Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:09 am Post subject: Dog Bathing?
Hey Everyone
I'm a totally new dog owner & so please excuse me if this questions is inappropriate...
I want to know about bathing my lab... What is your opinion? Is it a done thing? We have a large garden & he gets pretty muddy & smelly if i don't bath him. I also like to bath him with flea & tick shampoo to keep them at bay...
Are there any rights & wrongs with dog bathing?
____________ Loving Jetson, born in December 2010. Have a daughter born in January 2010. Work from home running my own business.
I do bath mine, but probably no more than once or twice a year and that's usually just to get rid of the smell if one of them has been in season. Mud dries and brushes off and thankfully none of mine roll in stinky fox poo or dead things.
It's not usually advisable to bath them too frequently as it destroys the natural oils in their skin and fur. I find if mine get a bit stinky, a quick swim in a clean river, or a bit of a hose down, usually is enough to freshen them up.
I generally bath a puppy a few times when they are wee just to get them used to the idea that its not a scary prospect.
Other than that as Jules said unless they've rolled in a dead thing I tend to just leave them. Dirt falls off a lab very easily.
As far as flea and tick shampoo, I've no experience of them. I tend only to treat for fleas if I was to see them. Never have seen them, so don't treat! I use Advantix for ticks 2 or three times over the tick season as it were. I've only used it once so far this year. I tend to first use it when locally people start to talk about seeing them. I generally don't use it after the weathers cooled and we've had a good frost.
____________
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I don't bath mine as such...if they are muddy they get hosed of legs, a quick towel dry and come inside. If heaven forbid they had rolled they get sprayed off with a bit of hibiscrub on the area.
Probably twice a year they get the works (I don't like to do it more because they have good protective oils in their coat). I used a hose and do it outside - I again use hibiscrub shampoo stuff (the stuff the vets use) I find it does wonders for their coat and it does not make them smell odd, it is quite neutral and kind to the skin.
I bath Sam when he gets muddy or stinky more when he was a pup and was ill or something. I would just make sure you either only use water or a dog shampoo don't use human stuff or you could make them itchy or sore. When I say bath though I generally mean 'wash with water' usually outside either hose or rinse with a jug/bowl of water or a baby bath/paddling pool filled with water which he just plays about in/with I don't mean actually in the bath. He's been in a real bath twice and once that was an accident because he got in to test some bubbles - he doesn't go upstairs in our other house so when we were at our new bungalow I think he was a bit intrigued as to what the big thing filled with warm water and bubbles was! He loved it though, wouldn't get out.
Quite a good & easy way to wash legs off after a muddy walk is before you go fill a 2L pop bottle with water and put a sports cap off a bottle of water or sports drink in place of the usual top then you can squirt the water directly at the legs and it all rinses off nicely, quick towel off and hey presto clean doggy. (Doesn't work on humans though...unless you only wear shorts and flip flops )
same here - a hose down in the garden after a muddy walk.
They only get shampooed when they roll and I need to remove the smell/germs! Moss's right shoulder gets shampooed a couple of times a week
I think the last time I bathed Jack was about 3/4 years ago, but he is always in and out of the sea or lakes.
I just give him a good brush once a week
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
I have'nt given Mischa a bath either, the odd hose down though and when she found a really stinky sillage heap [think thats what it was called] she was black, head to toe horror.
Did bath our new boy, he was in a sorry state when he arrived, we left him till the next day when he had settled, we found a huge plastic storage bin in the garage and filled it with warm water, and he stood still in it for ages while we lathered him up and massaged all the stinky matted hair away. He was so patient and he really felt better for it, as his tail did not stop wagging from then on .
Normally I would not bath the dogs, but if they are looking a bit dull or wiffy, they have a good rub over with there damp towel to freshen up, they queue up for that .
Seriously, thats about all mine get. If, like it often is in winter, a very muddy shoot, when we've finished I'll chuck a dummy across the brook that runs beside where we park and send my dog across for it. I always keep a towelling coat in my Landrover, so I give her a rub down then stick the coat on her to keep her warm whilst talking and counting the bag, and by the time I get home she's dry and as warm as toast.
The nearest thing to a bath mine get is a wash down on a hot day to cool them off.
We are in and out the river quite a bit and that seems to keep Frankie on the right side of smelly - however, I keep a packet of baby wipes at the front door and in the car and give paws (and anything else) a quick rub over, or if he has been rolling in something nasty. He smells Johnston-baby fresh!
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horror.
