Doggy hygiene - just curious

[LaMadrilena]

I adore dogs but have never been in a position to own/adopt. I'd like to one day.
My SIL and family have a young teacup Yorkie, very sweet and well behaved.

My question: Is it normal to wipe a dog's bottom with a baby wipe after it poos? And do you clean its feet after every walk?

I've already worked out for myself that the weekly baths with strawberry shampoo aren't necessary (although she is always silky-soft and smells lovely)!

I have a small dog and he has a dunk in a few inches of water in the sink after walks. Takes under 1 min and I just run a wipe over his feet whilst he’s standing there. He is allowed on furniture and in anyone’s bed and sits on people so we keep him clean. The bum wiping - I usually take a glance at it after he goes and if dirty then I’ll wipe. For the same reasons as above. And also if you leave the bum shitty, they make this position where they put their arse on the carpet and then use 2 legs to drag themselves along the carpet to do a DIY bum wipe.

I don’t often bath him other than the above and not with heavily scented stuff anyway.

Yorkies have hair rather than fur so may well need more baths than your standard dog.

I check my dogs bum after poos if its been runnier than normal or whatever to make sure there isnt poo left in the fur. My dog has a good, consistent diet though so it's not necessary after every poo.

I wipe her/her paws down if we've been a wet/muddy walk or if there's been grit on the ground, as it's really bad for them to ingest and dogs often lick their paws clean themselves.

It sounds like they are a bit precious if doing this routine all the time, are they Mrs hinch levels of insta clean?

I have a golden retriever and no I don’t wipe his bottom with baby wipes or his feet. He is a dog not a baby. Dogs lick to clean themselves so they’ll lick whatever is in wipes off themselves.

Only time is if he was due a bath/got himself into a mess he’d have an extra bath or if there is grit out but his paws are just rinsed with warm water no soap/wipes etc

I do not wipe my dog's bottom and only towel his feet if muddy/wet.

No 😂 on the odd occasion that he needs to, he’ll wipe his bum on the grass. He’s short haired though so it doesn’t get stuck in his fur 🤢. I wipe his paws when he’s been digging and wash him with warm water in the garden when he’s been to the beach (as he was completely covering the bathroom in muddy sand when we bathed him in the bath!).

Nope, I don’t wipe my dogs bums either. They have a bath about once or twice a month in a tee tree oil doggy shampoo as they are both allergic and have itchy skin and this soothes the itching for a while. The rest they take care of themselves as they are short haired they also don’t need to go to groomers.

No, just no.

If my dog has muddy paws (dogs don’t have feet) I use the hose and towel dry. They are dogs, even the small ones. Closely related to wolves. They aren’t babies or toys.

No I’d only wipe my dogs paws with a towel if it’s been particularly muddy where we’ve walked, there’s no need normally.

WTF? People wipe their dogs' bums?! 😆
Can honestly say it has never crossed my mind. She gets hosed off if she's muddy and full on bath if she's rolled in something disgusting.

You can get doggy wipes in most pet shops- good for a quick clean up 🐶

My mother wiped our dogs arses every single time they pooed! It's a strong memory of mine growing up with dogs. I think she needed a hobby

Just when you think you've heard everything...

Only time I go near the backend of my dog is when there are hanging grass issues. That's bad enough for the mutts, they'd be most unhappy if I made a habit of chasing them around with the wet wipes.

I occasionally wipe my dog’s bottom.
His crap clipper doesn’t seem to work very well and he sometimes has waffleberries

No, my dogs all clean themselves bumwise.
And for wet or muddy paws, they go into the kennel and clean up their own feet.
It's their normal grooming routine and part of their self care and self calming. They also clean each others' ears and sometimes faces.
One of my labs also trims her own nails! DH keeps saying he's going to get her a mirror…

I will wipe a bum as necessary if he’s had a runny poo and I always check he has clean feet etc because he sleeps on the beds .

The most mine gets is the cold hose on his paws if they are caked with mud

I don't wipe the dog's bum or feet as routine. On the very rare occasion that he has had an upset tummy I have had to wipe his bum. Like I said, very rare.

Feet will get washed if it's very muddy, I just stick him in the sink quickly.

Baths are on an as needed basis. He's a JRT so low grooming needs.

I’d only clean a back end if there was an issue - long coated dog with an upset stomach for instance.

And paws.... no, if they’re properly coated in mud like they’ve jumped in an actual pool of mud, well first I’d try finding somewhere they can get wet to get it off on the walk, failing that I’d hose them or wash them.

But just normal they’ve walked while it’s wet, that’s why I’ve got thick fluffy door mats.

I've never wiped my dog's bum....if she needs to she'll clean it herself. I've never cleaned her feet either...if she stands in something manky we just walk on grass for a bit. If she's digging on the beach a few minutes in dry sand and she's got clean feet again.

I do have a friend with a little white dog whose fur would get matted without regular grooming. She washes his bum in the sink to make sure he's no matted bits, but that's because of his breed. I can't see myself putting my German Shepherd up to wash her bum lol.

Yes, clean both labs bums after a poo, ddog2 of them has anal gland issues and actually seems to like an Andrex sensitive wipe 😳
DDog1 not too keen but puts up with me.

I also wipe paws and sometimes wash them as otherwise DDog1 chews and licks them all night. Vet suggested allergies and washing. 😳

In my defence they are very much on the sofas/beds/ wherever they like so it’s for my own benefit

Our dog gets wet and muddy at least twice a day (he swims in the river and runs in the woods/park) so he gets a (cold) hose down after most walks, feet and belly, we only use mild soap if he's super dirty or rolled in something unmentionable. No bum cleaning, all animals do that themselves, surely?
The sofa where he snoozes is covered in a blanket and we hoover/sweep/mop up paw prints every day to avoid muck and mess collecting.

In my defence, my dog is completely and very bright white all over so any shit/dirt sticks out a mile and I do get it straight off as he is a lap dog.

Thanks for the replies. Bit of a mix then. I'd never heard of anyone systematically cleaning their dog's bum before, but I guess it makes sense in some circumstances.

And thanks to the person who informed me that dogs have paws not feet - you learn something new every day...