How often can I bathe my dog?

Good grooming practices are essential for maintaining health and happiness for you and your dog. This is a forum to exchange tips and advice for proper care of your dog's hygiene needs.

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Carter

Professional- Fetcher

Barked: Tue Jan 24, '12 8:32pm PST


	I heard a while ago that you're not supposed to bathe a dog more than once every three months because it can dry out their skin... I tried to only give little Carter baths every 2-3 months but ever since winter has come, he starts to smell faster. It's not a terrible dog smell or anything, but I like to keep him smelling good so I notice it. I generally use Nature's Miracle wipes a couple times in between baths as needed, but it's not helping much since the winter. Is the 3 month thing actually true or have I been misinformed?

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Otis

Champion of- sleeping cutely

Barked: Tue Jan 24, '12 9:12pm PST


	I bathe Oats a lot oftener than I would like to: About once or twice a month because his fur gets to feel gross and dusty since my daddy has started smoking inside the house this year. I use some gentle shampoo and brush his fur every day. Now that I'm in college, my sis does the same routine.

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Happy

The Boy Wonder

Barked: Tue Jan 24, '12 10:13pm PST


	I bathe mine once a week, and would bathe them more often except it's too much work. Bathing can be done far more often than you think but you will want to make sure to use a Good Quality shampoo and conditioner. There's a lot of debate on this subject but my general rule is that if you can find it at the dollar store or walmart it generally isn't a Good shampoo. I like Plush Puppy Australia, or Coat handler. I tend to use Lambert and Kay's fresh and clean on mine as well because I like the smell. Another think to keep in mind is you need to watch ears and the skin in front of their eyes. The hair in front of the eyes needs to either be kept trimmed short (I did my yorkies weekly, but you can get it done by a groomer about once a month or so if you aren't used to using clippers)or combed out and kept dry. The ears need to be kept clean, dry and make sure you don't have an ear infection going on because that will also cause smell. Now... here is two big things that you need to keep in mind every time you bathe. First... Make sure your boy is brushed out completely from the skin out before the bath, bathing will tighten mats or tangles to the point that they can harm your dog as well as keeping in moisture which leads to my second point... Make sure you dry your dog completely before allowing to run around the house. Not only is wet hair going make a mess of your house it also will pick up odors with ten times the speed. It's a good bet to brush As you dry so you get the hair combed out nice and smooth as well as to make sure you Did actually get all of the mats out. This is a great time to get a good look at the skin of your pet and make sure you don't have anything else going on. Happy and mom.

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Alice

Alice...in- Wonderland?

Barked: Wed Jan 25, '12 9:37am PST


	I bathe Alice, considering she's a large dog, once a week (if I'm not busy). The smaller dogs get brushed but their baths are 1-2 months.

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Member Since
01/19/2010

Barked: Wed Jan 25, '12 12:16pm PST


	Hi there, here's a really good post about how often you should bathe your dog... http://happytailsspa-blog.com/2008/06/02/how-often-should-i-wash -my-dog/ Most advice you find on the internet recommends washing your dog just several times per year! Either these people have outdoor dogs or the articles were written a long time ago when the quality of pet shampoo was very poor! Times have changed! Today, dogs enjoy shampoos and conditioners that are on par with the best human shampoos- that don’t have harsh chemicals and that don’t strip the hair of all of its oils. The arguments against washing your dog too often are generally about stripping the coat of natural oils. The more often you wash something, the more often the sebum (oil) is going to be removed. Think about your own hair. If you don’t wash it, what happens? It gets oily. Is the oil good for your hair? Probably, but we wash our hair everyday anyway so that it’s clean! There are several factors you should consider when deciding how often to wash your dog which include: Here's the rest http://happytailsspa-blog.com/2008/06/02/how-often-should-i-wash-my- dog/ Edited by author Wed Jan 25, '12 12:19pm PST

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Augustus- Gloop

Cheese, Glorious- Cheese...

Barked: Wed Jan 25, '12 6:14pm PST


	Dogs with more porous hair (I have a standard poodle and a bichon/poodle mix) get bathed in my housedhold as often as once a week. I double wash with good quality shampoo, then followed by a re moisturizer. I am addicted to grooming products, being a groomer Now on my minpins, I rarely bathe.

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Augustus- Gloop

Cheese, Glorious- Cheese...

Barked: Wed Jan 25, '12 6:18pm PST


	wanted to add that I find it alot easier to demat a clean coat. Dirt and oil keep matts compacted, and are harder to release. During the bath, I will break apart a mat with my fingers. Before drying I apply a liquid silk (very small amount) dry as usual. Matts are much easier to brush out.

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Carter

Professional- Fetcher

Barked: Wed Jan 25, '12 7:52pm PST


	Thanks for the replies everyone How do I know if the shampoo is "good quality"? Even the more expensive pet stores sell some less than desirable products from time to time so I'm not really sure how to differentiate.

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Penny Mouse- Fart Ayala

I eat, therefore- I am.....

Barked: Wed Jan 25, '12 11:29pm PST


	My dogs dermatologist recommended I bathe Penny once a week in the summer as it cuts way down on allergins on the skin and make sure to use a shampoo and conditioner that's moisturizing and too much scent in them irritates Pennys skin. So, I figure if a big money specialist vet sais it's fine and highly recommends bathing my pup once a week when her allergies bother her, why not OK for all dogs? In the winter, Penny gets a bath about every 2 weeks or so. We use prescription dog shampoo and an oatmeal moisturizing conditioner afterwards. Very important when you bathe your dog often, please don't forget the conditioner! When I bathe Penny, I also throw all her blankets that she burrows into during the day and sleeps with at night into the washer with hypoallergenic clothes soap and dryer sheets into the dryer. She never smells that way and it keeps her fur (what little she has) but mainly her skin in Great Shape!!

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Frankie

Cheese? PLEASE!

Barked: Thu Jan 26, '12 1:59pm PST


	I bathe Frankie about once a week... I really like the Espree line... Lambert Kay/Fresh and Clean and TropiClean are also nice products... Shih Tzus can have skin sensitivities and allergies so maybe check out a hypo-allergenic one or a soothing oatmeal one... Frankie is a shih tzu/bichon mix and he also needs a moisturizing spray each day, especially this past winter because the house has been so dry...He also, as someone said, needs more baths in the winter, which is odd to me, but I am finding he needs a bath once a week in the winter and in the summer he can go up to three weeks before he will need a a bath... Your nose usually will tell you when they need a bath...