In Zofia’s thread about giving a reluctant dog a bath, several posters’ responses suggest that their pets are bathed only a few times a year. This boggles my mind. Don’t they reek? Don’t your hands get dirt when you pet a dog that hasn’t been bathed in six months? (I realize this sounds judgmental, which isn’t really my intention. I’m just truly surprised that people can live with dogs that haven’t been bathed in months.) Our three mutts get baths every time we go to the beach, so every week or two. They almost never go more than three weeks without a bath, and rarely more than two. (The frequency doesn’t change when we don’t live by the ocean.) They also lounge on our bed and couch, so they need to be clean-ish.
Unless she has rolled in something that stinks, about once or twice every season. I remember reading somewhere that it was not good to bathe a dog too much. If she starts to reek, she gets a bath, if not, she doesn’t. IMHO, a certain amount of dirt comes with having a dog.
Bath day is my last off day of every month, or failing that at least sometime within that last week. With 8 critters around things get foul pretty quickly so you gotta stay on top of things. (We also do an extra bath before individual vet visits.)
He gets a salon bath, nail trim, and clipping (very short) about every six weeks. In between I’ll bathe him at home twice-ish. It’s usually every two weeks, depending on his level of funk.
You guys should mention what kind of dogs you have. My boston terrier rarely needs a bath unless he goes outside and finds mud or something stinky to roll in. As long as he doesn’t smell like ass and isn’t going to leave mud on my floors, he doesn’t need a bath. For dust and debris wiping him down with a towel when he comes in seems to be a decent stopgap. Then again, he’s got short hair that’s pretty easy to keep relatively clean.
He maybe gets a bath about every 2 months or so. More frequently the more time he spends outdoors.
I don’t have a dog presently, but I’ve had a number of German Shepherds. They’d usually get a bath twice a year or so, unless they got into something that made them smell. Since I usually boarded my dogs for a weekend or so at a time three or four times a year, I often just had the boarding kennel shampoo them the day I picked them up. It was only a small marginal cost, and more than worth it for the convenience.
More important than baths for my GSDs was regular brushing, in large part to keep the shedding to an acceptable level. Maybe I was just indulging in wishful thinking, but it seemed that the brushing removed the loose hairs, and the dirt came off with the hairs.
I have a very cute Lab mix dog that sleeps with me, so she gets a bath every two weeks, unless the weather that weekend sucks (too cold or rainy), where she gets a free pass. So sometimes she can go up to a month without a bath.
If she rolls in stink she does get either a quick sponge bath or a full bath.
Unless we have been on a particularly mucky walk, our border collie does not need a bath at all. She smells pretty good most of the time, and never gets that doggy smell, so it’s just a case of washing mud off when it gets too much.
The retriever-collie cross, on the other hand, has that oily coat that smells doggy about a week after a bath, so she’s tortured with shampoo much more regularly. Not as regularly as we would like though, as it’s just too much hassle and you kind of get used to the smell.
My rat terrier gets a bath about once a month in the summer and closer to two months in the winter. He generally does not get a funk about him (or perhaps our house reeks of dog and we don’t realize it) but his coat does look nicer after a bath. For some reason I always dread giving him a bath but it is ridiculously quick - five minutes and we’re done.
2 goldens.
How often I bathe them depends on a number of factors.
One factor is how warm is it out. It is a lot easier to wash them and have them dry outside, than inside in the winter. We got a hose and set up our laundry room to make it easier to bathe them there than in our shower.
I am able to cut down on the number of baths necessary by brushing/combing them regularly (nearly every day). They can get pretty dirty, but when it dries a surprising amount cill comb out.
My understanding is that too much shampooing will dry out their skin. So I hose them off with water more frequently than I lather them up.
A lot depends on whether they have been rolling in something particularly disgusting. I HATE it when they get some stank in their collars that won’t come out!
All things considered, tho, they probably average a bath a month. We’ve asked many people and have been assured that neither they nor our house stinks. They are not allowed on furniture.
When/if I every buy/build my dream home, the one luxury I will want is a shower in the garage/basement/mudroom dedicated to washing the dogs.
I have a Husky hybridand a Husky/Lab. Neither get baths unless they REALLY need it. In the summer they play in the river about once a week, so that takes care of that. In the winter if they get dirty they get a rub down with a damp cloth and we clean their feet. Neither smell, ever.
The Husky hybrid is timid around water, so she only goes in up to the top of her legs. I think I’ve had to give her a bath a half dozen times in her seven years. She cleans herself up pretty well.
The husky/lab gets dirty, but he doesn’t ever smell.
I have an affenpinscher and a brussel griffin. The affen gets bathed twice per week and the brussels gets bathed once per week. The affen happens to be a bit stinkier by nature for some reason. I use vet approved baby shampoo and conditioner so their skin doesn’t get dried out. The are brushed daily and neither one sheds. The go to the “puppy spa” ever two months for a shaping but I cut and clip in between especially their butts and hair on their feet. I also wipe their feet and their butts with baby wipes whenever we go for walks.
I have slight OCD when it comes to cleanliness and I know this amount of bathing isn’t normal or necessary. I just can not stand the dog smell or dirt in my home.
The benefits (IMO perhaps the ONLY one!) of small dogs!
We recently went to a dog show. One vendor had a set of tubs/showers. The top of the line model had a door that opened like those easy-entry tubs they market to old people. Then you stepped on a pedal and it pneumatically raised to waist level. A steal at only $3900! 10% off if you bought it at the show!
I have three dogs. Two of them get bathed once a week, because we take them to the dog park and they get wet and muddy form swimming. The third one is my old Sheltie who can barely get around, and absolutely refuses to stand up when I bathe him. He gets brushed out regularly, and doesn’t really stink. He got a bath last summer, with a puppy cut to be cooler for the heat. I don’t think I’ll put him through that again this year. It’s so stressful, and he’s getting so old.
I have a golden and just like Dinsdale and his goldens, it depends.
FTR I gave a glowing review of this doggy bathtub in Zsofia’s thread. I have it set up as a dog washing station in my basement and I love it.
Dolly has a tendency to find the dirtiest, blackest, muddiest puddles whenever we go out (or occasionally the dirty, black, muddy puddle that is my ditch) so she gets washed down whenever she lies down in one of those.
She also has a problem where no matter what I do or what shampoo I use or what method I use, she is incredibly itchy after a bath for about 24 hours. Like, I can’t stand to look at her sad little face while she scratches in agony itchy. So unless she is dirty from mud or stinky enough to smell, I am reluctant to give her a bath.
I saw that tub in an internet search, and thought it looked like a great solution. How sturdy is it? Does your golden just jump up into it? I saw they also sold a ramp.
Looked like with the ramp and a nice hose and sprayer you could have a pretty tricked out dog washing station for $350 or so. But before committing we decided to see how it was with just a hose…
Mine came with a ramp. We got it directly from the maker’s Web site - I see that the ramp comes separately now. Dolly does indeed walk right up the ramp. She loooooves her bath.
It’s very sturdy. At her most she was 90 lbs. and there was no problem. I see it’s rated for 175#. One time we had her and my brother’s dog in there at once (Dolly was just too jealous watching her cousin get a bath) and that was about 130# together.
The sprayer head is quite handy because the head itself has an on/off switch. You don’t have to leave the tub to turn off the water.
of small dogs!
