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How often should I bath my dog?
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Having adopted a lovely 4 yr old cocker spaniel from a rescue centre I'm wondering how often I can give her a bath?.
She was never taken for walks in her previous home so I'm trying to make up for the 4 years she was 'in prison' as she absolutely loves her walks.
We go to local parks, the beach, open countryside etc. and she loves clambering up hilly ground, in and out of bushes, up trees as she is mad keen on finding squirrels etc.
Everything is great but she does get very dirty!!!! If there's a muddy ditch she'll be straight into it, not a problem, mud dries off. She gets covered in sticky leaves, plants etc. again no problem I brush them out but about a week after her bath she starts to pong a bit, it's not fox or sheep poo, almost like a horsey type of smell.
I know she's a dog and I'm certainly not going to limit her fun on account of her behaving like one by bathing her too often but how often is too often??? I was giving her a bath every 2 weeks using dog shampoo. Incidentally she's not keen on the bath but loves being blow dried with the hairdrier if it's not sunny enough for her to dry off outside.
She was never taken for walks in her previous home so I'm trying to make up for the 4 years she was 'in prison' as she absolutely loves her walks.
We go to local parks, the beach, open countryside etc. and she loves clambering up hilly ground, in and out of bushes, up trees as she is mad keen on finding squirrels etc.
Everything is great but she does get very dirty!!!! If there's a muddy ditch she'll be straight into it, not a problem, mud dries off. She gets covered in sticky leaves, plants etc. again no problem I brush them out but about a week after her bath she starts to pong a bit, it's not fox or sheep poo, almost like a horsey type of smell.
I know she's a dog and I'm certainly not going to limit her fun on account of her behaving like one by bathing her too often but how often is too often??? I was giving her a bath every 2 weeks using dog shampoo. Incidentally she's not keen on the bath but loves being blow dried with the hairdrier if it's not sunny enough for her to dry off outside.
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I've got 2 labradors that also love jumping & splashing around in every bit of water they can find & I also find that they can get a bit "doggy" after a while. In the summer I tend to shampoo them every 3 weeks or so but it could be more frequently if they've rolled in something unpleasant. Even if I don't shampoo them I will hose down their "undercarriages" if they are wet & muddy. In the winter they are probably shampooed about every 6 weeks but only because I use the garden hose & it's very cold!! Sometimes I'm able to use the local rescue centre's grooming room so they get a hot shower for a treat.
I think the only danger with shampooing too often is that you are stripping all the natural protective oils from the coat every time you do it. As long as you use a mild shampoo (perhaps a puppy shampoo?) then once a fortnight should be ok. Just watch your dog's skin condition to make sure she doesn't get itchy or sore & that she doesn't start to scratch or lick herself. If you can use a dryer to get her properly dry then at least you aren't leaving her to stay damp & possibly cold for very long.
But our other dog is a different story. She likes to roll in nasties, and he doesnt have much fur so she smells a big B.Oee sometimes. I bathe her more in the summer out in the garden ... much to her dislike.
Hopefully the pong will ease off later!!!!
Someone suggested dog wet wipes but I've not tried them as yet, does anyone know if they are OK?
I don't know enough about Cockers coats to comment - I would hazard a guess that show Cockers are washed quite regularly - but that is a guess
Labradors OTOH should be washed as little as possible - their coat is very harsh and heavily oiled to keep the water on the surface - regular use of soap will wreck this natural protection - could have a negative effect on their skin and make the coat texture completely wrong.
A dirty wet lab will be clean and dry within a couple of hours
I show mine nearly every weekend, and they are certainly not cosseted inbetween shows - but lucky if they see a shampoo bottle twice a year (unless they stink - which
they very seldom do - my chocs do get a shampoo after their moults simply to rid all the dead hair).
Our Cocker was very silky until he was spayed, due to an undescended testicle when he was about 2 years old, after which his coat went thick and curly and he used to take ages to dry properly after a bath or a shower after being in the sea because Cocker's coats are like thick wool when wet so I wouldn't bath him more than two or three times a year unless absolutely necessary.
Since having him clipped right back he looks like a puppy and he's 11 years old and it used to take ages to groom him and to stop his feathering on his legs from being matted as he loves going through hedges... so you might like to get yours trimmed as it is then quicker to get them dry and it will also save you a lot of grooming time!
Maybe I'm bathing her too much but she gets dirty quickly in the park and she hasn't learnt yet to wash herself.
My labs have hydrotherapy once a week as one of them has poor hips & the other one just loves it:) so even though they are showered off afterwards I like to make sure the chlorine is washed out properly so I probably shampoo more than is necessary.
However they are certainly not "clean & dry within a couple of hours", particularly Barney who seems to take an age to dry despite a thorough towelling afterwards! Wilma is much more effective at grooming herself but Barney has a quick scratch then lies down for a doze ~ typical boy!!!
Mine are in and out of the pool several times a day from March to October and often at the beach on weekends throughout the year - it certainly doesn't have any negatives effects on their coats.
If they get very mucky from playing, they just get hosed down.
but horsey smells are truly vile
does rinsing her not help at all?
cold water is often a lot better for rinsing than warm
when my pooches have been a bit smelly before now, we've given them a couple of spritzes of perfume (which we spot tested first) which helped a little
keeping them brushed well also helps to cut down any smells
bathing does strip off the coat oils, these are also used for insulation, so too regular a bath in winter and your pooch could be very cold when out
...if they're anything like donkeys anyway, i assume the same will apply as they're both furred