When to give first bath and how? And how to keep him clean untill then?

Hi, i have a 8 week old puppy and i want to know when can i give him first bath? And how?
Also how to keep him clean and odour free till then?

 

There is no real need to bath a puppy, or a dog - unless to remove mud or something like that or as a treatment for something (eg allergies). It doesn't keep them odour free. Labradors smell like Labradors - they have a powerful "doggy" smell. It can't be washed off.

A healthy 8 week old puppy should smell quite delicious without a bath. So if your puppy smells "bad" or unlike a puppy, then you might want to consider why that may be?

 

Dogs keep themselves clean for the most part so, as Julie says, washing isn't generally necessary. My four year old lab has probably had two full baths and various spot washes as and when needed in his whole four years. I brush him regularly and that's about it

 

Hi thanks for your reply.
Yes he smells like a puppy only and nothing more but since its my first pet i dont know much thats why asked.
So anything else to keep his coat healthy like brushing or so??

 

Hi ok thanks
Hez my first baby thats why i dont know much about dogs. So even a sponge is not necessary just to keep him clean??
Also what else can i do to make his coat healthy

 

You could buy a puppy brush, and get him used to being groomed. Take it really slowly, lots of treats for being ok with the brush approaching him, touching him, first stroke etc. When he gets a bit older, it's handy to be able to give them a good brush outside once a week or so to remove all the old hair - stops you having to clean up in the house so much.

 

Welcome - I have an eight week old puppy too

Dogs don't need baths. Baths strip their natural oils, which causes the dog to become smelly, then their owner thinks they need more baths and so on and so on.

Tatze has never had a bath, I hose her down outside when she's had a muddy walk - which is all that's needed.

Keep their beds clean and there will be no smell.

Here they are, Tatze is shiny, clean and doesn't smell at all. Twiglet just smells of delicious puppy!

 

Thanks

 

Hi,
Your babies are adorable
Thanks for your reply. I have his soft bedding on which he sleeps few times as he loves the floor more
I have washed his bedding once 1 week back - how often should i wash that? And is it ok to machine wash it? Is it safe to use same machine for his bedding and our clothes??


Also he sleeps in our room only is this ok?? As he keep on waking up after few hours and keeps on trying to climb up our bed

 

It's fine to use the same washing machine - I do all our pet beds once a week. We use one of these to wash pet bedding, or our stuff gets covered in hairs!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002Q57JN8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

It's entirely up to you where he sleeps, but be sure that he will very soon be ON the bed with you if he's in your room. You also need a safe place to leave him when you go out for a while - do you have a crate or puppy pen?

 

Ok so you wash his bedding keeping that in the laundry bag - right?
I'll buy one too thanks
Yes he do have a crate with boundaries big enough to keep him inside and the crate is in our room only. And he already wants to sit or sleep with us in our bed. I think i better keep him away in another room but since he cant get out of crate this makes me little nervous as how he will wee or poop if he needs to in the night or will he be able to sleep on his own without our presence now as its been one and a half week he's sleeping like this(due to certain reasons he needed to be with us before time)

So this is why iam little scared to keep him away in another room during the night.

 

I keep an old duvet cover for washing my two dogs bedding in ,stuff it all inside the duvet and off we go, keeps the hairs from getting into the machine . My four year old Lab has only ever had one disastrous shower ( we don't have a bath, just a walk in shower ) he hated it, so its a swim in the river regularly for him , I don't mind the smell of dogs at all

 

What is a delicious puppy smell? At 8 weeks Molly stank. I think her eleven litter mates peeing and pooing on her was responsible for the pong.

She hasn't been washed since the day after she arrived 19 months ago. She doesn't smell. Mud doesn't seem to stick to her fur, once it's dry it seems to fall off.

If only I could train the mud and hair to fall off in the garden I would be a happy woman

 

My late rott/lab Maggie, who looked and acted more like her lab father, had one bath sometime the first year of her life and the 10 years after that a good brushing and a wet wash cloth took care of the dirt she got. My 5 month old yellow lab, Cornelia, is following in Maggie's paws and surviving fine on brushing and wash cloth. Although she occassionally gives herself her own bath (albeit muddy) by trying to jump in my whisky barrel water gardens

 

I've always let each of my puppies sleep in my bedroom while they're little - I've never had to endure any night time squawking. With previous puppies I then moved them downstairs after a few weeks, once they were confident enough to sleep alone. My current dog, Molly (nearly 2 years), has somehow gravitated (or should that be anti-gravitated? ) back upstairs. She lies with me on the bed while I have a read but at 'lights out' time I send her back to her own bed in my room. She never jumps up in the night or morning.
Different people like different arrangements - just go with what suits you and your pup.

I agree about not bathing, but do get him used to being touched all over and having ears and teeth checked.

 

We gave Murphy a little dip after a week, but mainly to get him used to being on a strange surface (the bath) and the noise of a shower and stuff, it was more socialisation than anything really - but he did wiff a bit as he came home with a blanket that had his mum's scent and the other puppies scent (and by scent I probably mean wee!) - so he had a little dip and enjoyed it. Cant see any call for further bathing though, unless he takes to rolling in anything, but if he does I'll probably use one of those dog wipes rather than a full bath!

 

Thanks for that link Boogie; have ordered one of those just now.
My dog only has dips in a river or stream (never forced to go in) and rarely in cold weather. She doesn't sleep in my room but I think it's fine if you manage to get some sleep. I wouldn't let her/him on the bed while small in case of falling and being hurt.

 

Thank you guys for your suggestions i think i too will keep him in my room only as his toilet area is a balcony attached to my room plus i'll be sure he's fine through the night
That laundry bag is not available in India I guess but i liked that duvet idea and will follow that!
So as of now i only gave him a slight sponge bath today just to keep him little clean

He keeps doing mistakes of using room as his wee poop space and i hope i can make this habbit disappear soon !' Fingers crossed!!

 

That habit probably won't just disappear. I think you'll have to train your puppy to wee in the right place. Look at the articles about this on The Labrador Site.

 

Yeah i read articles and trying to avoid mistakes but its taking time as sometimes i forget to take him out and he wees in the wrong places PLUS that smell really didnt go with normal cleaners and expensive ones i cant afford - so is there any homemade cleaner that i can make and use??