# How often to bathe?



## newowner (May 8, 2007)

Recent adopters here... we live in a townhome and don't have a yard, so our dog is indoors all the time. Of course, he gets walked everyday, and when he gets dirty, and even muddy sometimes, we bathe him so he doesn't dirty the carpet. We've been bathing him about every other week. Is that too often? Is there such thing as bathing a dog too much? Have some dog books but they only say "periodic" baths--well what does that mean exactly? It seems the coat on his lower half is more coarse lately (his head through about the end of his ribs and his belly are soft). I know what they eat can affect their coat as well (and I've learned as of late that what we've been feeding him is apparently not so good, which we have begun to change--thanks to this site!). But just wondering what is the appropriate frequency dogs should be bathed.


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## squirt1968 (Feb 19, 2007)

what breed is your dog? In some breeds bathing washes away the natural oils Does his skin appear dry or flaky?


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## newowner (May 8, 2007)

He's part poodle, that's all we know. we don't know what he's mixed with--possibly a terrier type. His skin doesn't seem dry or flaky though.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

I would bathe "as needed" but probably not more often than you are now. (I'm talking about dogs, not people.)

Watch for signs of dry skin or itching. There are some premium dog shampoos that can help avoid this. Don't ever use human shampoos.

There is some rule in the dog world that says: Immediately after a bath, you MUST find something stinky to roll in.


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## sweetardnas1885 (May 10, 2007)

I have a siberian husky and a miniature dachshund who are house dogs. I let 2 weeks pass between every bathing. Like Ron said, washing them takes natural oils out of the coat. I would suggest a nice oatmeal shampoo, as they help to replace the oils and soothe the skin. Personally, I use an oatmeal shampoo (Episoothe) and oatmeal creme rinse (Relief Creme Rinse). I then spray the babies down at least twice a week with an oatmeal spray (Relief Spray). I get all of these products at work (a vet clinic). I live in the South where it gets desperately hot with dreadful humidity, though, and my two haven't had a problem yet (knock on wood). We see a lot of dogs with skin issuses due to allergies, the heat, and excessive bathing. I wouldn't bathe more that every other week. You could try to get some of those doggy wipes or some waterless shampoo for the times your pup gets dirty between bathing. Just my opinion/experience...


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## bluesbarby (Apr 10, 2007)

Riley is white so the dirt shows. I wash him with a high quality oatmeal dog shampoo and conditioner every other week (during the cooler months). In between he gets a water only wash. When he's clean his hair is really soft and silky. When dirty it starts to feel rough. That's when I know he needs a bath. Now that summer is here he'll probably get a full wash every week to 10 days. He's a small mixed breed (shih tzu, bichon and poodle).


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## tcasby (Apr 30, 2007)

I'm trying to deal with this issue.

I take my Wheaten puppy (18 weeks) to the dog park every day.
She enjoys splashing in the large water bowl, then finding a nice freshly dug hole to wrestle another puppy in, or do a little of her own excavation (usually laying on her side busily widening the hole).

Needless to say by the time we leave her beautiful long silky Wheaten puppy hair is filthy (and a few park patrons left with dirty kisses and muddy paw prints).

After she is dry I brush her out thoroughly, but she gets dingy quickly. Fresh water rinse don't help much and aren't worth the mess. I try to keep her baths with puppy shampoo to no more then once a week and even then the rinse water runs filthy brown.

If she isn't showing any signs of dry skin can I bath her with puppy shampoo a little more often? 

Are there any products people would recommend to reduce the possibility of skin damage due to frequent bathing?


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## ToysHaveMyHeart (May 9, 2007)

tcasby said:


> Are there any products people would recommend to reduce the possibility of skin damage due to frequent bathing?


Some of the other Groomer message boards I belong to highly recommend a shampoo called "Eqyss". I have never used it myself, but it seems to be really popular among professional groomers.
I highly recommend BioGroom shampoo products. It is very gentle, suds up well, and washes out easily. I also have to groom my pom frequently since I take him the the park and I use it on my mother's poodle every two weeks. My favorite type, the Natural Scents line, is also safe for puppies and kittens. I think they also make a specific tear-free puppy shampoo also. Petco carries it for about $8, it can also be found at some private stores also (I pay $5 for mine); you can use it full strength or diluted with four parts water (both are suggested on the bottle), diluting it also helps it last longer. My bathroom cabinet if full of all sorts of shampoo, but BioGroom is definately my favorite, esp. for frequent use.


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

ToysHaveMyHeart said:


> Some of the other Groomer message boards I belong to highly recommend a shampoo called "Eqyss".


Could you post some links to the groomer message boards? I'm sure they are full of wondeful information that would greatly help the rest of us.


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## Alpha (Aug 24, 2006)

I had been using BioGroom until a groomer told me that there were better "available" brands.

I've been using EarthBath for a few months and I won't turn back. 

There are people that show that bath their dogs a few times weekly, it's all in the quality of the shampoo you use.

Even bathing once every other week with Biogroom was causing some itchy, dry, flaky skin in my bitch. Stupid me, went out and bought Biogroom conditioner, same problem. Turns out it wasn't any unknown source that she had gotten into in the woods our lake, it was the shampoo.

I'm in love with EarthBath. It's a bit pricey, for me around $20/bottle but that bottle will last us all summer, even with frequent bathing during the heavy swimming weeks.

So, to make a long story short, in essence, with a good shampoo you could bath your dog every other day and have no skin problems.


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

I bath one of my dogs at least once every other week. He is nicknamed "The swamp thing" for a reason. I use a shampoo called Miracle Coat. My dogs hair and skin never seems dry. I also use a conditioner. It keeps them smelling fresh with out a strong flowery smell which I hate. My dogs don't seem to enjoy any cologne smells either. Can you blame them?


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## ToysHaveMyHeart (May 9, 2007)

Alpha, I'm sure there are better shampoos out there, I posted what works well for my dogs. I have used BioGroom for a couple of years now and have always had great results, I suppose every dog is different though.

As far as other grooming boards, I frequent:

http://www.petgroomerforums.com/chat/index.php

http://www.groomers.net/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi?pg=topics

The next two links are mostly other owners, but there are a few groomers that hang around to answer questions.

http://forum.dog.com/asp/tt.asp?forumid=10

http://www.dogster.com/forums/Grooming


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## Alpha (Aug 24, 2006)

I was in no way replying to your post, didn't even actually see that you had posted about Biogroom until now. 

I had thought it was the best I could get, seeing as it was one of the more expensive brands and the store wasn't carrying EarthBath at the time and in my experience it caused some skin issues with little use. I've only really ever used two shampoos, earthbath and biogroom, still have a leave-in Biogroom conditioner that smells wonderful.

I'm sure there are much better brands than EarthBath out there as well, but for me it's worked wonderfully. Your right though, it all depends on the dog.


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