I just got through showering Hazel and was a bit curious Hazel gets a shower every 1-2 weeks. She has a short, slick coat (no undercoat) which is great if she's splashing in the water. She repels most of it and what she does get wet (mainly her underside) drys quickly. She gets bathed so often because honestly, she starts to stink! I'm okay with the dog smell, but when it becomes a noxious odor, the dog is getting a bath. And her coat gets that dirty oily feel to it that I really hate. My gelding Divo gets the same thing, it's just nasty. Haze adores getting baths (I'm not sure if it's the nice hot water, the all over body scrubbing, or the towel fight at the end). The amount of dirt that comes off her is just amazing. I wash her with a equine shampoo from Corona, a tiny bit covers a lotta dog. Head/ear area gets wiped with a clean, soapless, wash cloth. After that she gets conditioned, throughly rinsed/scrubbed again, then out she goes to shower the bathroom as well. Afterwards she ALWAYS gets the zoomies. She'll race through the house at top speed, getting the linoleum and laminate flooring wet, which she then skids on and ends up crashing into walls and doors (this doesn't deter her in the slightest). Terrifies Duke, then DEMANDS she goes outside (a request always denied until she's nice and dry) to zoom around some more and scare the chickens a bit. Duke on the other hand, generally only gets bathed once a month. He has a rather soft coat, considering how short it is, but the boy doesn't stink. Or get that greasy/oily feel to him. He does love to roll (grass, carpet, you name it) but isn't as bad a dirt magnet as Hazel. As the weather gets colder he's more of a I'm-going-to-stand-at-the-door-and-dance-until-you-let-me-in magnet. He poops, pees, then ZOOM! Back into the house he goes! He does the same dance when he needs to go outside when he wants to go in If the back door is open, even better, he just vanishes back into the comforts of the living room. He hates baths too...it's like a death sentence. First he tries to convince you otherwise with much tail wagging and big eyes. Then he just troops into the bathroom....then you have to drag him into the shower, where he just stands with this "WHAT DID I DO WRONG D:" look (it's a bit strange, coupled with his perpetual wagging). Same routine as with Hazel, but he has this tortured look on his face the entire time.
Honestly, I bath them about 3-4 times a year. It has been atleast 2 months since they have had a shower. My boys have long coats and undercoats. And they don't smell like a wet dog even though they are 99% outside. It is the same for my other 2 short coats. No shower and still no smell. Only the pup is a water lover. I have a picture of him laying in the dirty duck pool. And he didn't get a bath afterwards. Still no smell. And yes I do have a sense of smell! lol
Ours have gotten... maybe two baths... in the years they've been here. We're lucky, Mattie has the longest hair being Chihuahua/Terrier, but she just doesn't hold a smell... Janie and Lilly are doxies, uber short hair... Janie has her own pungent little smell, but it won't wash off... neither holds a smell. Basically we only give them a dunking when they're covered in fleas, along with other treatments. My MIL HATES that... she's got Chewy who is long haired, gets burrs, and holds a smell like a pit with a bone.[/color]
Ours get a bath when they start to smell like dead stuff. The mad licker HATES baths but will come in and try to rescue her big sister when it's the oldest one's turn. It's funny that ML hates bath time because at the lake, we can't keep her out of the water! Go figure.
Every week or two on a normal basis, every night when we're showing them. I love the feel of a clean dog . Joanna Kimball blacksheepcardigans.com
I bath my dogs once a week with dawn dishwashing soap then follow up with baby shampoo and pure lavendar oil to keep the fleas off of them. I do bath them more often than not because the dogs like to splash around in the duck water, and though I put fresh water in the pools daily for the ducks, I cannot imagine having a dog sleeping in my bed that was splashing around in that water. They not only sleep in our bed, they like to go under the covers. I think the dogs splash in the duck pools just so they can take a bath. As soon as I command them to get out of the water, they come charging in the house and straight for the bathtub, they jump right inside. I bathe them in warm water in the house and they look forward to the rub down and biscuits afterwards. Yes, they are spoiled!
About twice a year....in the river. And they hate losing their doggy smells....will roll in anything nasty to regain the pungency of dog.
3 or 4 times a year. He also wags while looking at you as if you were about to beat him, and will immediately go find something stinky to roll in. (No, I never hit him -- but he acts as if her must have been hit a lot in his first year.)
rarely to never... I have a yellow lab who amazingly keeps clean and never has a doggy smell.. there have only been about 4-5 times she has actually got a bath.. if she happens to be out in rain and get really wet and smell somewhat like wet dog I have a waterless shampoo that has a herb and spicey smell to it that I just spray some of that on her and when she is dry she has absolutely no smell but a hint of the spray stuff! guess I am lucky cause she would be a pain to bathe!
