# Bathing Schedule



## TaylorGSDT (Dec 7, 2012)

Not exactly sure where to put this. I've been trying to find out how often I should bathe my dogs, put there's a lot of conflicting opinions on google so I figured I'd come here.

I only bathe my dogs 4 times a year. Once in May, June, July, and August. The main reason for this is during the fall, winter, and spring months, my backyard consists of mostly mud. And I've reasoned that if I were to give me dogs a bath every time they got dirty, I'd be giving them baths every day. And whenever I bathe my male, he just goes out and rolls in/slides in the mud anyways so it's pointless. My concern is: could this be harmful to their coats for only bathing 4 times a year? I haven't seen any excessive shedding during the year I've had my male. I've actually not seen any shedding at all, from either of them. After the mud dries, I take a regular hair brush and brush out the dried mud, then just towel them down with a damp towel. Is this alright to do? Their coats are always shiny (when they aren't dusty looking before the towel down) so I never thought about it until my mother brought it up that I should bathe them more. Any info would be great. Thank you.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I don't even have a schedule for my washing, I do it only when they seem to need it and that's not often. 

OVER bathing is more of an issue in our breed and I think 4 times a year is just fine


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## Sp00ks (Nov 8, 2013)

With our current pup, we have bathed him a little more than I would like. Mostly trying to keep his unmentionables clean and he likes rolling in the dirt, snow, water, and anything else he can get into. 

Our last adult we bathed when she was extremely dirty or starting to stink. That consisted of a couple-3 times a year or so. 

There is a thread on this somewhere....


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## AKIRA3 (Jul 17, 2013)

We have had Akira for 8 months now.
So far she has had 2 baths.
Once when we brought her home from the rescue, and 2 weeks ago when she finally got out of her cast.

I let my nose be the judge of when she needs to be washed.
I think 4 times a year sounds good.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

TaylorGSDT said:


> My concern is: could this be harmful to their coats for only bathing 4 times a year?


 No. As long as they look and smell reasonably clean, coats are shiny and you're not seeing excessive itching or skin flakes, it shouldn't be a concern. Keep their coats brushed out and you shouldn't have any problems. 

I have to tell you though, once the shedding starts you are probably going to want to bathe them more often. Most of my GSD clients like their dogs groomed once a month or so, just to keep the shedding under control.


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## TaylorGSDT (Dec 7, 2012)

Freestep said:


> I have to tell you though, once the shedding starts you are probably going to want to bathe them more often. Most of my GSD clients like their dogs groomed once a month or so, just to keep the shedding under control.


When will the shedding start though? I have had my male for a year now (he is 1 year and 8 months) and he has not shredded at all. And I brush him 3-4 times a week.




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## Discoetheque (Nov 2, 2011)

I only wash Discoe when she gets dirty or smelly, or right after she is done blowing coat. That averages out, for us, probably about once every other month or two. 

As for the shedding, it depends on the individual dog, I would think. Discoe is stock-coated, but does not keep excesses of undercoat, so I honestly don't see much shedding from her outside of her twice-yearly blow. My previous GSD, Reba, had a much tighter, shorter coat, but would shed buckets year round, along with her blow.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

TaylorGSDT said:


> When will the shedding start though? I have had my male for a year now (he is 1 year and 8 months) and he has not shredded at all. And I brush him 3-4 times a week.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What are you feeding?


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## TaylorGSDT (Dec 7, 2012)

Just a basic complete nutrition kibble, and bowled chicken once a week. He's got a very healthy weight. Could it have something to do with the fact that he is mixed. His mother was GSD/ Border Collie and his dad was a purebred GSD. So he's like 1/4 border collie.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I only bathe before a dog show, and when someone is blowing coat.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

I only bathe Rafi when he needs it. That could be as seldom as once a year or as often as every few weeks if he has a skin condition (or more often if he has gotten skunked!). 

Last summer at the cottage I had to give him a shampoo every few days because the lake was yucky and he got the itchies. Now I haven't given him a bath since October (when we were still battling the skin condition).


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## MiaMoo (Apr 6, 2013)

Summer is the only time I bathe Mia regularly, only because she has weekly trips to the lake for a nice muddy dip and to get any chlorine off of her as she is always in our pool. Other than that I bathe her very infrequently. She doesn't get the bad dog smell I've noticed from past dogs we've had and other dogs I know. 

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## AKIRA3 (Jul 17, 2013)

Ooh lucky mia has a pool in the Texas heat!!!!,


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

He swims in the lake..I really only hose him down if he gets into something nasty. He does not smell.


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## MiaMoo (Apr 6, 2013)

AKIRA3 said:


> Ooh lucky mia has a pool in the Texas heat!!!!,


She loves it! She uses it way more than we do! Leaves a nice furry film in top of it, too! 

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## volcano (Jan 14, 2013)

I bathe her by taking her to a lake, I cant do it at home because I have a fiberglass tub and she hates hoses.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

TaylorGSDT said:


> When will the shedding start though?


 Any minute now. Be prepared.


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## JackandMattie (Feb 4, 2013)

No schedule here, either. Just when they get too dusty or smelly to bear to have in bed. Our lake isn't the nicest, so unlike the others posting, Jack gets most of his shampoo baths in summer after he goes swimming in the lake. Aargh. 


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I don't have a schedule and I don't bathe them often. My 2.5 yr old female GSD has had two baths. My 1.5 year old just had his second bath today. The male gets dry skin and I think it's the winter, so next year I might give him more baths in the winter with special shampoo. It's much easier now that I got one of those dog dryers.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

I rinse my dogs without any soap a lot, but they go a long time between baths sometimes.

Fama used to come to the showers with me in Afghanistan for her rinse after missions. Pretty funny sometimes when someone would walk in and she would be standing in the bathroom.

David Winners


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## havery (Jan 1, 2014)

I only bathe mine when they start to smell. During the summer Sofie gets lots of hose baths because she likes to play with the water hose, but there's no soap involved there. We've only had Yann, our coatie, a month, but he got a good couple of baths the first week and nothing since, he's been good without, his skin is actually not flaking anymore, apparently he got too many baths with his previous owners and was drying out. I'd say only every few months for a real tub bath with soap. We brush every other day for Yann, twice a week for Sofie.

~*~*~*~
Furbabies:
Sofie Rose born 08/2012
Yann von Erzengel born 02/2006


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## CelticGlory (Jan 19, 2006)

I think it depends on what you are using as a shampoo too. Soap free shampoos that doesn't strip oils from the coat and skin are the best you could use. That way you can bathe them more often. It is expensive though compared to soap shampoos.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

My pup pretty much got weekly baths this summer. Going to the lake meant getting a bath when we got home. Nasty lakes! He also got rinsed quite often because he loved to play in his wading pool and then run in the dirt and dry grass. He hasn't had a bath since early fall.


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

I usually draw Lisl's bath around fiveish, just after tea, but before dinner is served.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

CelticGlory said:


> I think it depends on what you are using as a shampoo too. Soap free shampoos that doesn't strip oils from the coat and skin are the best you could use. That way you can bathe them more often. It is expensive though compared to soap shampoos.


 "Soap free" is pretty much a marketing gimmick. Depending on how you define "soap", either all shampoos are "soap free", or none of them are. All shampoos must contain a surfactant (soap or detergent) in order to have cleansing properties. There is a slight chemical difference between detergent and soap, but they are both surfactants.

What you want to look for a is a mild shampoo that does not strip the oil out of the coat. Avoid anything by Hartz, Seargents, or any other supermarket brands. Earthbath is a gentle shampoo line. Look for terms like "hypoallergenic", "tearless", "non-stripping", or "will not remove spot-on flea treatments" and you can bet that the shampoo will not be too harsh. Even the stripping shampoos are okay for occasional use once or twice a year, or if the dog has an oily skin condition, or has car grease on his coat.


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