How often do you bathe your dog?

[mhwc56]

to add to other groomers input...a dog with a double coat should be brushed properly( to the skin) and thoroughly at least once a week.Matts are painful to an animal and if they get wet and then dry they tighten up and this tends to pull the hair out by the root leaving raw spots under the matt and can also cause skin infection. Long haired double coated dogs should NOT be shaved with the exception of for health reasons such as dermatitis, tick issues, etc.On a double coated dog, if itt's well cared for the coat actually acts as a natural air conditioner or warmth insulator for the dog.
Don't use people shampoos on dogs either, the pH is wrong and tends to irritate/dry out skin .

 

[TriciaHowe]

Our mainly outside lab and golden retriever have never had a bath (they are 3 yrs old). They don't smell at all and sleep in the house when it's cold out - like the last 2 nights. I do have to brush the goldie frequently and I keep the feathers on the back of his legs trimmed so they don't get matted. The beagle is a different story. He sleeps on my daughters bed every night and is a horse poop magnet. He loooooooves to roll in it! So he gets a bath as needed. Could be 3x a week or once a month. I think the longest he's gone without rolling in something is a month. He never stinks unless he rolls. They also never have fleas, they get Comfortis and Heartgard monthly and a raw egg daily.

 

[redhen]

Well.. i'm going in folks...
Time to give my 2 saint bernards a bath...

If you dont hear from me in a few hours..be worried..very worried..
Tell the police to look for my body in the bathtub UNDERNEATH my saint bernards butt...

 

[Beekissed]

Since my dogs are mainly outdoors at all times, I never bath them in the winter. They seem to be self-washing when it snows....rolling around in it seems to make a white dog cleaner and they smell better afterwards. I don't like the thought of them losing their protective oils and then having to be out in the damp and cold.

Now...come June/July we do the yearly baptismal in the creek and it seems to put a spring in their getty-up after getting clean. We also go swimming throughout the summer, so they do get cleaner then also.

 

[Ema]

I've got 5 dogs, 2 golden labs with medium hair, a short haired black lab/boxer mix with barely any hair, a st. Bernard/king Sheppard mix with one of the thickest coats I have ever seen, medium length, and a black husky/lab mix also medium length coat and slightly less thick than the previous one.

I bathe mine 2x a year, and its a process and a half with loads of hair everywhere, I use J&J baby shampoo with lavender in it.

the golden labs love to be brushed, not too thrilled on baths though, but they will sit and cooperate if I tell them to get in the tub. they also love the blow dried but as soon as they go outside they find the first sand/mud hole and roll in it. these 2 love swimming down in the river.

the black lab/boxer mix is the easiest to bathe, he is old so he needs help getting in the tub, but we fill the tub half way and he lays down in the warm water and just sits there until we wash him up, he doesn't like the soap part, and to wash his face he will dunk his whole head under water on his own...lol....when he is done, he gets the blow drier and then he likes to take a nice long nap.

now the husky and st. Bernard mix....they hate water, they are cautious about going anywhere near the tub. the last time we gave the saint a bath it took my Dh pulling him and me pushing from behind to get him into the tub, he cried the whole time, escaped about a dozen times and flooded the bathroom, when he was done we were unable to dry him and ended up having to let him out immediately cause he was leaving a trail of water everywhere he ran.

the husky was the same way but because he was smaller we were able to keep him in the tub but he cried and howled none stop, the saint is very protective of the husky and he kept jumping at the door every few seconds.

so while I want to bath my dogs more often it just doesn't happen, and up until I read this thread I was feeling like a real bad doggie owner because I thought I was the only one who barely bathed the pups. the dogs only really smell when they go in the swamp, but once dry they do not smell at all. the older dog is the one that stinks to high heaven, like salami and wet hay...ewwww!!!

 

[Ema]

Quote:

Red, do your saints hate water?????

 

[redhen]

Quote:

Red, do your saints hate water?????

Yup! I wish they were fun like Newfies and played in the water... *sigh*
They do okay in a bath.. although we have to get IN the shower with them to do it...
We end up getting a bath too...

 

[BlackBart]

Never. They swim in our creek or pond. Sometimes if they really dirty I will hose them off. They don't stink but smell a little bit doggy.

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

I don't understand ... What is this you speak of ... bath?

Jim

 

[Ema]

Quote:

Red, do your saints hate water?????

Yup! I wish they were fun like Newfies and played in the water... *sigh*
They do okay in a bath.. although we have to get IN the shower with them to do it...
We end up getting a bath too...

OMG!!! lol...I would get in the shower with my Tonka but there would not be enough room for both of us ahahahahahaha, I have a 6ft tub in the main bathroom and a stand up shower in the second bath.