Unless Benson rolls in something unpleasant I never give him a bath! I suspect that I am in a minority and wondered what others may do? Roger
Re: Bath Time I bath Penny on average every 6-8 weeks in the winter, simply because she gets more muddy and we don't go places she can swim. In the summer she will go swimming somewhere at least once a month so I don't both much unless she's particular smelly, or been in the sea - in which case I just shower her down to remove any sand/salt water.
Re: Bath Time My almost 9 year old has never had a bath! Neither has my 3 year old. A good rainfall or swim in pond or lake keeps them clean and of course regular grooming with brush and comb. They don't smell and their coats are gleaming. We don't have a bath in the house, only showers, so heaven knows what would happen if they rolled in something foul. Though writing that reminds me that years ago one of my German Pointers rolled in human poo, all engrained in her collar and all over her! I was walking her on a common at the time and no way could I take her in the car, so took her to an almost dried up pond, about 1" of water which I painstakingly scooped over her until the worst was off. When at home a good wash from a bowl of warm, soapy water.
Re: Bath Time Yeah, pretty much the same. Filthy or smelly = bath. Also, with Obi if he swims in the local lake he needs a bath as he gets itchy otherwise (pollen on the lake surface or something or other....). I also bathe him if someone is going to have to mind him overnight, as a courtesy But, overall, bathing is not a regular occurrence round here. Basically we bathe when it's needed, not to any timetable.
Re: Bath Time I almost never bath Poppy, only if she has got into something unspeakable. Which luckily is not very often. I've also just read that bathing (and swimming) should be avoided during a dog's season, as the vulva is more open and this can lead to an infection.
Re: Bath Time We also don't have a bath in the house - we're shower people. Before I got Willow, I bought everything I thought I'd ever need, including puppy shampoo. I've never used it. Shadow has had a shower after he rolled in goat poo, because a) he was green and b) he stank to high heaven, but I didn't need to use any shampoo. I've heard it's best not because it can dry out their skin. I'm sure, come the summer, we may have some more hosing down to do, because the natural springs on the mountain make it quite marshy in places. Our friend's GR finds them all: Five seconds later:
Re: Bath Time Charlie gets hosed down, or washed down, from a bucket outside to remove mud etc. If fox poo is involved, he is shampooed as well. But that's it. He has never been in the bath and I've no intention of allowing Charlie and a significant amount of water to interact inside my house. His water bowl is bad enough... He goes in the doggy shower after hydro. And swimming in the sea keeps him very clean (he is rinsed with fresh water after it though).
Re: Bath Time For mud Riley gets a wipe with a wet cloth and then a brush when the rest is dry. He's had two proper baths in his (almost) 4 years.
Re: Bath Time Pongo has never had a bath. But he does get hosed down after muddy walks, then dried off with an aquasorb towel before he's let back in the house! He doesn't usually get intimate with anything TOO smelly. Except, of course, for his famous excursion to the farmer's slurry pond : :-[ :'(
Re: Bath Time Mira has been in the bath once (which is once more than either of us!) for an extreme fox poo event! General muck and more minor fox poo transgressions are dealt with by hose (and shampoo for poo) and a rub down.
Re: Bath Time Glad to hear that the majority have the same view as myself, in that dogs should only be washed when smelly!. I also complete a monthly report for Dogslife, a university-led research programme which looks into diseases in Labradors. One of the questions asked is when was Benson last bathed and the reason for doing so is to find out if there is any correlation with the amount of bathing (and whether any products are used when bathing) and any dermatological related ailments dogs may develop; there are some anecdotal but unproven suggestions that bathing could influence these ailments, which the research is keen to prove or disprove. Roger
Re: Bath Time My dog is in Dogs Life but we haven't been asked about bathing and only fill in our form once every three months. I guess they just select some Labs for different research.
Re: Bath Time Untitled by Elly Gold, on Flickr Does everyone agree she needs a bath. This is Cassie after todays walk. At one point she was black.
Re: Bath Time Oh my word Cassie! I am sure she will look beautiful after her mudpack... ;D We have never bathed our "Benson" Being chocolate I hate to think how muddy he really gets at times..! We just stand him by the outside tap and hose him off. We did have to stick Casper in the bath once...he was indescribable and stank to high heaven..lord knows what he had been rolling in... :
Re: Bath Time I suspect that, if Charlie wasn't brown, he'd look like that most of the time....actually, given how often I have to wash the sofa throws, I'm sure he does.
Re: Bath Time If I had to bathe Maisie every time she rolled in something gross , she would be bathed everyday :!!!! She gets the outside tap and Cowboy Magic (thank you Mags!).
Re: Bath Time Went swimming in the lake today; she goes about once a week. I did give Chepi a shower once; she went upstairs for it, I stood her in the bath and gave her a warm shower and she quite liked it. No shampoo. We haven't done it since. I have also bought a sort of curry comb to get dry mud off but haven't needed to yet.
Re: Bath Time I'm not going to say it out loud for fear of it getting across the lambie network or something....but thus far Bella has not done any xxxxing to necessitate a bath. However, when we brought her home as a wee pup - she was a smelly Belly - so she got a quick warm water bath with Dawn dish soap (available in the US and not the UK I'm told). A few times she has insisted on hopping into the shower WITH me...for warm rain I like to say....but that's just her being a silly goof and wanting to be wherever I am... My last girl Izzy - she was a roller... : We either went swimming, used a hose, or into the bath tub for warm water and Dawn dish soap depending on the time of year, and complexity of the stench...
Re: Bath Time Sandy paws get the hose over them after every walk and he gets a full hose down when he's been swimming.Dexter goes to the groomers about 3 times a year....this usually is dictated by when his claws /pantaloons need a trim ...or we have non doggy people coming to stay .....like next week when my brother and his family arrive :
