How often do you bathe your dog?

[BlueSlice]

I have a short haired dachshund so understand it’s much easier to pop him in the bath after a muddy walk than it is for a larger dog or a dog with a double/wool/long coat.

But;
I was walking on the beach with a friend who has a spaniel mix puppy (9 months) and both dogs were going mad for rolling on a rotting washed up fish, plus running in and out of the sea and digging up the sand. By the end of the walk they were filthy. (And had had a lovely time.)

I said I’d bathe mine when we got back but my friend said she had never ever bathed him yet and would just rub him down with a towel.

Aside from the fact they stank, I can’t imagine never washing your dog! I feel like my home would be filthy if I had a dirty dog living in it and I imagine the dog would feel a bit better for being clean (sand makes him itchy). I pretty much always bathe him after a dirty walk, especially if he’s rolled in something.

What do you do?

@AuntyPasta

The local grooming place that I don’t take her to offers a ‘signature scent spritz’ and will paint their nails

This kind of thing drives me mad and imo makes groomers come across as really unprofessional. A place local to us does things like that and I refuse to go there - they're dogs, they don't need deodorant or perfume!

Dogs should smell like dogs!

I groom her myself because I can’t find a place I can trust and she’s uncooperative - not in a bitey way, in a squeals when you’re about to cut and takes years of your life kind of way.

I thought I’d cracked it and found a place where they have a window in a shop area that looks through to the grooming area, so you can see how they handle the dogs. Then I watched as they left the room, and left a dog on a high grooming table with a loop around it’s neck hooked to to an arm and no band around it’s belly. Mine would have been off the table and strangled herself. This dog stayed put, but I stayed and watched and it was 4-5 minutes before someone who worked there came back into the room. There was no one else with eyes on the dog. I’d rather have mine look scruffy but be safe.

I have a cockapoodle and she goes to the groomers every 5-6 weeks.

In between I only bathe her if it was raining or muddy on our walk or if she went in a body of water (we have a river and a lake near where we live and she sometimes likes to retrieve sticks).
So for example over the past 5 days she's had 2 baths because today it rained on our morning walk and she had sand and mud on her paws and her belly area and a couple of days ago because she had a swim in the river - it's not fancy though just a quit 3-5min wash with her dog shampoo and dried off with a towel. There's no brushing or fluff drying involved

Apart from that I wipe her paws when we get in and that's about it - unless she's rolled in something which I thought was a given.

My lab doesn't smell, people often comment when they come into the house that it doesn't smell of dog like theirs does. She's regularly brushed, furminated and loves outdoor swimming so that might help. She's got a lovely glossy coat too

I spot wash any muddy or disgusting bits. Rarely.
It’s not great for their skin. Specialist dermatologist advised us of this.
My dogs are handstripped and then brushed daily. I agree with PP. Grooming is key and they need the oils in their coats.

@LBee2020 I confess there are times when I just stand in their ‘room’ and breathe in the biscuity loveliness, especially if they have been in there on their own while I am out. Very comforting 🥰

Mine is a fox poo roller, so sometimes we can get stuck in bath purgatory where he’s washed every day because he’s rolled. Other times we can go for months.

Dog groomer here, shouldn't wash a dog (with shampoo) anymore than once every 4 weeks, doing so can ruin their coat and strip out oils causing skin issues.

I have 2 short haired dogs and wash them about every 12 weeks, neither are smelly dogs so I think this is ideal and the longest amount of time I recommend people to wait before bathing.

I'm genuinely shocked at the amount of people that never wash their dogs or only once a year - I get that they don't smell, as I say mine don't either, but in my personal opinion, it's a little bit grim.

I send Her Ladyship to the groomers every couple of months for the full works, but she is quite small so only costs about £30 a time.
If she rolls in something indelicate in between times, I usually wait till dd notices it as she will give her a partial bath. I cannot be arsed with all the palaver an 8kg dog can cause when confronted with an inch of water and a bottle of no more tears shampoo.

I wash mine maybe once a year or so. They usually dont roll in shit (or fish), so on the rare occasions they do, i give them a bath.

Labrador, less than once a year.

We have to wash our Yorkie twice a week with a medicinal shampoo. He has a lot of problems with allergies and infections as a result so during allergy season his skin is immediately super red, itchy and stinky a few days after being washed. The rest of the year once a week. But he is small enough to fit in our tiny shower, I cant imagine trying to wash a wiggle big dog in there once let alone weekly. Once we get our dream house with a dog washing station in the mudroom, I really want big/more dogs

I think it depends on breed too. My Weimaraner had a bath about once in his life. He had a lovely, short shiny coat and didn't need it. I now have a poodle cross (who is 3/4 poodle) and she goes to the groomers every 4 weeks and sometimes needs a bath in between as well as being brushed most days.

Never, my collie cross is self cleaning and she is mercifully quite dainty, stepping around puddles and even picking her feet up like a fancy pony when on wet grass. Mud splashes get towelled or brushed off once dry. She smells very little, just a mild doggy smell that I actually love. Her feet smell nice like popcorn too!

@CaptainMyCaptain another stinky Jack Russell here. He’s long coated and he loves rolling in anything going. Even dust. Prob shower and shampoo him about once every 10 days on average.
He particularly loves a dead squirrel to roll in and goes crazy for fox poo. These episodes warrant soap and a shower ASAP.

Never - long haired collie. Lots of grooming and brushing and a wash with the hose if muddy. He has a beautiful coat. Mud really does dry and brush out.
We don't wash our cat either- should we be? I'll get my body armour...

@vanillandhoney

Originally I didn't want to wash him so often. After he was 4 months old he developed an itch and vet could not see the cause - I changed his food (will not go into saga of how many different brands I have tried). It all seemed subtle until at one point I came in the morning to my pup and he had open wounds where he scratched himself.

Since then I found food that suited him, used anti-itch food additive and washed him with special shampoo. His itching has stopped.

But yes I agree once a week seems excessive. I can see that after wash his coat looks dull, albeit has it shine back 1-2 days after. To be honest, I am afraid to let him go unwashed with that shampoo more than two weeks cause I really do not want to see him covered in open wounds again.

After walks I just wipe him down with baby wipes.

I'm not sure it's 'grim' to never wash a dog that doesn't need washing. They aren't humans and I don't see why we should force it on them.

As another poster said, smell is a huge part of their world, to mask it or remove it is wrong IMO.

Mine doesn't get dried at the groomers other than a towel dry as he hates the dryer.

This means he no longer gets the smelly perfume put on him at the end and I think it's better. He still likes to rub himself on the rugs when he gets home to get his 'smell' back