has the wire coat that pretty much keeps everything off lol, though sometimes I will bath him with the other dogs just because he feels left out and he LOVES baths.

 

my moms muttlys are bathed when she asks me too, and before they go to a preformance(freestyle)

[red dog fan]

on average once or twice a year. But the boys swim a lot and it also rains a lot

[dali]

what do you think about my "healthy argument' ...Is it bad to wash them often ?????

[Barb Scott]

Some of our BCs aren't bathed from one year to the next; they swim in Lake Michigan in the summer and like to get sprayed with the hose and that's about it. A year or so ago, we had a free coupon to a local "self-serve dog wash" so smooth coat Zip got a bath with real dog shampoo and a bandana for being good! Seems like BCs don't stay dirty for long unless they really get into something disgusting!

Barb S

[FoxgloveBC]

I just bathe Foxy when she "feels" like she needs it..that and when she "smells" like she needs it. My Sheltie, Yoshi I try to bathe once a month.. he tends to start looking kind of shabby if I wait longer than that.

[stockdogranch]

My #1 working dog recently turned 7. She just had her first bath a week ago, only because she got some diesel fuel on her. Everything else she gets into is just processed grass and water ,

A

[Kate@JIm]

Baths....3-4 times a year, unless they get in something foul.

 

I think it's much better to brush your dog and get the dirt out then to give baths so often.

In my opinion brushing is much better for their skin and coat. - good time to check for ticks, lumps etc.

[juliepoudrier]

In response to your "Is it healthy?" question, a healthy dog shouldn't require a lot of baths. And too much bathing can cause excessively dry skin, which can lead to other problems (itchiness, flakiness, etc.) and become something of a vicious cycle. There's really no need to bathe a dog often unless directed to do so by the vet (for a health reason), IMO.

 

J.

[urge to herd]

Shoshone has allergic seborhea, so she gets oily and smelly - a bath every 4-6 weeks in a medicated shampoo. Samantha gets bathed a couple times a year, maybe. Buzz hasn't been bathed in at least 4 years, and he's got the silkiest coat and has absolutely no doggie odor. I love to stick my nose in his neck at least once a day.

 

It all depends on the dog.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[RaisingRiver]

My dogs get baths about every 2-4 months or so. Usually when they stink. It rains all fall/winter/spring and sometimes they get muddy - in those cases I just wash them from the belly/chest/butt down but do need to use shampoo. And certain dogs need baths when they haven't had one in a while and they get rained on and the wet dog smell just doesn't go away. They only get bathed when they need it - and since I too worry about over bathing, I only wash the parts where needed. But my dogs probably get muddier then others and they don't have somewhere to swim it off. And I have a DH who doesn't tolerate stinky dogs.

 

I also have the scented baby wipe things that are made for dogs and that works great to clean up their white areas and use as a nice general all over smell refresher. Might want to try that if your dog is stinky but not really dirty.

 

Also a premium dog food will make a difference.

[mbc1963]

I'm very happy that my dog doesn't get that oily/smelly coat that some dogs get. (We talked about this as it related to breeds before.) So, he only gets a bath when he brings it on himself: rolling in deer poop, fox poop, or my new favorite, heat-wave-fish-corpse. Sometimes that means two baths in a week, and other times we go half a year without the bath trauma!

 

Mary

[JohnLloydJones]

About once or twice a week, I give Senneca a hosing down. It's usually because of something smelly and/or muddy she acquired in the dog park -- which gratefully has wash-stations exactly for this purpose. That's just plain water. A bath with shampoo and all? Very rarely. Once when we got her to wash the "Eau de kennel" out of her; once when my wife and youngest daughter decided that she needed to smell extra good. I kept clear of that one -- just as well, because all three ladies got soaked in process. That's it.

[Janba]

Twice a year when they are dropping coat. I usually take them to the DIY dogwash and they have a thorough brushing, hydrobath and blowdry. The hydrobath and dryer seems to get rid of a lot of the loose coat.

[esox]

Alex only gets a bath when she rolls in poop. Other than that she swims and gets brushed.

 

Esox

[Laurena]

I hardly ever bathe Heidi with shampoo . I frequently hose her off when she's covered in mud or has rolled around in poop which is an all to common occurance here . She also swims alot and is brushed very often . I haven't bathed her with shampoo is well over a year , she hasn't needed it .

[nancy]

When Fergie gets muddy down by the pond, she's usually clean by the time we get home. Dirt just doesn't seem to stick to her. Maybe because she's smooth-coated?

 

I wash her only when she finds something really nasty to roll her neck in. Luckily, less often every year.

 

The neighbors all comment on how bright her white always is - and how shiny her black is. SO I guess we're doing OK.

[theshine]

The shelties get a full bath about once a month right now. I used to bathe them every two weeks because I like the way they look after, but it got to be too much of a hassle and they don't really need it. I do end up giving them partial baths sometimes too, like a foot bath where I stand them in a couple inches of water if their feet are dirty, red clay here stains their white feet really badly, or a "pants" bath if they have a soft poo...the hazards of long coated dogs....

 

Shiner, I gave alot of baths at first because he was stained when I got him. He just blew his coat out and I washed him then, but that was over a month ago and he hasn't seemed like he needed it since.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I bath Daisy when she a) rolls in something or gets those sticky poplar tree things all over her, that's it. It works out to about once a year I guess. I always heard that doggie shampoo would dry out their skin anyway, so I never really bothered. She has a really nice shiny coat and she generally smells great!

[Tracer]

Scout gets hosed down constantly while I garden, so he really never needs a bath.

[BustopherJones]

Annie gets a bath at home if she needs it; otherwise, she goes to the groomer about once every 8 weeks for a bath, trim, and nail trimming. During the summer, we go hiking and she swims in a local stream every week or two, so typically she does not need a bath from June to September; during that period, the vet trims her nails.

[Shetlander]

Quinn gets a bath every 1 - 3 months. I find it helps get rid of the undercoat. The Sheltie gets one at the same rate for the same reason. If I was more motivated I'd always do it monthly the way I used to. They always look great before their baths, but they look and feel fantastic after one, which I really like. The Lhasa goes to the groomer monthly, so is always pretty spiffy.

[bc4ever]

During the summer months, Scooter splashes around in his doggy pool which takes care of any dirt he's accumulated, mostly on his feet. We bathe only when or if he smells. When he comes in from being outdoors, he waits at the door for us to wipe his paws. We also use the doggy wipes sometimes. We usually have him groomed just before the holidays. He always looks so handsome! LOL! He seems to know it too!

 

[bcnewe2]

Funny you should ask....

Raven rolled in something worse that dead yuck tonight on our walk. So the rest of the fam threatened to make us both sleep outside if I didn't wash it off her. So that was her first bath that I can remember in say...2 years or so. She does find the grossest things to roll in but this was the worst yet and I'm not sleeping outside!

The rest swim in the pond or play a bit in the hose but unless they're totally gross...never would be my reply.

I'd probably tell your partner that if he feels like she needs a bath then go for it. He'll quickly get over his need for clean.

The beginning of the year I worked at Petco for a short stint, I took Mick in for a free grooming, he liked it and stayed almost clean for about a day then it was off to swim in the pond and play in sheep poo. Oh well, he's ok with me but maybe my nose is broke!

K~