Hey all, I will be getting my lab puppy at the very beginning of summer and was curious about how to clean her after swimming. I know you aren't suppose to bathe a dog too often (or so I've read)... But I live on a river and am constantly swimming or playing in the water and hope my pup will be joining me. Should I give her a bath after every time she plays in the water or should i just wash her off with the hose/clean water. Also any tips to help prevent her from drinking the river water since it isn't the cleanest water around? And finally, are there any other safety measures I should be taking after she swims? Thanks!
We live next to the Thames in London. Homer swims nearly every day sometimes more than a few times each day. After a walk We just give him a good rub down with a towel. The river is a lot cleaner than it used to be but occasionally there are sewage spills so then I'll hose him down and then a towel rub before he's allowed inside. If it's a muddy day I'll even encourage a river swim to get rid of the mud. I probably only give him a shampoo bath two or three times a year if friends let us know he's getting smelly. As the river is quite strong we throw the ball only about 2 meters out and only a tennis ball sixe that is easy for him to grab hold of, Hubbys not allowed to play with his rugby ball any where near the river as he can't get hold of it and just pushes it out further. Homer will take himself off for a little swim for fun or to cool down but stays near the bank, usually when I don't want him wet. We do have to be careful as H is a complete water baby and will dive into any water so we have to be very cautious when out and about in new places. We've had a few scary moments over the years. As a puppy we took him to where the bank is quite shallow to paddle about on a long lead.
Holly swims a lot in ponds and rivers. Swimming is great exercise for Labs as they're natural swimmers, and it works the muscles without having any weight on them. We sometimes rinse H with clean water after a swim if the pond was a bit smelly. We rarely give her a bath as the soap tends to remove natural oils from her coat. It's difficult to stop a Lab ingesting the water it swims in. It might be worth checking with other local dog owners to see if their dogs had any problems after swimming there, or maybe ask a vet about specific risks.
Molly won't swim (odd dog) but wades and puts her head underwater in the sea and rivers numerous times a week. I usually just rub her dry (synthetic chamois is brilliant) but if she's very muddy /smelly I slosh her over with a bucket of water. I have never bathed her.
I hose mine down outside, I never bath them as it strips their natural oils. I use Cowboy Magic for any stinky rolling https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/eju/Cowb...8&qid=1492508827&sr=8-5&keywords=cowboy+magic ...
We never do anything but towel them off after a swim, unless it is really dirty or salt water. If it is just a little muddy fresh water we usually just towel them off, and the mud comes off as it drys. If they are in the ocean we try to find a freshwater stream for them to swim in before we go back to the car. (most Pacific Northwest beaches have freshwater streams fairly often). Saltwater followed by fresh is as close to a bath as our girls usually get. Our dogs have learned not to drink salt water, but they think most fresh water is fine, and hopefully it is not too bad. I'm not sure where you are, but we have to worry about blue/green algae, since it can be very toxic. Gardia is concern but it is easily treated.
I do not let my dogs near water that I do not know is clean. So I check water reports for beaches etc. and if they are not good enough for humans to swim in (and swallow water as a child might do) they are not good enough for my dogs. I check the water reports for ponds on the Common where I walk and so on. I think you should treat water for dogs like water for a child - if you wouldn't let children play in it, then don't let dogs play in it.
Harley hates the hose, so after a swim in the sea she gets washed down with water only, but in the shower! After swimming in most streams / rivers, I don't wash her off. I won't let her in water unless it's ok. On our normal walk today, I noticed the stream had diesel / oil or similar in it so wouldn't let Harley in. I agree with JulieT above regarding not letting them in water unless it's ok. Harley has occasionally jumped in water that is covered in algae!.......on these occasions I have out her in the shower and used dog shampoo, but it's not something that happens very often.
Thanks for all the information! The river is one of the many offshoots of the Chesapeake bay, and is pretty clean but occasionally the water quality will get low and they'll issue an alert to stay out of it for a little while. We swim in it all the time but it has pretty distinct and bad smell so I'll just go with the towel wipe down and maybe try some cowboy magic for the smell and see how that works
I`m lucky in having the sea and moorland rivers close to our home . Sam doesn't swim in the sea, he just messes around at the edge but he adores river swimming in the river Fowey . I don't rinse him off , just a good rub with a towel but if I was unsure of the water quality , I wouldn't let him in at all .
I give Finnster a bath once every 5-6 weeks. He goes in the bay all the time but I don't really spray him down after....maybe I should? He's always pretty much dry by the time I get home and it doesn't seem to affect him. He LOVES water retrieves and I feel like it gives him a sense of accomplishment so I try to do it as often as I can.
I hose Molly down after she's swam in lakes or ponds as they tend to make her smelly. Also her legs and belly tend to need a hose after most walks as she gets so muddy! We have a hot outside tap and I think she quite likes it. Rivers and the sea leave her much cleaner so I just rub her down.
