How often do you bathe your dog?

[Epona142]

Quote:
As an answer to someone who quoted me above. Obviously if a dog gets skunked or rolled in roadkill, it's going to need a bath!

And when I mention diet, it's not a crack at poor feeding. I'm talking about bad smell. I've come across dogs with BAD "natural" smell. The owners bathed them a lot with perfumed soaps to keep them smelling nice. A change in diet, and I'm not talking about changing to a fancy food but simply finding a food that suits the dog better, often remedies the problem.

Bathing a lot doesn't have a whit to do with care. Some people prefer cleaner dogs.

My dogs are clean but AGAIN they have short short coats. Very little dirt and debris gets stuck in it. So they don't need baths.

 

[3chimama]

I have a smooth coat chihuahua and a long haired chihuahua and I bathe them about 1 time a month...more in the summer when they decide to roll in horse manure!

 

[luvmychickas]

Quote:
Alot of double coated dogs are prone to hot spots especially when not being brushed regularly because of the undercoat matting up and it is much easier to dematt a dog while wet so dogs prone to matting should be done more often. Of course if the owner brushes the dog its not necessary to do as often but if the owner isn't going to do that, they need to come in more often for us to do it unless the dog is cut all the way down each time. Matts are very painful for dogs because each time they get wet, the matts get tighter and tighter pulling on the skin. Alot of owners bathe their dogs in between and don't brush them creating more matts. If it rains and the dog gets wet and not brushed the matts get tighter as well. So basically why we recommend it is to prevent the matts from getting so bad.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

My daschies are inside girls and they get bathes when I start noticing the dog smell, or their bedding in their crate starts to smell doggley. Usually around once a month or so.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

My dogs don't stink. I just prefer them clean. Plus it keeps their coats in very nice condition. My golden retriever will sleep with me in my bed, so I like to keep her nice and clean.

 

[Jasmine1998]

Only when she does something gross like roll in deer poop. Otherwise she is bath free & never smells like a "dog"

 

[Sootsie]

my border collie gets brushed nearly everyday as i take him out on playing fields and he loves the long grass. hes quite happy being brushed but a bath geesh its hard work.

1st challenge getting him in the bathroom ever tried to catch a bc while its running up and downstairs.

2nd getting him in the bath
3rd getting him under the shower
4 getting soap on him before he jumps out

5 about 40 min has gone by which time you are soaked the bathroom almost flooded and he is sat at the oposite end of the bath to the shower looking like a drowned soapy rat and will not move so you use the big jug to rinse him off. then he shakes himself wetting the last bit of dry floor and wall

with this in mind its about once a month we actually atempt it unless he has got into some smelly muck

 

[PotterWatch]

Quote:
Alot of double coated dogs are prone to hot spots especially when not being brushed regularly because of the undercoat matting up and it is much easier to dematt a dog while wet so dogs prone to matting should be done more often. Of course if the owner brushes the dog its not necessary to do as often but if the owner isn't going to do that, they need to come in more often for us to do it unless the dog is cut all the way down each time. Matts are very painful for dogs because each time they get wet, the matts get tighter and tighter pulling on the skin. Alot of owners bathe their dogs in between and don't brush them creating more matts. If it rains and the dog gets wet and not brushed the matts get tighter as well. So basically why we recommend it is to prevent the matts from getting so bad.

Ok, so bathing that often is only recommended for long-haired breeds then. I can't imagine needing to bathe a short-haired dog that often!

 

[Akane]

When you do bathe a dog, especially frequently, I would always use a conditioner to replace lost oils. It will prevent irritated skin and actually lessen the amount of oil the skin produces. If you strip the oil from the coat often the body makes more to make up for it and you are only making things worse. I actually do the same thing to treat acne on myself. I wash my face and then apply an oil which defies common practice but it makes the skin produce less of it's own oil keeping pores from getting clogged. Some people have also found if they stop washing their hair with shampoo or sometimes anything at all their hair actually no longer gets greasy between showers and is softer.

I prefer to use horse products on my dogs. I have used Buddy Wash and Buddy Rinse which are dog shampoo and conditioner but they are too expensive in too small of amounts. I generally use Rio Vista horse products on my animals and sometimes myself. Much gentler than any human shampoo and more cost effective than any dog shampoo. I also will usually apply vetrolin after a bath which is a coat conditioner/shine and makes them all slick so dirt just rolls off. I would not actually suggest that for frequent application though because while putting silicone products on the hair makes it feel good for awhile it will cause damage long term and again make them get greasy and dirty faster in the end.

 

[luvmychickas]

Quote:
Alot of double coated dogs are prone to hot spots especially when not being brushed regularly because of the undercoat matting up and it is much easier to dematt a dog while wet so dogs prone to matting should be done more often. Of course if the owner brushes the dog its not necessary to do as often but if the owner isn't going to do that, they need to come in more often for us to do it unless the dog is cut all the way down each time. Matts are very painful for dogs because each time they get wet, the matts get tighter and tighter pulling on the skin. Alot of owners bathe their dogs in between and don't brush them creating more matts. If it rains and the dog gets wet and not brushed the matts get tighter as well. So basically why we recommend it is to prevent the matts from getting so bad.

Ok, so bathing that often is only recommended for long-haired breeds then. I can't imagine needing to bathe a short-haired dog that often!

Yes we recommend it for the longer hair breeds, but I will tell you we have many short hair breeds that come in every 6-8 weeks and some even on a monthly basis. Of course its all personal preference for the shorter haired breeds

I know alot of people have their dogs sleep with them so they like them bathed regularly