Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Pooches: How Often do You Bathe Your Dog?

Since we've gotten our pups, we've developed a consistent bathing routine. About every 3 weeks, just before they start smelling like Fritos, we toss them into the tub together where hilarious antics ensue:
At the same time, when I was growing up I think our dogs were washed only once a year.
And it was a huge ordeal.
We have heard that washing pups too frequently can cause skin irritation (though our pups have been fine). And we also know some pups who were like my childhood dogs that get washed on a yearly basis.
And since we get this question a lot, we'll leave it up to you to see what the range of answers are.
So, how often do you wash your dogs?

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17 comments:

hannibal812 said...

When they begin to smell like armpit-bulls. Usually about every 6-8 weeks. Or whenever the white one starts to look yellow or grey.

Anonymous said...

The two guys don't need to be bathed very often - they rarely smell that bad. However, the girl tends to get stinky (she rolls in the grass and dirt a lot) so she gets bathed more often. Although I'm not the one who has that job (I'm just her aunt) so to my mind, she doesn't get a bath as often as she needs one.

Unknown said...

Hilarious that you said "before they smell like fritos"
I'm always saying their feet smell like fritos!
Mine get a bath about once a month unless they have a run in with piles of stuff you find in the country!
Which can be quite often!

Two French Bulldogs said...

We get water boarded every weekend to soothe our allergies
Lily & Edward

Rebelwerewolf said...

We don't have much incentive to wash our dogs. Badger is always clean and doesn't smell. Mushroom will start smelling like fritos a couple of weeks after her bath, but the smell doesn't get worse over time. So we wash our dogs based on whether they've done a messy activity like romping in the mud or going swimming in a fishy-smelling lake. We also get them washed after they are boarded at the doggy daycare. All in all, this amounts to being washed 2-3 times a year.

Anonymous said...

Rufus gets bathed about once a month. And I had a similar situation growing up - our dogs were only bathed when they absolutely NEEDED it, which ended up being about once every six months…if that.

Patty said...

I was always told it was bad for Labrador fur to be washed (with shampoo) often. My two get hosed off pretty regularly (after rolling in dirt or going for a swim in the ocean/pool). But they get a shampoo bath maybe 2 times a year. They don't smell and we do brush them often.

Kelly_g said...

You guys rock for going through that every 3 weeks! Um, we're more like a once every 3-4 months household (unless there has been deer or rabbit or some other horrific animal feces "rolling incident"). Those incidents are dealt with immediately, and usually with lots of degrading comments to the pups, LOL.

Laura said...

Our pit bull is a mix, and we think he has some kind of hound in him, because after two weeks, he has the Fritos smell and needs a bath. Since Henry has white fur with pink skin, my husband affectionately calls him "Stinky Pinky" when bath time is needed. From always having hound type dogs, I find that dachshunds and beagles need frequent baths or your home starts to not be as fresh as you would like. However, our lab mutt and my son's little shih tzu can go a long time without a bath and be just fine. Mr. B and Miss M look adorable in the tub!

Moore8825@gmail.com said...

We try and get CBR a professionally bathed/groomed once a quarter or if his allergies are bad (to soothe his skin - he has special shampoo of that.) But over all we try and brush him every few days really well. He loves the brushing down. His fur is thicker than a regular Staffy mix.

Rachel @ My Two Pitties said...

Though Kaya & Norman do a lot of swimming and rolling in the dirt, they're not stinky dogs. I often think they smell really good after hikes, like eucalyptus, fresh grass and bushes.

Kaya does like to find stinky things to roll in though so that's when she gets bathed, probably once a month. Since Norman started therapy, I bathe him before visits.

They do hate being bathed so I avoid it if possible. Luckily those short coats equal a quick bath though!

A.H. said...

Our dogs get a bath when the smaller one gets really greasy, or I can smell the larger one when he enters the room. Practically, this is every 6 weeks or so. Sometimes we bathe them, but usually they go to a groomer.

chrissylovesyoga said...

What do you bathe your dogs with?

Jacquelin Cangro said...

I brush Reggie every day which helps with tangles and mats, but also keeps the dander down. He is a spaniel and has long-ish fur which seems to take a while to dry. So he gets a bath every 8 weeks.

orange sugar said...

I have a small dachshund who gets dirty easily if she goes outside and it's wet. She also likes to roll around in things. Good thing she is super easy to bathe. I would say she gets a bath at least once a month. The huskies are harder to bathe, they're both overdue for a bath. They probably get one 2-3 times a year.

Minabey said...

I live in a tropical country so it's dusty here. Our dogs get a bath every weekend.

Kirby the Dorkie said...

Every Sunday with our dog friendly Castille shampoo - shiny fur and healthy skin. The fritos smell is said to come from an overgrowth of bacteria.

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