My puppy stinks

[JJ17]

I have a lovely 5.5 month old puppy. He is a cross between a JRT and Cairn Terrier so is pretty "low to the ground". We take him on a big "interesting" walk (ie lots of grass, the river, lots of mud and other dogs) every day and he gets filthy.

We alternate between towelling him at the front door and bathing him. But he gets so filthy that we are bathing him (which he loves) about 2-3 times a week and then drying him with a hairdryer.

Is this too much? First I was using a shampoo called K-9 then ran out and used baby shampoo but this made his fur wiry and dry rather than silky. But he still stinks.

How often is it safe to bath him, will he get a skin irritation if we do it too much? Also any tips on keeping the smell of him down would be very welcome! My carpets are really getting wrecked, it seems to have been a long and muddy winter so any practical dog owning tips and dirt/smell busters would be great!

Also, 2 teeth have fallen out this week - hopefully this is normal?

I wash my dog with Malaseb from the vets all the time but he has a prescription for it, not sure if it is available for general use (DevilDog, just to more awkard than he is behaviourally has a skin condition)

Try ringing your vets and checking. I'm not sure I'd bath a pup very often tbh. Mine is only 6 months and has been bathed once.

Our longhaired GSD (puddle/mud-magnet dog) is never bathed - she smells good (not 'doggy') and has a VERY shiny coat. After a muddy walk she is hosed or just towelled. But she is groomed every couple of days, and I think this is what keeps her smelling good.

Might also be worth looking at diet and checking his anal glands (or get the vet to do so!). The latter is described as 'fishy coins' which is pretty apt

Teeth is normal at that age, btw. They lose baby teeth just like children do.

We have a white (white! crazy!) JRT/ spaniel cross puppy and she seems to get absolutely filthy on walks. Our older sheltie comes back all spick and span. Don't ask me how!

I have a very thin coat for her - we call it her raincoat! We inherited it from my parent's dog when he was alive, so it's some years old. It's a lovely design, though, because it goes right under her tummy and means that all I have to do when we get her in is wipe off her legs and feet. The coat goes in the machine every couple of days and is much easier to wash than the dog! By the time it gets too hot for it I reckon this muddiness will have dried a bit.

I'll try to get a pic on my profile!

Sometimes you can 'over wash' a dog, my two, Big and Stinky at times are rarely washed with shampoo maybe 3 or 4 times a year, the rest of the time (most days) they are just showered off with water.

The teeth falling out is quite normal, although dogs normally swallow them! my dog lost 7 teeth that actually fell out of his mouth, i know this because i have them all stored away lovingly in a pot . The rest were swallowed, it just means his 'big' teeth are coming.

Malaseb user here too. It is effective at removing odour of fox.

Got the pic up - a bit small but you get the idea!

When mine was a puppy, I bought dog wipes, towelled him first then wiped him with the dog wipes. They are hypo allergenic and smell nice.
Got them from Pets at home, am sure they sell them elsewhere. He loved being rubbed with the wipes, it was the only time he stood still.

Thanks for the good advice. I will wash him rather than "shampooing" him, which I have been doing. So, is it normal to "shower" the dog after a walk. You wouldn't believe the state of our bath after we wash him, mud central!

We have a nature res by us that is so safe and he really loves it but he is a mud magnet. I am not a fan of wood/laminate floors but think I need to look into it.

Also, thanks for the tip about a dog coat, I thought it was just for poncy Paris Hilton types but can see how some type of wipe-clean jacket would help.

His paws, which are my favourite bit of him, get so cruddy.

I thought you weren't supposed to bath them too much as they lose their natural oils from their fur which help with keeping the dog's coat clean.

I have a border terrier x (5 months) and he's never had a bath! His coat smells lovely, but I do believe that with his particular coat it's naturally pretty mud/waterproof anyway.

I'd go with either just using water or wipes to clean him.