How often do you bathe your dog and do you do it more often because they smell?

simon40simon40 Posts: 620
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I have an 18 month old Labrador and have bathed her twice but the odour from her is terrible.
I have owned a Labrador before and she never smelt this bad.
She has been health checked and has no underlying problems.

I have spoken to a groomer who recommends i have her groomed every 6 - 8 weeks to keep her smelling sweet.

Her bedding is washed weekly and she is not a dirty dog that rolls in unpleasant things or mud.

Doss your dog smell and what do you do?

Comments

  • StressMonkeyStressMonkey Posts: 13,347
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    What sort of smell?

    My hairless girl gets bathed monthly, hairless boy every other month, cat every six months (she's a Persian) and the old boy......erm.......once a year whether he needs it or not!!

    But none of them smell.

    It's not the anal glands is it? Dogs stink rotten if they need their anal glands emptying. Sort of fishy.
  • Susan_A1951Susan_A1951 Posts: 1,081
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    I have a four year old lab - and there is no underlying smell from him - according to visiting friends anyway! If you have had a lab before - and this one has an unusually bad smell, then there might be health problems...no matter what your vet says. Is it her coat - or anal glands? - or teeth? Is she neutured?

    My boy is a nightmare. I don't bath him as much as I should because he weighs a ton - but when my daughter is home, we heave him into the bath and all is fragrant until the next time day when he rolls in the first puddle he finds. Of course - fox poo is the lab equivalent to Chanel. :D
    Fortunately we live by the sea and he goes in almost every day - so with a few baby wipes - the worst pong is that of sea water.
  • simon40simon40 Posts: 620
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    My labrador has been spade and the smelly is a very strong doggy smell.
  • StressMonkeyStressMonkey Posts: 13,347
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    What is she fed on? Is she brushed daily?

    Some dogs just smell more than others. If your general dog hygiene is good, she isn't fed crap like Bakers or Pedigree and she has had a vet check (especially the anal glands!!) then maybe you just have a smelly dog.

    The problem with regular bathing is you can strip the natural oils from the skin/fur which can lead to a smelly dog! But, if she really is that stinky then regular bathing with a very gentle dog shampoo might help.
  • yorkiegalyorkiegal Posts: 18,929
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    Baxter the boxer only has a bath if he is absolutely covered in mud. Otherwise its a quick wipe down with a flannel and a towelling off if he's been out in the rain. If he smells particularly bad I finish it off with baby wipes.
  • molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,821
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    Mollie gets a shower every couple of weeks or if she is muddy which is quite often at the moment. Baby wipes take care of and little problems.

    Betty puppy is too small for the power shower don't think she would like that at all so will be the kitchen sink and a washing up bowl probably once a month or fortnightly depends whether she is a mud attracter or not.

    The late Duncan was daily and sometimes twice a day as his allergies needed all the pollen etc washed off.

    Personally I use a baby talc scented shampoo on Mollie and will use it on Betty too, it smells quite strongly and lingers for days - makes living closely with dogs much more pleasant.
  • yorkiegalyorkiegal Posts: 18,929
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    if he's rolled in fox poo you can still smell it, however much you bath them.
  • molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,821
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    yorkiegal wrote: »
    if he's rolled in fox poo you can still smell it, however much you bath them.

    Tomato ketchup - rubbed in thoroughly then bathe in the normal way, may take two goes it it's really bad but it does work normally first time.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 112
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    Hi.

    I have a Tibetan and a Springer/doodle, and due their long hair, they get showered, conditioned and blow-dried, every two weeks. Molly the Springer/Doodle is just 12 months old, and is therefore into everything, so it’s essential that I bathe her often:p .

    I change their bedding every week.

    Your dog groomer is on the right track saying every six to eight weeks. Bathe her more often if she needs it.

    Best Wishes.
  • crunchienutcrunchienut Posts: 885
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    Mine gets bathed every few months, he's not a smelly dog at all, infact he stinks for a few days after he's had a bath, no idea why, but it soon goes away.

    Although my grandma's dog has the most awful smelling breath! You can smell it from quite a distance. She just has smelly breath, nothing to be done about it.
  • molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,821
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    Some times that is diet, ours had awful breath on pedigree absolutely rank smelling, got them off that and it was much much better.
  • MuzeMuze Posts: 2,225
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    Diz only gets bathed if she's rolled in something awful tbh, she's short coated and mud etc. can usually be brushed out.
    I'm not a fan of pampering dogs without good reason, too much bathing can do more harm than good, washing the essential oils from the coat.

    As said, a 'doggy' odour can be diet related, although sometimes we have to accept that dogs are dogs and therefore smell like a dog!

    Also, a 'groomer' would tell you to groom her that frequently, I imagine she hopes you will use her services!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,129
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    I only tend too bath Alfie when he decides that digging up the garden is fun. Max tends too be bathed at the same time too as he loves the bath. I do bath certain cats but maybe only once per year
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 735
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    I've no idea what would make a dog smell like that.

    My dog doesn't smell bad at all. He gets a bath fairly regularly but it's usually because he's dirty from rolling in mud or whatever. We've never had to bathe him solely because of a weird smell.
  • molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,821
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    Muze wrote: »
    Diz only gets bathed if she's rolled in something awful tbh, she's short coated and mud etc. can usually be brushed out.
    I'm not a fan of pampering dogs without good reason, too much bathing can do more harm than good, washing the essential oils from the coat.

    As said, a 'doggy' odour can be diet related, although sometimes we have to accept that dogs are dogs and therefore smell like a dog!

    Also, a 'groomer' would tell you to groom her that frequently, I imagine she hopes you will use her services!

    Decent shampoos designed for dogs shouldn't strip the oils in a normal dogs coat, I wouldn't recommend using cheapo bob martins etc but some excellent shampoos made fort hem these days.
  • Deb11Deb11 Posts: 262
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    To answer the original question - whenever he's rolled in something that comes out another animal's rear end!

    And I don't bathe - I dump him in the bath - turn the shower on and make him stand underneath it until the majority has gone!
  • PorcupinePorcupine Posts: 25,231
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    My springer never gets a bath and he doesn't smell of anything.

    My Vizsla stinks. She smells a little of BO (as she doesn't have a lot of hair on her undercarriage), plus she has a nasty poo eating / fox rolling habit. The smell kinda wafts around her at all time. Add to that a dodgy anal gland - regularly squeezed ... she needs a good scrub daily. She doesn't get it though. I have just resigned myself to the smell, and she gets one every week or so.
  • kochspostulateskochspostulates Posts: 3,067
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    Do your dogs have that mad moment, when they have just come out of the bath or shower and have to run around the house madly flinging water everywhere?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,747
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    My dogs have got long coats so it's every 10 to 14 days, with a good shampoo, conditioner and blow dry.
  • DaisyBumblerootDaisyBumbleroot Posts: 24,763
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    Do your dogs have that mad moment, when they have just come out of the bath or shower and have to run around the house madly flinging water everywhere?

    Yes :ad best laugh ever!
  • jammoon1jammoon1 Posts: 476
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    I have two lurchers. The bigger greyhound cross only gets a washdown in the summer as he's too big to carry upstairs to the bathroom and won't go by himself - it's like trying to get a double-decker bus up a 1 in 2 hill! Plus, he's epileptic so we try not to stress him out too much - fortunately he doesn't smell. The smaller whippet cross is constantly getting muddy so she either gets a wipe down or if it's too bad she gets a shower.

    As to fox poo, we don't get the problem too much now but always found vinegar was better than ketchup due to the red colouring being difficult to get out of their hair. Smell like a fish and chip shop afterwards though!:D
  • molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,821
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    I've always hesitated to use pure vinegar in case it dried the coat or skin too much. But I assume you had no problems with that happening ?
  • xdowxdow Posts: 2,388
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    not sure if it would work on fox poo, but some people wash their hair with bicarbonate of soda
    then actually condition it with apple cider vinegar

    never tried it myself, but it's said to work a treat
  • confuddledconfuddled Posts: 3,758
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    our dog will jump in the bath if we leave the bath or shower running...he's even been known to jump in an empty bath and just sit there:D
    with regards a shampoo we try for every six to eight weeks in the winter, in the summer he is constantly in the river so we don't tend to bother so much. he doesn't smell and has a beautiful healthy coat.
  • jammoon1jammoon1 Posts: 476
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    molliepops wrote: »
    I've always hesitated to use pure vinegar in case it dried the coat or skin too much. But I assume you had no problems with that happening ?

    We haven't had a problem with it but usually I would wet the coat before putting on the vinegar anyway so it would be slightly diluted anyway, and always rinsed it all off afterwards. I wouldn't put it on them if I thought there were any scratches that it could get into but I probably wouldn't use ketchup either then.
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