I gave maya so far only once a bath and only because she somehow managed to be covered in her own poo one morning.
She wasnt impressed with the bath (i was the one soaking at the end lol)

I never plan to really bath my dogs in future.
I have heard that it washes the natural oils in the coat away which helps that the dog doesnt smell bad. (but im not sure if i rememberd it right )

Do u bath ur dog?

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my two need bathing cause they roll in stuff often, so you will probably find you will have too if yours are anything like mine, lol. i think bathing them more often is okay nowadays, years ago it was a no no.

Same as you i will only bath my dogs if they get really mucky... otherwise i will just wipe them down or give their legs a quick hose down in the garden.

I guess it depends on the breeds... i had a tiny toy poodle who needed to be shaved every few months and she needed to be bathed quite often cause everything got stuck in her white furr hehe


and yeh i think you are right about it washing the natural oils out, thats why i dont... it also makes abbie get a bit of dry skin for a few days

Thats what i do sometimes...i just take a wet cloth and rub the dirty area
The gsd coat is a bit longer which i think through brushing i should get the dirt out without having have to bath him really.

So far my dogs dont smell....but who knows how long that will last hehe

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my two have double coats and every day they go in three ponds on their walk, they love the water, fox poo, mud, pretty much anything and god knows what they were in recently as they smelt of cheesy milk, sort of a sour smell, lol. they always come in the bathroom , ours is downstairs and if you put the shower on they want to get in,

My Japanese Chin, being mostly white, needs a bath about every 3 mths otherwise she looks quite 'tatty' , and she always gets her food down her front, and this can start to smell if not kept clean.
I think it really depends what breed you have, but ideally I think two or three times a year should be enough, barring accidents ( rolling in STUFF,LOL)
Mary
x

My 10 year old heinz has never had a proper bath in the whole of her life, she just dont smell. She has had a quick hose down when she has rolled herself in poo!!

My pup was a bit whiffy when she came, so she did get a bath. She is brushed every day though and that seems to keep her nice.

I will only bathe when necessary.

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Build your own Blingee

I do shower my dog occasionally, I have to be careful what I use which is Johnson's baby shampoo because he has sensitive skin.

Washing a dog too much will strip the natural oils way causing dry skin and a dull coat but the oils not only protect the skin and coat it helps keep it water proof.

I always shower him when he returns from kennels because its a farm and he stinks. He will be going to kennels in November if he gets mucky after his shower I use doggy wet wipes or baby unscented wet wipes.

Sue

NB I must add he's a SBT so he has short hair and easy to maintain

LOL last time I bathed the hounds I did my back in and was off work for 4 weeks.. I was stuck in the bathroom.. You are right about natural oils..
But my mum said Roxy smelt funny when she went to hers so bought some wipes and wiped her with them daily which wipes the muck off and she smelt nice..

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Having a white coated breed we really over did it with bathing to start with. Dirt was like a magnet and bathing seemed the only option, we were told we were over doing it thats why he was getting so dirty, didn't make a lot of sense to me but we stopped and they were right.... dirt doesn't seem to stick anymore and he looks whiter than ever. We're finally letting his own oils do what they are supposed to do

Fortunately Dalmatians don't tend to have that doggy smell so that isn't an issue.

So I'd defo say only when absolutely neccersary unless you are going to show etc