Fact Or Fiction

[Kirislin]

My whippets haven't been bathed in years. If they roll in something stinky I wash that area with a cloth, shampoo, and warm water but an all over bath hasn't happened for a long time now. I certainly would wash them if I thought they needed it though.

[dandybrush]

Fair enough! Well I rarely wash my dogs - unless they have been rolling in mud, then I have to before they can come inside! But they have BEAUTIFUL shiny coats and their skin doesn't get irritated at all.

I can understand that if you were using a s**tty quality shampoo then that might not be good for their skin at all!

But... and this is going to sound really weird... i LOVE, and I mean LOOOOVVVEEEE the smell of my dogs (not after they've been washed, just whenever)... they smell doggy and whenever I smell them (or smell my car because it smells like them) I just breathe it in really deep because it reminds me of them and it makes me feel really happy./ I know that sounds bizarre but I LOVE the doggy smell... I do, however, also like the clean smell.

but I hate the wet dog smell. that's something I can't stand! lol

So its not bad if I DONT wash them all the time? They have never seemed to mind, and I swear, they can get SO dirty and then the next day they'll be clean again - its fricken amazing!!!!!! lol

i hardly ever wash my boy, only if his coat feels rough or if we go to the beach (and he is all sandy) but im like you i love going home and walking inside and just smelling my house cause it smells like my boy

[sas]

I recently watched a vet video that says that the shampoos (decent ones) we have these days allows for regular washing and that washing dogs with skin problems is one of the most under utlised tools to assist them, some dogs need washing or rinsing every couple of days to keep them comfortable.

They pretty much say if your dog is smelly and/or uncomfortable in its own skin then it needs a bath.

Edited May 16, 2011 by MEH

[gillybob]

I wash Gilly once a year.

My dogs will swim in fresh water when I go to my friends.

Thats when I wash Gilly, because he loves to play in the mud.

My dogs arnt smelly at all, well I cant smell them.

[Leelaa17]

Fair enough! Well I rarely wash my dogs - unless they have been rolling in mud, then I have to before they can come inside! But they have BEAUTIFUL shiny coats and their skin doesn't get irritated at all.

I can understand that if you were using a s**tty quality shampoo then that might not be good for their skin at all!

But... and this is going to sound really weird... i LOVE, and I mean LOOOOVVVEEEE the smell of my dogs (not after they've been washed, just whenever)... they smell doggy and whenever I smell them (or smell my car because it smells like them) I just breathe it in really deep because it reminds me of them and it makes me feel really happy./ I know that sounds bizarre but I LOVE the doggy smell... I do, however, also like the clean smell.

but I hate the wet dog smell. that's something I can't stand! lol

So its not bad if I DONT wash them all the time? They have never seemed to mind, and I swear, they can get SO dirty and then the next day they'll be clean again - its fricken amazing!!!!!! lol

i hardly ever wash my boy, only if his coat feels rough or if we go to the beach (and he is all sandy) but im like you i love going home and walking inside and just smelling my house cause it smells like my boy

oh good!! haha atleast im not the only one!!! lol

[OSoSwift]

I wash mine if they have a trial or going to do something in public - I like them to look sparkly.

If they go to the beach sometimes they get a wash if they haven't had one for a while, or they get a rinse with plain water.

I wash them more now as I have Lewis and I like his white to look sparkly occassionaly. BUt it would probably be every few months at the most.

They are inside a lot and they don't have any doggy smell.

[Odin-Genie]

Mine usually get a bath every two weeks with a sulphate free dog shampoo, and get a sponge bath every time they return from the dog park. They are highly energetic dogs who like to wrestle with each other and sometime topple over in the backyard/parks. Since they sleep in my bedroom and sneak up on the bed for cuddles early in the mornings, they need to be clean all the time. But they have great shiny coats.

[Lowenhart]

Fiction.

Show dogs are bathed very regularly and kept in shiny coat for years on end. A good diet and quality products makes the biggest impact.

You don't have to bath dogs, as pointed out by posters some dogs don't need it. But bathing regularly doesn't mean dry problem skin.

[Liath]

I bath both dogs every week. The eldest has allergies and rips herself apart if she isnt bathed at least every 5-7 days. The other is a white long haired show dog who loves nothing better then to help me weed by pulling up the weeds and then doing zoomies around the yard with them.

[Rysup]

When I am showing heavily my dogs get bathed weekly. The Lhasa's in fact get bathed twice a week.

At work I groom a dog that gets done every week.

On the other hand, the retired Kees get bathed about once to twice a year.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Rysup

[lovemesideways]

My guys get washed pretty much every single week. They are indoor dogs but they get a run and rumble with friends dogs at offleash areas pretty much daily, plus drooling and chewing on eachother. I like them to smell clean. None of them have issues, and all have lovely shiny beautiful coats !

[Sayreovi]

One of mine is a bit of a grott so gets washed every 2 weeks and wiped down with a cloth every now and again, the other two keep themselves very clean and I only usually bath them when they really need it or before a show. Though sometimes because they have white markings I like them to shine so they get a bath then when the feeling comes over me.

[Blakbelgian]

Being a Spitz breed the dirt falls off my guys coats adn they don't smell.

If you don't like a wet dog smell you should get a Schipp no wet dog smell.

Mine are occassionally bathed if there is a special judge I am showing under or I feel that tehre coat is looking

abit dull which isn't often.

BB

[Fatsofatsoman]

Boonie will get done weekly, sometimes fortnightly if we don't fit it in.

Purely because he'll start to smell and he's an inside dog - who spends the day outside. He rolls in any water he can find, gets covered in other dogs drool. So without the baths would get too dirty and smelly.

His coat is shiny and we have no skin problems from doing this.

I wonder if people who don't wash their dogs and can't smell the smell have just gotten used to it? and there really is a smell. I have no doubt that there would be dogs who don't need washing and don't smell but I know of plenty of people who think their house doesn't smell of dog but the smell hits you in the face when you walk in.

I'm a dog lover so don't care about the smell too much - I just get a little paranoid the house will stink otherwise.

[RiverStar-Aura]

Poochie (Aussie Terrier) used to have a very potent dog smell and needed bathing at least once a month. The type of coat (wiry and coarse) didn't help matters either because it seemed her fur would absorb everything. She also had sensitive skin but I found that any shampoo containing oatmeal worked wonders and after a bath, she'd be so soft, fluffy and shiny!

Zeus on the other hand is a right dirty b@stard. It doesn't matter how often I bathe him, he's off finding the dirtiest thing to roll/splash in as soon as he's dry. As a result he gets bathed maybe 4 times a year (once each season), but luckily, he still always looks clean and doesn't smell.

There was one day I'd taken him into Pet Barn and a lady commented on how clean and shiny he was -- I failed to tell her that he hadn't been bathed for about 4 months!

But I guess ultimately the bathing decision is personal. What works for some dogs and people, doesn't work for others. As long as both you and dog are happy, then it's all good! :D

[quoll]

Three poodles here, bathed weekly. When showing they will bebathed before the show and after as well, this can mean 2 baths in a week. Have never had skin issues. Use a good shampoo, a conditioner if a long coated breed it should be fine.

[Dju]

I will never understand people who say that Spitz breeds don't have a doggy smell. I have a Vallhund, they're spitz breeds and he does smells like a dog (albeit not as bad as a Labrador or a Maltese) and everyone who visits us comments on how the house smells like dog! I think they mean Spitz breeds don't smell BAD in comparison, but to say that Spitz don't have a doggy smell is totally untrue!

Anyways, I wash Hugo once a month, usually a couple of days before his Advantix application.