# How many times do you give your pup a bath?



## PuppyKono (Jun 30, 2012)

I give Kono a bath every sunday. She doesn't have dried out skin or flakes. Her fur is soft and fluffy! 

I was told today by a schutzhund trainer that we should be giving her a bath maybe 2-3 A YEAR! My mom and I were like 0.0 what!?!

Haha we got the one bath a week from advice given to us to get her used to baths and water...

So what do you guys think? Are we giving her too many? Just right? Does it matter since her skin isn't dried out or flaky? And how many times do you give baths?


----------



## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

Considering that you're giving her a bath every week, you're going to think I'm an absolute lunatic - I hardly ever give my dogs baths, lol. I mean next to never! They swim so they're rinsed that way, they get brushed so they don't have dirt on them, and they roll in the snow in winter...if they roll in something else they'll get a bath but so far so good. My puppy is 10 months old and he's only had 1 bath, and that was to get rid of the mildew. Otherwise he'd still be unbathed, lol.


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when my dog was a pup an experiencing purebreditis
i had to give a couple baths (soft poops, throwing up,
getting into things when were in the woods, etc).
as an adult maybe 2 a year.


----------



## SewSleepy (Sep 4, 2012)

Seven gets one every 7-10 days because of seasonal allergies. Well, that was the initial reason, now the dog park has alot of mud holes and she loves to dive into them. We try to go weekly.


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


----------



## Bubbles (Aug 31, 2012)

bubbles has learned how to get in the shower when I take a shower. So bubbles gets a shower everyday along with brushing her teeth


----------



## PuppyKono (Jun 30, 2012)

Blanketback said:


> Considering that you're giving her a bath every week, you're going to think I'm an absolute lunatic - I hardly ever give my dogs baths, lol. I mean next to never! They swim so they're rinsed that way, they get brushed so they don't have dirt on them, and they roll in the snow in winter...if they roll in something else they'll get a bath but so far so good. My puppy is 10 months old and he's only had 1 bath, and that was to get rid of the mildew. Otherwise he'd still be unbathed, lol.


LOL! Haha I live in a state were there is no water Haha. Colorado is not a great water state! So I can't take her to lakes very often and when I would find like a place it could say no dogs. So I may just get her a play pool later on... She hasn't been in snow yet so we'll see how that goes! C: HAHA 



doggiedad said:


> when my dog was a pup an experiencing purebreditis
> i had to give a couple baths (soft poops, throwing up,
> getting into things when were in the woods, etc).
> as an adult maybe 2 a year.


Yeah I've had to give her a early bath due to poop  




SewSleepy said:


> Seven gets one every 7-10 days because of seasonal allergies. Well, that was the initial reason, now the dog park has alot of mud holes and she loves to dive into them. We try to go weekly.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


Yeah I think she has some allergies... may have gotten used to them or something they aren't really bothering her as much as when she was 4 months.



Bubbles said:


> bubbles has learned how to get in the shower when I take a shower. So bubbles gets a shower everyday along with brushing her teeth


HAHA I give Kono a shower then I take mine since I'm all wet. Lol she chews on her RMB so her teeth get cleaned from that C:


----------



## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

I only bathe her if she plays in wet mud (because she's off leash and becomes deaf when she sees wet mud) and I don't bother to blow dry her. She doesn't get a bath when she eats horse poop, sit in horse poop, sleeps in horse poop, eat dead gophers, play in the bay. Dirt just doesn't seem to stick to the GSD coat. I love it!


----------



## jourdan (Jul 30, 2012)

I rinse Avery off on rainy days at daycare since there is a lot of mud. If I don't he is a ball of long hair mud and makes mud prints all over the house. Since I got him in July he has had a bath at the vet, one with the groomer, and one at home this week (which is worthless now since its rained everyday since). I don't blow dry him and ive never noticed any problems. 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


----------



## vicky2200 (Oct 29, 2010)

I try to give my dogs a bath once a year. Sometimes it may be more like 3x a year if they get into something. Sometimes it is less than once a year. My dogs are CLEAN. I have neighbors who have dogs that are so dirty that your hands turn black when you pet them. I don't get HOW they are so dirty. Shepherds are one of the breeds that are pretty self cleaning.

I bathe my poodle about once a month. Once a week isn't uncommon for a poodle or similar breed, but it is unnecessary and may dry out the skin later on.


----------



## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I bathe only when they get stinky, so baths are maybe once or twice a year at the most.


----------



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Mauser had his last bath more than two YEARS ago. He does go in the kiddie pool during the summer and if he gets too dirty I will hose him off.

Full bath - shampoo and all that - only when he needs it (and that is rarely).


----------



## briantw (Oct 1, 2012)

I take my Shepherd to the groomer once every two to three months for the full treatment. Other than that, I only bathe him when he gets really dirty, which hasn't happened much. The last time was when he ran into a mud puddle while I was distracted picking up after him, but instead of a full bath I just put him in the tub and cleaned off his paws/legs. 

And as far as the dog park goes, I just generally try to avoid taking him there if it's muddy out.


----------



## volcano (Jan 14, 2013)

my pup is brought up on raw, and currently shes wrestling chicken legs while eating them. Im thinking shes salmonella city? I washed her once and she didnt like it and I didnt wash her head. Im planning on another since i smell too much puppy today. Its her rubbing in the chicken I think. Ill see if cabelas grinders can do chicken bone. ground stuff shell gulp down without all the wrestling.


----------



## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Never; spot cleaning only after rolling in "stuff", then I wipe them with rosemary branches and forget about it. Rinsing with water when muddy.


----------



## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

We live in a very very damp country, so because of the mud problem this time of year, I end up rinsing my dogs usually once a day (on rainy days) during the winter. Sometimes I can get away with only once or twice a week if it would ever stop raining. Which it never does.

My dogs (even the puppy) are taught to sit in the downstairs shower and let themselves be rinsed off without fuss. It's usually just the underbelly, tail, legs, and "bloomers" that I have to do. I don't generally use soap unless they've managed to roll in fox crap as well.


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I hose them down if they get really muddy. Else no. I am in love with my metro blower. Even with mud, it will dry and blow right off


----------



## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

The first week I had Lisl she had three baths. Mostly from sitting in poo before she was crate trained. The second week I think she had only one and I haven't had to bathe her since.

We do a lot of walking in the rain so she sort of gets a rinse on her outer coat once a week or so this time of year.


----------



## hattifattener (Oct 7, 2011)

one time so far.
right before conformation show.


----------



## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

My dog hates water, so that in itself does not lend you to over-bathe her. LOL

I've recently had a horrible time with giardia, so she's had a few baths with shampoo over the last few weeks. I try not to over-do it, but at the same time, I don't believe having the occasional bath is bad for them. Actually I think it's good for their skin and coat, as they pick up all kinds of bacteria romping around outside.

I think it also depends on the lifestyle. I'm on a farm, take her for hikes etc. so she gets a little dirtier. If I were living int he city, and walking on sidewalks and fetching in the park, then you can get away with less.

I do groom her quite often though, and I think that helps a lot.


----------



## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

How to Cure Itchy and Irritated Paws - YouTube


----------



## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

Our dogs get a bath twice a year, once before it starts getting cold, and once when it starts warming back up. If they get muddy, it will dry and fall off within a few hours. So, unless they get into something that makes them stinky, they go twice a year.

When I was a new dog owner, one of the German Shepherd books I read mentioned a bath every week or so, so when Nara was a pup, we started off like that. Then I either read or was told that too much bathing will damage their skin and coat, especially if you're using the wrong shampoo. We stick with an organic, holistic oatmeal shampoo. It does well for them and they smell so good. Months after a bath, if they get rained on or wet, the smell surfaces, and they smell like fresh-baked oatmeal cookies! Haha.


----------



## RowdyDogs (Nov 12, 2012)

I bathe my dogs as necessary, but my rule of thumb is no more than once a month unless there are special circumstances.

In practice, I wind up bathing most of my dogs maybe once a year. When my dog Scooter was 6 (I adopted him as a 1-year-old), I realized I'd literally never bathed him. LOL I mean, he'd been in water swimming and playing, but no soap or anything, just good food and health and a naturally clean dog.

My special exceptions are Wooby, who I bathe about every other month. Our vet suspects it is due to her age (I adopted her just a couple of years ago and she is 14, so I never knew her as anything but "aged"), but her fur gets really oily if we don't bathe her that often. Basically I just wait until I am petting her and feel a slight buildup, then I bathe her...it just works out to about every 2 months.

The other is Bandit, who would be on the same schedule as the other 3 except he also has a strong fondness for rolling in disgusting things. As a result, during the summer I have had to bathe him as often as once or twice a month (during the winter it is harder for him to find juicy disgusting things as things are frozen). However, it's only an as-needed thing, when he comes home stinking or stained.

With weekly baths, I would not necessarily expect an immediate negative result in every dog...but I would wonder, what happens if you stop bathing him weekly? In people, daily showering with harsh soaps causes excessive oil buildup. In horses, the same is true on a weekly basis. I don't know about dogs, but I assume it's the same. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy--you have to bathe them that often, because they get gross if you don't. Is it harmful? No, probably not. Is it a PITA? To me, it would be. If you don't mind, and your pup is comfy, then who cares? 

edit: FWIW, I shower pretty much daily...just since I brought it up. However I only use sodium laureth sulfate-based soaps/shampoos when necessary (usually about once a week), and in-between rely on friction and milder cleansers that don't strip natural oils. Possibly TMI, so sorry.  But having worked in healthcare, I will point out that, while using soap is best practice, any hand-washing guide will point out that friction (from rubbing your hands together under as hot of water as you can stand) is at least as important, if not more, than soap. That's why you have to mentally sing your ABCs or "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" 3 times while vigorously rubbing your hands together under hot water to be truly clean, not just squirt some soap and/or hand sanitizer on.


----------



## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

Not to take over a post, but just wondering. What about if you take the dog swimming? We are in Fl and will be going to the springs. Springs is fresh water so I guess he can dry out, but saltwater is rough on skin and we will have to wash after each time.


----------



## RowdyDogs (Nov 12, 2012)

Neko said:


> Not to take over a post, but just wondering. What about if you take the dog swimming? We are in Fl and will be going to the springs. Springs is fresh water so I guess he can dry out, but saltwater is rough on skin and we will have to wash after each time.


I don't include freshwater swimming as a bath, and if you're swimming in a reasonably clean waterway, you shouldn't need a bath IMO.

I've lived entirely in the southwest so I have no idea about saltwater. From swimming in the ocean on vacation I would assume you'd need a rinse, but a rinse isn't necessarily a bath.

FWIW, I do hose off my working dogs in the heat far more often than I bathe them. I don't consider it a bath in the common sense unless soap and scrubbing is involved. If we're just talking about how often they get wet, the answer would be very different. Swimming and drenching the dog in the heat are recreation and cooling, and any cleansing is a side effect.


----------



## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

That helps allot thank you =) 
With heat in the summer, I am sure my pup will be wet allot.


----------

