# Is it ok not to give bath?



## surlys_mom (Jul 5, 2013)

Hi All,

Quick question (I think). If your pup doesn't ever smell and appears clean and well-kept, is there any reason to give a bath? My dog is 1.5 years old, and in that time she has had exactly 1 bath! She doesn't appear to need one. If she gets dirty, we just wipe her down with bath wipes, maybe give a spritz of doggie perfume, and send her on her way. She is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix (probably some greyhound), and she requires very little in the way of grooming. I'm just wondering if periodic baths are necessary for some, less obvious, reason.

Thanks!


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

If the dog isn't smelly or visibly dirty I can't think of a single reason you should bother. I bathe mine sometimes to help with shedding rather than making them clean, but my super short/single coated dogs RARELY need it for cleaning purposes. The two who do need baths are Kylie and Thud, and they're both dogs who do a lot of swimming and also have long (Kylie) or double-coated (Thud) fur. Thud soaks up dirt and eventually starts to smell. Kylie's fur gets stiff and unpleasant when she's dirty. The Rat Terriers and Bug? Eh.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

If the dog doesn't need a bath, there's no real reason to give a bath.

I bathe Chester about 1-2 times per year. His coat is very healthy, to the point that I've had people stop their cars while I am walking him and compliment me and/or ask what I feed him to get it that shiny. Eva arrived here covered in fleas, so she got a bath right away and again the next day but other than that, only one bath after being boarded for a week. 

If they swim, I rinse them well with a hose because the lake water can make them smelly.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Every dog is different.. if your dog isn't 'dirty' and doesn't stink, then I don't see why it would be necessary to bathe it often.
I bathe my dog as necessary... It's usually more than once or twice a year, but he can go months without having a bath.


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## parus (Apr 10, 2014)

My tricolor terrier mutt has had exactly one bath in the last four years, and that was because she wasn't shedding out well and it needed to be helped along. She isn't smelly and even though she's mostly white she looks clean, so I don't see any reason to do it. 

My schnauzer has a hair coat and needs occasional baths.


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## doggiepop (Feb 27, 2014)

my dog gets a bath 2x's a year (maybe). in the summer he likes being sprayed with the hose
so that's sort of like a bath.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Nope, no reason to bath a dog who isn't dirty. Some dogs need them for grooming purposes though, more than for cleaning them, but a short haired breed shouldn't need one.

However, I would still bath a puppy as part of training it to accept handling, even if the dog may not need many baths later on.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I have allergies to pretty much everything. Sassy made me itchy if she hadn't had a bath for a month or so. She never looked dirty and bath water was never dirty [stunk but baths didn't help] but her dense short fur picked up pollen and dander accumulated over time. Cannot imagine keeping a dog in the house without occasional baths.


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

CptJack said:


> If the dog isn't smelly or visibly dirty I can't think of a single reason you should bother. I bathe mine sometimes to help with shedding rather than making them clean, but my super short/single coated dogs RARELY need it for cleaning purposes. The two who do need baths are Kylie and Thud, and they're both dogs who do a lot of swimming and also have long (Kylie) or double-coated (Thud) fur. Thud soaks up dirt and eventually starts to smell. Kylie's fur gets stiff and unpleasant when she's dirty. The Rat Terriers and Bug? Eh.


This is us. I think I bath Royce more for shedding purposes or after a swim more than he is actually dirty. Lol. He did get a bath yesterday though, puked in his kennel and it was all over him. Bleck.


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## surlys_mom (Jul 5, 2013)

OK, thanks guys! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some reason why she needed one besides the obvious


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

I only bathe my dog when he's dirty or smelly, or last week he got an episoothe bath because he was itchy (I think something he rolled in irritated his skin). He is super nice and fresh and soft after a bath, so that's a plus to giving him one! He probably gets a bath a month over the summer (he likes to roll in stuff), and doesn't get bathed over the winter unless it's absolutely necessary (like the incident where he ate musher's secret and had pine scented anal leakage) since our house is so cold.


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## d_ray (Nov 5, 2013)

Jewel gets a rinse when she is muddy. We've only shampooed her once in the year we've had her and that was purely to reduce shedding.


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