How often is TOO often?

[muttlycrew]

Out of all the BCs I've owned over the years, Stella is by far the dirtiest. No, seriously. She's gorgeous when she's freshly bathed -- she's actually black and white . Unfortunately, she only stays clean for maybe an hour. Everything she does she gives 180% and slides after her ball/frisbee. Heck, even when the toys aren't out she's off laying in the clay patches or rolling in the mud or her favorite, running around like a hooligan in the rain Yay for red clay.

 

With my other dogs, they get a bath once every 6+ months or so. They never seem to get dirty enough for a bath (unscented baby wipes do the trick or brushing them out). It almost seems like Stella could do with a bath once a week as she is constantly orange stained, but I know that bathing too often isn't good for the skin. Right now I am doing it every 2-3 weeks. When I do bathe her it's with a very mild shampoo (baby shampoo or puppy shampoo, nothing with a lot of fragrance).

 

FWIW: We also go dock diving 2x a week. It's a saline pool and she still ends up just as dirty as before she gets wet. She also cools off in the water during our herding lessons (1-2x a week). Not sure if this matters, but thought I'd list it just in case.

 

How often is too often to bathe her? Any advice/comments/suggestions/tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

[MaggieDog]

I've always heard not to bathe more than twice/month unless absolutely necessary, but don't know why other than the risk of dry skin.

 

Have you tried just letting the dirt dry and brushing her out instead of bathing? Most BC coats shed dirt easily once it dries. I also use some pet bathing wipes or rinsing with plain water if I don't want to do a whole bath and that generally does the trick for my crew.

[muttlycrew]

Erin,

 

Washing the dogs off with water, wiping them down, or waiting until they dry does the trick for the other dogs. The problem is Stella is constantly stained orange from the clay, and no amount of wipes or rinsing with water does the trick. I wish it was only dirt, then I wouldn't be having this issue. She stays that nasty orange/off-white color on her legs and sides unless she is bathed, which I hate doing. Even the water at dock diving doesn't help.

[MaggieDog]

Ziva is all white and we live in SC so I feel your pain about the red mud. When the stains stick (rarely with Z thankfully), I just toss her in the tub and wash her belly/legs/feet only. It can be a pain, but at least her legs and belly dry more quickly than her body. Sounds like you may just need to do that when she gets dirty lol.

[geonni banner]

Maybe someone else will know better than me about this product, or ones like it, but there is a "finishing spray" that they use on horses. I think it's called Show Sheen, and I think it's something like Armor-All for horses. It might help to keep the hair from absorbing the pigment from the clay. I know that when I've seen it used on horses, dirt doesn't stick to them. It just falls off or is easily wiped off.

 

I wonder if your dog has a naturally dry coat? It's possible that a coat supplement added to her food might make her coat more dirt/stain resistant.

[muttlycrew]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

Erin -- unfortunately Stella gets dirt so often that I would be rinsing her off daily. And rinsing doesn't help much. I have to get something to lather up to get the clay out.

 

Geonni -- I need to be more consistent with the fish oil and Vit E. Her coat is very shiny, but it is very coarse to the touch. I don't remember my last smoothie's texture, but can smooths have soft coats too?

[tegansmom23]

with the right shampoos you can bathe them about every other day. I have had to with mine. I would try to avoid this though and do about once every 2 weeks. Fresh and clean oatmeal shampoo will help or tropiclean tea tree may also help with having to bathe to much and dryong out the skin. Show sheen is a wonderful moistureiser and is wonderful but doent clean the dog or doederize it but being a groomer I use it on about every dog. Good luck I know iI can't keep my bc's clean and I really try not to bathe them more than I have to.

[njnovice]

I'm so glad I don't live where there's clay soil. Mick's never had an official bath in his 3 years. He's been hosed off in the yard a couple times, but that's it.

[rushdoggie]

I don't know if it would work, but I use a dimethecone spray on my dogs who are inclined to get pee on them to prevent urine stains. Maybe that stuff would keep the clay from ? I'm talking about a product like Ice on Ice, The Stuff or GloCoat.

[muttlycrew]

Great suggestions -- I will look into this.

 

And this is why I used to take her to the dog park. It's mulched and the dirt is actual soil, so when she gets dirty I just let her dry and it falls right out. But since there are too many stupid dogs and owners, we resort to the yard.

 

This is from google images, but this is what our yard looks like after it rains. We are on a hill and it becomes a red muddy river. Jealous, anyone?

 

[ejano]

Great suggestions -- I will look into this.

 

And this is why I used to take her to the dog park. It's mulched and the dirt is actual soil, so when she gets dirty I just let her dry and it falls right out. But since there are too many stupid dogs and owners, we resort to the yard.

 

This is from google images, but this is what our yard looks like after it rains. We are on a hill and it becomes a red muddy river. Jealous, anyone?

 

 

Sometimes I don't miss Virginia all that much . Robin has enough fun with Pennsylvania mud.

[Alchemist]

Show Sheen is what the vet tech recommended today that I try on Duncan. It's available from Amazon. But she warns me to apply it outdoors unless I want the interior of our house to become a skating rink.

 

I don't know how well it'd help in keeping red Virginia mud from sticking. (Thankfully, we don't have it that bad here). Duncan's coat tends to shed dirt and mud pretty well, so I pretty much only bathe him a couple of times a year (say, after a bout of roaring diarrhea, or I'll take him to get groomed when he's shedding his winter coat). But the vet tech says Show Sheen will keep him from bringing in a lot of the vegetation he picks up in his tail and in his bloomers when he lies down outside - a quick wipe before we let him in and it'll all fall right off. I've got it in my shopping cart...

[muttlycrew]

I don't know a thing about Virginia red mud, but if it's as bad as our Georgia red clay I don't want any part I will definiately look into that. I think something like that or a waterless bath is a good alternative route to go vs bathing her too often. I've already started with the fish oil and Vit E.

 

[muttlycrew]

I went ahead and ordered it via Amazon and it should be here next week. I look forward to trying it out on Stella. Thanks so much for all the suggestions.

[sluj]

I'll have to get some and see if it's any protection om foxtails. They're particularly nasty this year.

 

Show Sheen is what the vet tech recommended today that I try on Duncan. It's available from Amazon. But she warns me to apply it outdoors unless I want the interior of our house to become a skating rink.

 

I don't know how well it'd help in keeping red Virginia mud from sticking. (Thankfully, we don't have it that bad here). Duncan's coat tends to shed dirt and mud pretty well, so I pretty much only bathe him a couple of times a year (say, after a bout of roaring diarrhea, or I'll take him to get groomed when he's shedding his winter coat). But the vet tech says Show Sheen will keep him from bringing in a lot of the vegetation he picks up in his tail and in his bloomers when he lies down outside - a quick wipe before we let him in and it'll all fall right off. I've got it in my shopping cart...

[NorthfieldNick]

Don't get show sheen on anything you need to grip! It's SLICK! When I used it on show horses, I was always careful to keep it off the saddle & girth area- learned that one the hard way... It'll also turn your floors into a death trap, so be careful where you use it.

[muttlycrew]

Thanks for the warning. I was planning on using just a little on her front legs (not feet) and back legs, where she typically gets stained. Everywhere else stays clean.

 

For those who have used it, how long does it typically last before needing to be reapplied? Is it best applied by just spraying it on the desired areas or is it better to spray on a cloth and wipe the areas that you want down with it?

 

Thanks!

[SecretBC]

In my experience using silicone sprays with horses, it is more effective if you apply it to a cloth and rub it into the hair -- otherwise it just sits on the surface. As for reapplication -- typically, any time the animal gets wet.

[muttlycrew]

Thanks