How Often To Bathe

[twodoggies2001]

How often is too often? I have a friend who has a westie cross is very itchy and smelly, according to her. She feeds the dog kibble and I'm not sure of the brand. Here's the thing. She baths the dog once a week. Personally, I think that's far too often and have told her so. The itching could be because of food allergy, not to mention over bathing and drying out of the skin. She refuses to try different feeding methods, and leaves a bowl full of kibble out for the dog and won't change the bath frequency either. The poor boy is miserable. Any thoughts on this.

[APBT]

once a week is to much, mabey once a month or every 3 weeks if you have to. check what type of shampoo she is using aswell.

[smooch]

I bath Smooch generally at least once a week, sometimes more but only with conditioner. any longer than that everything gets a doggy smell. I have had no problems in drying the skin out using just conditioner.

[Nevafollo]

Once a week washing isnt too much. Westies can have bad skin, so could imagine maybe her westie cross has something similar. Id be looking at diet and environmental allergies. She needs to wake upto hersellf and start trying to solve the problem instead of sticking her head in the sand as its only going to get worst most likely then she may have a very expensive vet bill!!!

ETA my bet is food allergy...

Edited April 18, 2010 by sammy_ballerina

[oakway]

Most show dogs are bathed weekly, well mine are anyway. There is nothing wrong with their coats'.

Firstly dogs dogs do not have pores in their skin. Dogs sweat through their mouth and feet.

If the dog smells you are quite right it may be coming the diet. Needs to see a vet. The dog may have a

yeast infection.

If they shampoo their dog see if you can get them to use a good quality dog shampoo and conditioner.

Some Westies are prone to skin problems so the diet can play a large part in the problem.

[Gretel]

Bathing, if an appropriate shampoo is used, can probably help this dog a lot. Yes they really do need to find out what is causing the problem and help the poor dog. If a decent vet looked at the dog they would probably recommend a shampoo to help plus some other treatment. Some medicated shampoos are used more often than weekly to help the skin.

[westiemum]

Yep Sammy, got it in one. Tell her to get the dog off the **%%$# dry food, get some moisture through raw food into the diet and through to the skin (dry skin is almost always itchy), go to a good groomer once every 6-8 weeks. One bath between groomer visits if necessary with a good quality shampoo like Groomers EPO (she's not using human shampoo is she?) - although you can use this more often if needs be.

BTW, if its a Freedom Kennels westie cross then she's probably in bigger strife than she realises...

Once a week washing isnt too much. Westies can have bad skin, so could imagine maybe her westie cross has something similar. Id be looking at diet and environmental allergies. She needs to wake upto hersellf and start trying to solve the problem instead of sticking her head in the sand as its only going to get worst most likely then she may have a very expensive vet bill!!!

ETA my bet is food allergy...

Edited April 18, 2010 by westiemum

[twodoggies2001]

Yep Sammy, got it in one. Tell her to get the dog off the **%%$# dry food, get some moisture through raw food into the diet and through to the skin (dry skin is almost always itchy), go to a good groomer once every 6-8 weeks. One bath between groomer visits if necessary with a good quality shampoo like Groomers EPO (she's not using human shampoo is she?) - although you can use this more often if needs be.

BTW, if its a Freedom Kennels westie cross than she's probably in bigger strife than she realises...

Once a week washing isnt too much. Westies can have bad skin, so could imagine maybe her westie cross has something similar. Id be looking at diet and environmental allergies. She needs to wake upto hersellf and start trying to solve the problem instead of sticking her head in the sand as its only going to get worst most likely then she may have a very expensive vet bill!!!

ETA my bet is food allergy...

I don't know the dog's breeding. She got it from a work mate that had to rehome the dog, because they were expecting a baby. I forgot to add he also has ear infections often. h I have told her about the feeding on numerous occasions and even offered to make up a week's supply for her to try him out. The problem here, I think is that she can't be bothered, and it's much easier to open a bag of whatever. I have even offered to have him here to transition him over to raw, but short of kidnapping him I don't know what else I can offer. Gosh, my boys have been on raw since I got them and they enjoy their mealtimes, just as much as I enjoy feeding it to them. They have a freezer just for themselves.

[Dogsfevr]

my guys are bathed weekly plus pee feathers daily & in human shampoo.

You will also find half the dog show world uses human shampoos BUT it is using a product that suits that one dog .

The main things to consider diet(does she feed coloured biscuits & the likes,products used (shampoo, even the perfumed flea rinses etc etc).

How often it is groomed,whether its over grown & not being dried correctly( a coat not dried thoroughly on crappy skin can fester)

Westies are a breed that needs a diet in high essential fatty acids(not fat),depending on what it is crossed with will also determine the needs of that breed & then feeding accordingly.

It really comes up to her but if she isnt willing to try it is rather selfish

[westiemum]

twodoggies do you know what the cross is? Maltese is common and is IMO not a good combination - often have terrible coats , never shut up and a tendency to be passed around from home to home...

Edited April 18, 2010 by westiemum

[stormie]

Nothing wrong with bathing weekly.

But before telling her to change diets etc, suggest she see a Dermatologist who will guide her through a PROPER food elimination diet first, to rule in or out any food allergies before she starts feeding just raw, otherwise is could be a pointless etc

Westies are unfortunately known for their skin allergies, so if she wants to investigate further, she should see a Derm.

[twodoggies2001]

twodoggies do you know what the cross is? Maltese is common and is IMO not a good combination - often have terrible coats , never shut up and a tendency to be passed around from home to home...

No sorry, I have no idea, and my friend wouldn't know either. She really doesn't know too much about dogs, but I know she loves this little guy but is just now savvy on care.

[westiemum]

If she can't be bothered she needs to be relieved of the dog, at least temporarily so the poor creature can be properly looked after... (Sorry if I'm sounding a bit short this afternoon- I'm tired and sick of people like this who take on animals and then don't give them the care they need - for better or for worse... ).

Yep Sammy, got it in one. Tell her to get the dog off the **%%$# dry food, get some moisture through raw food into the diet and through to the skin (dry skin is almost always itchy), go to a good groomer once every 6-8 weeks. One bath between groomer visits if necessary with a good quality shampoo like Groomers EPO (she's not using human shampoo is she?) - although you can use this more often if needs be.

BTW, if its a Freedom Kennels westie cross than she's probably in bigger strife than she realises...

Once a week washing isnt too much. Westies can have bad skin, so could imagine maybe her westie cross has something similar. Id be looking at diet and environmental allergies. She needs to wake upto hersellf and start trying to solve the problem instead of sticking her head in the sand as its only going to get worst most likely then she may have a very expensive vet bill!!!

ETA my bet is food allergy...

I don't know the dog's breeding. She got it from a work mate that had to rehome the dog, because they were expecting a baby. I forgot to add he also has ear infections often. h I have told her about the feeding on numerous occasions and even offered to make up a week's supply for her to try him out. The problem here, I think is that she can't be bothered, and it's much easier to open a bag of whatever. I have even offered to have him here to transition him over to raw, but short of kidnapping him I don't know what else I can offer. Gosh, my boys have been on raw since I got them and they enjoy their mealtimes, just as much as I enjoy feeding it to them. They have a freezer just for themselves.

Edited April 18, 2010 by westiemum

[twodoggies2001]

Nothing wrong with bathing weekly.

But before telling her to change diets etc, suggest she see a Dermatologist who will guide her through a PROPER food elimination diet first, to rule in or out any food allergies before she starts feeding just raw, otherwise is could be a pointless etc

Westies are unfortunately known for their skin allergies, so if she wants to investigate further, she should see a Derm.

I know, but she wouldn't want to go to the bother and expense. She thinks I'm crazy for attending a homeopathic vet, not to mention an eye specialist for my 12.5 yr. old mini schnauzer. She claims he's too old to be bothered about. The difference between her and me is that I do care about both my young boy, and my old boy, who through the years has given me that unconditional love and devotion many humans wouldn't even dream about.

[conztruct]

The longest mine will go without a bath is a fortnight, although i usually bath weekly. Haven't had a problem with my dogs' coats from doing it that way.

[Erny]

Hhhhmmmmmmmm .... swimming against the tide here . IMO once a week is too often and I do not see it helping with a dog who already has skin issues from whatever other cause.

Edited April 18, 2010 by Erny

[toughgirl27]

Hey guy's,

I bath Simba once a month, sometimes once every few weeks if he get's really dirty - muddy, wee stains etc....

I use Dazzle Dog whitening Shampoo which is purple! Great for whitening his coat. But expensive around $25 a bottle!

And then I use Chris Christensen conditioner or the petkleen one we have at work. Both work really well to keep the

coat knot free and shiny!

I make sure to dry him off as thoroughly as I can before we go home.

We have a hydrobath & dryer at work.

This seems to work well for Simba

XXToughgirlXxxx

[Paganman]

my guys are bathed weekly plus pee feathers daily & in human shampoo.

You will also find half the dog show world uses human shampoos BUT it is using a product that suits that one dog .

Hey showdog what shampoo do you use?Ive been told not to use human shampoo coz its got a different ph and wont be good for the dog in the long term.Is this a furphy then?

Sorry a bit OT but id be interested to know.

[cashew]

My schnauzer had a bout of extremely bad skin some years ago. The vet recommended shaving him down to a short coat and to shower him 2-3 times weekly. It helped as he recovered shortly after that. Some sort of bacteria and yeast requires more showering...it really depends on the condition of the skin. I rather wash off bacteria and dead skin than to leave it to cake up thus causing more itch. But check with your vet if necessary.