Bathing dogs

[Night Elf]

How often does a dog need to be bathed?

[Dandelion]

Depends on the dog, the dog's living arrangements (indoor/outdoor/mixed), and the time of year IMO.

 

We wash our dog every 4-6 weeks (more often in the summer - less in the winter).  He's an Anatolian Shepherd/Lab mix and spends equal amounts of time indoors/outdoors. 

[Pawz4me]

Short answer . . . as often (or as little) as necessary.

 

It really depends on a lot of things -- how long the coat is, whether or not there is a tendency for tangling and matting, how dirty the dog gets when it goes outside, whether or not the dog has allergies or other issues for which frequent bathing can be helpful, etc.

 

In general (IMO) -- anywhere from once a week to once every few months.

 

And no, bathing a dog frequently isn't particularly drying to the skin or coat as long as you use a good quality shampoo and rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.  There was some truth in that statement decades ago when all dog grooming products were harsh and drying.  But it's no longer true.

 

ETA:  As evidence that I follow my own advice -- My Shih Tzu is bathed every week.  He's low to the ground, has a long flowing coat that tends to tangle if not kept very clean, and he sleeps on the bed.  My Brittany is bathed every two or three months.  He has fairly short hair (especially on his feet) so he doesn't absorb a lot of dirt just from walking around outside like the Shih Tzu does.  And he has little to no tendency to get tangles or mats.  However, when his allergies are flaring he sometimes gets bathed every other day for weeks at a time.

[JustEm]

I bath my dogs when they smell bad.  They are indoor dogs mostly.  We have a fenced in backyard so in the nice weather they like staying out for a while. They usually only get bathed once every 3 or 4 months unless they roll in something or get muddy

[TammyinTN]

Ella Bella gets a bath once a month.  She's not smelly, just her white coat starts to look less white. ;)

 

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

 

I have an airedale who is an indoor dog, sleeps at my feet, with free access to all parts of the house but the kitchen.  I like her to be clean and good smelling. 

 

We bathe her about 1x/month but sometimes she needs it a wee bit oftener depending on what she's been rolling in or if we're having a tough flea time. 

[UncleEJ]

Like PP have said, it really does depend on the dog. I have an Akita and she very rarely needs bathed. She is ten years old and has had a half dozen bathes in her lifetime. Akitas are a special case though, her coat resembles cat fur in a lot of ways. She doesn't have any dog odor ever and her coat is very thick. It takes a good eight hours to dry if she is soaked to the bone. When I've had her groomed she has to stay all day in the dryer and still comes home quite damp. She also cleans herself (insofar as she can reach) very meticulously, I'm talking cleaning her face with her paws like a cat. Lastly, she blows her entire coat twice a year, it's like a built in bath! We are very lucky she doesn't require bathing because she likes it about as much as a cat and weighs 95 pounds!

[dirty ethel rackham]

I have a labradoodle who gets bathed about every two weeks.  He is an inside dog, but walks 3-5 miles a day.  After those two weeks, he just starts to smell bad.  He smells particularly bad a couple of days after he has had flea-tick meds. 

[zoobie]

Yes, it totally depends on the dog and the dog's lifestyle. I don't like ours to have even the faintest doggy scent because they sleep in our room and sit on the couch. There's no set time frame. Our golden retriever likes to dig, but unless it's super cold, we can now just make her jump in the pool (the foot deep area) instead of having to full out bathe her which is nice. Our old dog (shepherd mix, longish hair) would kill moles and save them to roll around in once they got ripe. That was delightful... Our newest pup is a mutt of unknown heritage with fur that seems like a chamois. Lol. When he's followed his big dumb sister in the mud, we can just wipe him off with a wet wipe. We've never had a high maintenance dog who required professional grooming. Our Goldens have done well with brushing and home baths. If it's too cold to do it outside and it's not unplanned, we take them to a local pet store with a DIY doggie wash.

 

If the dog is oddly funky smelling, it could be the food or a medical issue.

[arnold]

We have rough collies that live inside. They get a bath every 3 months or so, or if they start to stink which doesn't hardly ever happen.

[RoughCollie]

My dog gets bathed every 6 weeks or so by his groomer.  That person is not me!  When I do it, it takes about 3 hours, from start to finish, including chasing around a sopping wet dog who somehow turns the bathroom floor into a lake, and then zooms around the house to avoid being blow-dried and combed out.  Don't ask me how he gets out of the bathroom.  Probably when someone opens the door to ask if I need help.

 

He avoids the bathroom now anyway, ever since he sat right next to me when I was cleaning the tub, and I accidentally knocked a 1/2 gallon of warm water onto him.  He swears it was on purpose, but it wasn't.  The good news is he doesn't jump into the shower with anyone any more.

[Lolly]

Ours gets one when she escapes (bit of a Houdini) and comes home covered in all sorts of nastiness that she likes to roll in. If she doesn't escape, maybe every six months or so. I do usually have her bathed before I pick her up if she is kenneled. Guess that is once or twice a year. Or, if she has been in the lake with us in the summer, she gets a bath then.( Or, at least a rinse in the hose.)

[Spryte]

We do it every two weeks per the allergist's instructions. It makes a big difference in asthma flares, and enables us to keep our dogs despite allergies. We do notice that they start to smell right at the two week mark, so it's obviously nessecary. We use a mobile groomer.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

Just adding . . . We have our dog groomed each season or so. She gets a bath, trim, et c.

 

I bathe her myself the rest of the time. I take her to the self service doggie wash. It's a groomer and shop but they have several rooms with an elevated tub with a hose and nozel and a long hose for drying. Mosr important of all, they do the clean up! It's less expensive than having it done but, obviously, more than doing it at home. However, it is definitely worth it for me.

[Night Elf]

I have 2 short haired dogs. One is a dachshund. The other a beagle mix. They don't spend a lot of time outside. Sometimes the dachshund digs but i do wash his paws when he comes inside. It's been months since they've been bathed. I do have a nice shampoo. I guess I'll bathe them tomorrow just because it's been so long.

[J-rap]

I've always had big dogs and baths weren't easy!  Still, anytime they smelled I'd bathe them, which was maybe 4 times/year at the most.  My most recent dog was completely freaked out about so many things, I couldn't bathe him at all.  I would have had to put him to sleep to bathe him.  But, he would tolerate sitting out in the back yard while I poured pitchers of water over him and sudsed him up and rinsed him.  But, given where we live, that could only happen May - Sept., so that's when he had his baths.  :)

[Scarlett]

Aim for once a week.....insist on every two weeks. She is inside dog.

[sunnyday]

It also depends on what they eat. When my dog (indoor-only Border collie mix) is eating a top-quality diet, she doesn't need a bath unless she rolls in something. She smells good and her fur is soft, month after month. Lately she eats a second-quality diet, and she's starting to be a bit funky and smell of dog. I've been thinking of taking her to the self-serve dog wash this week.

[AlmiraGulch]

Mine are bathed at least once a week, sometimes more.  I do use oatmeal-based, high quality shampoo, and a great conditioner.

 

I can't take dog smell. It's just gross to me.  And my dogs aren't particularly smelly (more so than others, I mean), and don't spend a lot of time outside.  I just need them to smell nice.  They are allowed on my furniture, so if they are remotely stinky, so is my furniture.

 

One is an Olde English Bulldogge and the other is 1/2 Shar-pei and 1/2 English Bulldog.  

[Desert Strawberry]

My rat terrier-Chihuahua mix gets a bath when she's smelly or muddy. Once every week or two in the summer (hot weather=stinky dog). Once every 6-8 weeks in the winter.

She has sensitive skin, so I try to avoid washing if possible.

[dirty ethel rackham]

It also depends on what they eat. When my dog (indoor-only Border collie mix) is eating a top-quality diet, she doesn't need a bath unless she rolls in something. She smells good and her fur is soft, month after month. Lately she eats a second-quality diet, and she's starting to be a bit funky and smell of dog. I've been thinking of taking her to the self-serve dog wash this week.

 

While it is possible that lower quality food can contribute to smell, our dog eats a very high quality food (lots of food intolerances so we have to feed a high quality EXPENSIVE food.)  He still starts to smell after two weeks.  He gets brushed regularly, gets teeth brushed, etc. 

[Hikin' Mama]

I actually wash my Weimy several times a week, but without soap. I just put him in the tub and hose all the mud off him. The reason is that I run with him where there is often mud or dirty water and he is a house dog. So when we come in from the run he gets cleaned off. I save soap for the couple times he's rolled in something nasty. :(

 

Our other dog, a Schnauzer, gets bathed before haircuts, which is maybe every 6-8 weeks. When I take him out, we stay on the road and he doesn't really get dirty like my other dog.

[sunnyday]

While it is possible that lower quality food can contribute to smell, our dog eats a very high quality food (lots of food intolerances so we have to feed a high quality EXPENSIVE food.)  He still starts to smell after two weeks.  He gets brushed regularly, gets teeth brushed, etc. 

 

Breed probably contributes too, and all the indoor-outdoor issues mentioned. We're feeding Orijen right now, but kibble just doesn't keep her teeth clean or her doggy smell at bay like fresh food does.