# how often to bath?



## ClifftheBRD (Aug 13, 2008)

i am wondering how often it is ok to bath my dog? i have heard that too much can be bad or the skin. in this texas heat, she gets kinda stinky after a while.

thanks
Cliff


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Oh, you mean the dog?

Use a good quality dog shampoo (never human shampoo) and make sure to rinse it out thoroughly. There are products meant for a "dry shampoo" that might help in-between. Some benefit from a conditioner to help prevent drying of the coat and skin.

Some dogs are bathed weekly, some annually. There are no hard-and-fast rules.


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## akatvg (Jul 12, 2008)

I have a Beagle, and I've adopted an "as needed" policy.

Yesterday he rolled around in the mud after it rained, so he needed a bath. He won't get another bath until he needs it.

It works for me.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

I learned, with my double-coated lab who would sometimes get into the mud, that it was more efficient to let him dry and then just brush him out.

Bathing him was a major production and not lightly undertaken.

Esther hasn't had a real bath in over a year and Molly is still waiting for her first bath. We got her in September.

I'm thinking maybe some time this month for both of 'em.


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## merrow (Feb 18, 2007)

i bath my lhasa apso once a week as he needs it and dosnt get dry skin but i feed a good diet and use a grate shampoo


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## kenRC51 (Mar 7, 2008)

I bath Stitch and Melanie once a week. Stitch gets so dirty where some times the water turn brown. Melanie is alot cleaner then Stitch but I still bath her once a week.


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## Patt (Feb 12, 2008)

I only bathe when needed. I think the last time was a year ago when they tangled with a skunk. I use pet wipes and this keeps their coats pretty clean.


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## musicmom116 (Jul 8, 2008)

merrow said:


> i bath my lhasa apso once a week as he needs it and dosnt get dry skin but i feed a good diet and use a grate shampoo


What diet do you feed him and what shampoo do you use? I just bought some Coat Handler conditioner and plan to buy some of it's shampoo soon.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

I've read really good things about Coat Handler conditioner on this forum.


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## Acadia (Aug 6, 2008)

Depends on the dog. 

I have two maltese dogs and we bathe them about every week, sometimes every two weeks when they have their puppy cut. Any longer and their hair gets greasy and kinda smelly. 

My boyfriend has a black lab. His family got him last September/October and he's had one bath since he's joined the family. 

So it just depends on the dog and when you think s/he needs a bath.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

All depends on the dog. I just bathe when needed like some of the others above. I think it's been about 6 months since I've bathed Betty, and she's still looking great and doesn't smell. I've bathed Nell once after I got her, and may be taking her to a professional groomer when I'm on vacation. She still has some of that farm smell that I can't get rid of. She's not so bad now, probably because she get's to swim quite a bit, but I would just like to get her done once by a pro.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

My old dog has really dry skin and allergies and I haven't used shampoo on her for months now. She gets a 10 minute rinse with warm water about once a week. I am hoping the rinsing will remove some allergens and preserve much of the skin oils. The younger dog doesn't have the dry skin and only gets a five minute rinse once a week. He has medium length fur and so far the coat looks like it has been shampooed in fact his greasy looking ear fur doesn't look as greasy now. Neither dog has much odor that would need to be washed away since they started eating home cooked and raw food. Yet. Younger dog is fond of mud and smelly mud doesn't rinse away. I have tried. Generally right after a bath.

I don't need to bathe the old lab mix if she gets mud on her tummy and legs, it just flakes right off. Mud sticks to the younger spaniel mix however. He will get mud balls on his feet and feathers that don't come off easily, I have to soak them back into mud. Lab type coats are so practical. I remember taking a walk on a too muddy trail with her. I scraped two inches of mud from my shoes and looked at her feet. Nothing on them. Nothing. Back when I washed them in the tub the lab mix was always clean and the spaniel mix had mud washing off. Next dog, lab type coat and spaniel type personality.


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## kenRC51 (Mar 7, 2008)

I would love to give me dogs a bath 2 times a year or even once a month. I do not know how you guys do it but not bathing you dogs for so long and they still stay clean. I've been asking myself are my standard of clean higher then you guys? or does my dogs get dirtier faster then your dogs? 
I have heard many things that what food you feed you dogs makes their coat better. I feed Stitch Innova EVO red meat and Melanie Wellness puppy. Both the dogs are outside 70-80% of the day and comes in at night to sleep. During the day both dogs comes in and out of the house. I live in a house with a good size back year in Los Angeles County. My back yard consist of grass and brick walk ways. I do not know how my dogs gets so dirty in 1 week. 
Tell me how you guys do it.


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## 0hmyd0g (Aug 18, 2008)

Every week or two for my shih tzu cross. Her longer coat picks up a lot of dirt.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

kenRC51 said:


> I would love to give me dogs a bath 2 times a year or even once a month. I do not know how you guys do it but not bathing you dogs for so long and they still stay clean. I've been asking myself are my standard of clean higher then you guys? or does my dogs get dirtier faster then your dogs?
> I have heard many things that what food you feed you dogs makes their coat better. I feed Stitch Innova EVO red meat and Melanie Wellness puppy. Both the dogs are outside 70-80% of the day and comes in at night to sleep. During the day both dogs comes in and out of the house. I live in a house with a good size back year in Los Angeles County. My back yard consist of grass and brick walk ways. I do not know how my dogs gets so dirty in 1 week.
> Tell me how you guys do it.


A lot has to do with what type of dog you have. I have a Border Collie and an ACD, both have a minimum maintenance coat on them. Hardly anyting sticks to them, when they wrestle in the yard and kick up a dust storm, Nell just shakes and she's clean. And Betty somehow never get's dirty, except for the time she went sheep herding in the mud, lol. Some dogs just have a higher maintenance coat on them.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Nature's Miracle makes dog wipes from a formula similar to their enzyme cleaner. I find that this works wonders on my big dog. Clifford is a smelly guy and could probably do with a once a week bath, but I'm too lazy for that. Instead, he gets them twice a month and a doggy wipe on his face and feet nearly every day.

Alvin gets a couple of baths a year. Maybe.


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## jbray01 (Dec 26, 2007)

i think it depends on the dog. i have a lab and we bathe her about once every 1-2 months or if she starts to get stinky.

she never gets dry skin, but oyu have to make sure to completely dry your dog after a bath, or it will just defeat the purpose, and you'll end up with a wet dog smell...


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## musicmom116 (Jul 8, 2008)

FilleBelle said:


> Nature's Miracle makes dog wipes from a formula similar to their enzyme cleaner. I find that this works wonders on my big dog. Clifford is a smelly guy and could probably do with a once a week bath, but I'm too lazy for that. Instead, he gets them twice a month and a doggy wipe on his face and feet nearly every day.


I thought at one point someone on here said they use baby wipes. Would that be the same thing? Or does anyone think baby wipes are bad for the dogs? I used them a few times on Dallas, but she doesn't really like me to.



jbray01 said:


> i think it depends on the dog. i have a lab and we bathe her about once every 1-2 months or if she starts to get stinky.
> 
> she never gets dry skin, but oyu have to make sure to completely dry your dog after a bath, or it will just defeat the purpose, and you'll end up with a wet dog smell...


How does one go about completely drying their dog's coat after a bath? I never seem to be able to keep them still long enoughtfor that.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

musicmom116 said:


> I thought at one point someone on here said they use baby wipes. Would that be the same thing? Or does anyone think baby wipes are bad for the dogs? I used them a few times on Dallas, but she doesn't really like me to.


I've heard that baby wipes work, but I'm not entirely sure. You can look into Earthbath's grooming wipes as well.


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## kenRC51 (Mar 7, 2008)

those dog grooming wipes are expensive. I use baby wipes on my dog and they work fine. I even asked the vet if it was ok, they said that it was fine.


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## SpudNZasha (Apr 25, 2008)

I have a white shepherd AND a white husky. Everyone told me the husky never needed to be bathed and they were sooooooooo clean. Yeah right - my guess is that their dogs don't ever get to play in mud or rain. My husky is constantly getting dirty. We bathe the shepherd maybe once a month and the husky maybe every two months, BUT we hose them down as they need it. If I didn't, they would look like dingy street rats!

PS I also use baby wipes for small messes, and they DO work well!


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## CinnamintStick (Jul 25, 2008)

I have 7 dogs that all need baths. It has more to do with reducing shedding but also I live in the desert in all dirt. No grass at all. Lots of weeds and stickers and mostly long coats on my dogs. We also have horses, goats, pigs and poultry. My dogs love to roll in the poo. After they run they wade through the duck pond to cool off. They drip in slobber. Then they want to sleep in my bed. I do have to brush them everynight to get the dirt off but they still need baths. 
My back yard.


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## kenRC51 (Mar 7, 2008)

you let them sleep on your bed after they roll in poo?


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