# Bathing Frequency



## patriciap (Jul 30, 2010)

I have a 13 week old Maltese/Pekingese puppy. Her hair is more like a Pekingese and picks up everything. How often can I bathe her? Right now, I'm trying to limit to once per week and brushing her daily and using baby wipes in her sanitary areas and a wet towel on her face. Truly, I'd like to wash her every 5 days or so... that's when she just starts looking dirty. Is that too often?

Also, is there something I can use on her if her skin dries out?


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

You can certainly bath her every 5 days. Be sure to use a mild dog shampoo. No fancy tea trea, oatmeal, medicated, etc. Just a plain old good pet shampoo. Make sure you are diluting it correctly (read the bottle) and (the most important step) rinse, rinse and rinse again. Her skin will not get dry if you are using a good shampoo, and rinsing it ALL out. If any shampoo residue is left behind, there will be flaking, dry skin, itching, etc. If you are keeping her coat long, you can add a conditioner every other bath if you like.


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

I agree with Graco...you can bathe her weekly with no problems. I would suggest a higher end shampoo though, not something like Hartz, or other Walmart type brands...I've used Earthbath, Groomer's Edge, The Coat Handler, and Bark 2 Basics weekly with no issues with skin, or drying coats. I never conditioned, though, although I would use brush out/detangler sprays, which conditioned enough, without over doing it.


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## patriciap (Jul 30, 2010)

Thank you both... everyone was telling me it would dry her skin out, but she gets so scraggly so quickly. I use a shampoo made for puppies - don't know the name of it and then I just use my own hair conditioner on her. My friend gave me that tip. If I don't condition her, her hair is just tooo hard to brush through.

Also, how do you know if a shampoo is high quality or not?


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

patriciap said:


> Thank you both... everyone was telling me it would dry her skin out, but she gets so scraggly so quickly. I use a shampoo made for puppies - don't know the name of it and then I just use my own hair conditioner on her. My friend gave me that tip. If I don't condition her, her hair is just tooo hard to brush through.
> 
> Also, how do you know if a shampoo is high quality or not?


Look for shampoos that are made for professionals..And they need to be made to be diluted..There are SO many different kinds out there..the above post mentioned some good shampoos. Fresh and Clean is a good shampoo too that can be found at pet stores.


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

patriciap said:


> Thank you both... everyone was telling me it would dry her skin out, but she gets so scraggly so quickly.


The misconception about that comes from the fact that MANY people do not rinse the coat thoroughly enough, and the soap residue ends up causing irritation. A good rule of thumb is to rinse them out way more than you think is necessary -- that generally means it's enough! Also, using conditioner is a good idea as well.



> Also, how do you know if a shampoo is high quality or not?


I personally avoid anything with perfumes/coloring/other unnecessary stuff in it. The more mild and natural, the better.


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## RinseAce (Aug 16, 2010)

You may want to consider a pet shower, this is basically a hose and a sprayer that you hook up to a faucet or a shower. This will allow you to rinse out the shampoo 100% as the shampoo residue creates the irritation to the skin. It's also great if you only want to rinse the feet, or remove snow clumps from the belly and legs after a small dog has played in the snow in the winter.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

patriciap said:


> Thank you both... everyone was telling me it would dry her skin out, but she gets so scraggly so quickly. I use a shampoo made for puppies - don't know the name of it and then I just use my own hair conditioner on her. My friend gave me that tip. If I don't condition her, her hair is just tooo hard to brush through.
> 
> Also, how do you know if a shampoo is high quality or not?


I bathe Tag before every class...we have class twice a week. His skin is NOT dry by all means. I don't know who came up with the "bathe your dog twice a year" idea but I certainly don't want sloppy, matted, filthy dogs running all over my house, sleeping on my bed, and getting on my furniture! 
FWIW we used to groom a shih-tzu every 4 weeks, her owner bathed her every 4-5 days and her skin didn't suffer.



Pai said:


> The misconception about that comes from the fact that MANY people do not rinse the coat thoroughly enough, and the soap residue ends up causing irritation. A good rule of thumb is to rinse them out way more than you think is necessary -- that generally means it's enough! Also, using conditioner is a good idea as well.
> 
> 
> I personally avoid anything with perfumes/coloring/other unnecessary stuff in it. The more mild and natural, the better.


Here here. A clean dog should smell CLEAN, and there really isn't a need for heavy perfumes and/or colognes. A spritz here or there is nice if the stuff smells good, but I've never been a groomer who soaks my dogs in cologne. We never really get requests for cologne.


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## l2andom (Aug 30, 2010)

Thank you for asking this  I was actually wondering the same thing. I'm glad that it's okay to bathe them more than whats usually recommended, as most places I've read said 2-3 times per year O_O, and we normally bathed/showered our gsd's once every 6-8 days.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

l2andom said:


> Thank you for asking this  I was actually wondering the same thing. I'm glad that it's okay to bathe them more than whats usually recommended, as most places I've read said 2-3 times per year O_O, and we normally bathed/showered our gsd's once every 6-8 days.


Graco made an excellent point (I think it was on another thread) that show people usually bathe their dogs anytime from weekly to 3-4 times per WEEK, and their dogs' coats are in TOP condition. My oldest dog (9 year old pap) has always had oily hair, no matter what we feed/supplement with, and a weekly bath or so keeps him looking and feeling great. I have noticed many times that if he gets gross looking, he seems to act more "depressed". Truth be told, some dogs NEED it more than others. A friend of mine has a 3 year old BC who's never been bathed, but is brushed/combed/nails etc. Her coat is perfect and seems to repel dirt quite well. If I left my dogs go for 3 years, it would be a disaster...


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I bathe only about once 4-5 weeks in the colder seasons and once 2-3 weeks in the summer. She doesn't seem to get dirty very much. 

I think bathing once a week is fine but definitely use a high quality shampoo. My favorite shampoo is Vellus and I know a lot of Papillon show breeders bathe their dogs a few times per week without dry skin. I use a conditioner on her as well.

If you find your puppy's skin seems to get irritated then just bathe less, if she's fine then continue the same bathing schedule


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## lyttleravyn (Sep 8, 2010)

Graco's post above is excellent! For frequent bathing I think you should use a very very light conditioner each time. This helps to seal moisture into the cuticle. I think a great line of products is Chris Christiensen. They have a Day to Day shampoo that is excellent for frequent bathing, and the After U Bathe is absolutely fantastic! Very light and helps to rinse out any remaining shampoo residue. The shampoos are resonably priced, and you can also get little trial kits for $10 with 4oz of 4 products. The one with the Day to Day has D2D Shampoo, Thick N Thicker Foaming Protein (this is nice if you find your pup having limp hair, however not necessary for regular bathing), After U Bathe conditioner, and Ice on Ice spray (what a great spray! anti-static, sunscreen, helps dematting, finishing spray, lots of uses. I use a little spritz before I dry and then again after drying before brushing)


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