Hygiene Routines?

[Two Best Dogs!]

I took advantage of the really warm day today (last warm day of Autumn? I hope so!) and gave the dog a bath (her third!)...and nail trim... And a good brushing (minimal as that is) followed by wormers, brushed teeth etc

The result is a soft and shiny and pretty smelling pup! Looking forward to tonight's cuddles ❤️

Wondering what everyone else's cleaning routine is? Do you do a bit here and a bit there? All at once? All the time or once a year?

Obviously the type of dog makes difference XD sometimes short hair is a blessing

But then yesterday we had a lovely time with a little Maltese X and I think I could easily be converted to a small white fluffy. Dog and I both loved his soft fur! Like a little cloud ❤️ (Think I can steal him? ;) I would brush him every night! )

Obligatory bath photo:

Edited April 25, 2016 by Thistle the dog

[Teebs]

Ummm. Kaos had her nails cut and a bath about 2 years ago, can't remember when it happened before that !

[Taliecat]

Dozer gets two or three baths a year.

He's mostly an inside dog and doesn't really get very dirty, but he is so lovely and soft after a bath I'm considering upping the baths to every second month.

He gets a bit of a rub down every week to help control the outrageous amount of fur he manages to drop and a weekly ear cleaning.

[The Spotted Devil]

Nail trimming occurs every 7-10 days. Even if it's a tiny sliver it's important to keep them short. Springers' feathers are tidied up every few months. Baths? Is that the same as swimming? If so, at least weekly :laugh:

Edited April 25, 2016 by The Spotted Devil

[silentchild]

Aussies are very much wash and wear with their dirt repellent coats :laugh: so Breeze only gets a full shampoo bath once every few months, or on the occasion she decides to roll in something gross and stinky, which is quite often. :laugh: :laugh: Last year we managed to go a full year without a bath until she had a muddy playdate and was covered nose to tail in mud. It took me over an hour to get all the mud off! I try not to bath her too often as not to mess with natural coat oils. But she goes swimming / hydro every second week so that sort of counts with the water hose down after each session?? :laugh: She gets a brush every week and her nails trimmed once a week too, couldn't agree more with the importance of keeping them short, I will also touch her nails up if she has a sporting event the next day and she would be running or jumping more. Fur around the paws, ears and pants are trimmed generally every two weeks unless she has a demo or event on, then I will do that before the event also. I find grooming her very therapeutic for me. :D

Edited April 25, 2016 by silentchild

[Vehs]

My GSD was bathed every 4-6 weeks, helped that I was grooming and could use the large baths and dryers He'd get his nails done probably more regular than that and certainly after swimming because walking in the sand moves the quicks back. I would brush him weekly and wash all his bedding when he had a bath.

The Malt xs seem to get baths pretty frequently maybe every 2-3 weeks? I think because they are white we can see the dirt more AND they love to roll around and get filthy. They will get a face and bum trim at this time as well.

I brush them weekly and their bedding probably gets washed every 2nd bath.

I've never really had to clean any of their ears, but sometimes if I'm bored I'll give them a wipe.

eta: they get their heartworm and wormers on the first of the month

Edited April 25, 2016 by Vehs

[Two Best Dogs!]

Nail trimming occurs every 7-10 days. Even if it's a tiny sliver it's important to keep them short. Springers' feathers are tidied up every few months. Baths? Is that the same as swimming? If so, at least weekly :laugh:

:laugh: if that's the criteria, this would be somewhere around the 30th bath, not the third! I should be honest. I only did it because she rolled in one too many dead things. When my nose says it is time, it is time! XD

[Rascalmyshadow]

Rascal, Astro and Hugo get bathed, dried, brushed, nails and any necessary tidying up fortnightly, Chloe gets it all done about every three weeks and Claudia being a short haired chi just gets done when necessary.

[maddogdodge]

Dodge, 11 year old Kelpie - She get's bathed maybe 2 or 3 times a year... I never used to have to trim her nails until about 12 months ago, now she's got arthritis and doesn't run around so much I do have to trim her nails every month or so. She never needs to be brushed because of her alopecia. Her teeth are spotless because she gets regular bones, ears are always clean.

Koda, 6 year old Australian Shepherd - He gets a full groom every 4 to 6 weeks. So I strip out all his undercoat, trim feet, hocks and lightly use thinning sheers on his ears. His nails are naturally short, I don't need to trim them. He gets a bath and blow dry as well. Teeth are also spotless because of bones. Ears are also always clean. He also gets his tail dyed every few months - Usually blue and purple :) Nothing I love more than a freshly blow dried Aussie!

Finnick, 4 month old Standard Poodle - At the moment because he loves mud and cow/chicken poo too much he is getting a weekly bath and blow dry. So in this weekly grooming session I clean his ears out and lightly pluck them (he's not keen on plucking). Wipe the corner of his eyes with tear stain remover, brush from head to toe and bath + blow dry. Every two weeks I clip his face, feet and base of tail. I also clip his groin and armpits for hygiene, as well as a nail trim. This routine will totally change once I start clipping him all over though! For now I'm loving his silky soft puppy coat

[Pjrt]

Gruf gets bathed and blow dried and combed through every week or two. I trim his nails at the same time, wipe out his ears with a wet wipe, and polish his teeth with a tissue and scale any tiny build up of tartar. He gets bones almost daily so his teeth are pretty perfect at this stage. I fully hand strip his wire coat twice a year. He does not get heart worm prevention, and intestinal worm about twice a year when I remember.

[Canisbellum]

Jesse gets a bath maybe twice a year and Jonah every 8 weeks or so. His Horsecoat is wonderfull at holding onto dirt. I clean his ears at least once a week and i haven't ever needed to cut their nails.

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[karen15]

My westie is a self cleaning white fluffy. Comes in covered in dirt and totally ruined. Next morning he is all white again and the dirt is gone. My type of dog...... Just gave him his weekly brush and he looked even whiter.

The cocker gets a weekly brush. Now she's got some length in her coat it doesn't knot like it did when we were growing out the clip she came with.

Both get stripped every 4-6 weeks determined by when their coats look fluffy for the cocker or clumpy for the westie (way technical terms there :) ). Sometimes not a lot comes out of one or both, but once the grooming table and equipment are set up they both get done. Paws, ears, nails are clipped and cocker gets head and throat done too. Then scissoring as needed.

I don't shampoo a lot. Don't shampoo my horse much either, just hose down after riding. I find all my dogs are shiny with healthy coats, as is the horse, which I put down to not shampooing out the natural oils. If they're stinky or have skin problems then I'll shampoo as needed but generally they smell fine.

I've never brushed teeth as I feed bones daily. Vet is always very pleased with their sparkling teeth.

Worm middle of the month and flea and tick on 1st of the month. Being long haired dogs in a paralysis tick area, I'm a bit paranoid about ticks.

Edited April 25, 2016 by karen15

[LisaCC]

In non shedding season Nova gets brushed once or twice a week with a pin brush all over and a slicker on his hocks and ear fluff. Full groom, including line combing, feet and ear trims around monthly.

In shedding season he gets brushed every day with the pin brush and gone over with the shedding rake a few times a week.

Nails are done about every week and a half. Keep them nice and short.

He gets bathed whenever he gets dirty. I try not to do it too often. He doesn't really have a doggy smell, but when he's getting dirty he does get 'dirt' and 'dust' smelling. So in the bath he goes.

I'll also bath more often than normal in shedding season as it helps get all that hair loose.

Edited April 25, 2016 by LisaCC

[Maddy]

Shitty Whippet has had one bath in her 2.5 years of life, on the day we first brought her home. She's not needed once since and because her coat is so short/tight, there's no hair to brush and even plucking at it doesn't get any hair. She does, however, need her nails done every week or so because they grow at an absurd rate and she's only exercised on grass.

Sleeping off her one and only bath as a baby shitty whippet

Idiot Dog hasn't had a bath in over a year and when he does have one, it's mostly just to give his wee feet a good soaking and to spring clean his penis (don't ask). He gets a rub down with the Zoom Groom and Furminator every few weeks, he doesn't shed much hair but he also sleeps on my bed so.. yeah. Nails don't get done all at once, I just trim and tidy nails while we're watching tv in the evenings.

[nickyp]

Cricket (malt x) goes to the groomer every 10-12 weeks for the works. In between she gets bathed about monthly, depending upon how dirty she is. We keep her coat pretty short because she doesn't like being brushed, so that doesn't need doing. Most evenings I run my fingers through the hair on her belly, legs and feet and pick out any bits stuck in there. I'm planning on washing her face tomorrow because she's managed to get something in her moustache which is black and goopy looking. If it won't wash out, I'll cut some bits out.

Billy (greyhound) has been bathed twice in the 6 months we've had him, mostly because he was shedding heaps and it seemed like a good way to get the dead hair out. I haven't looked at his nails because he's walked on concrete daily, but I should probably check them. If they need clipping, he can go with Cricket the next time she goes to the groomer. I'm not going to risk cutting the quick on one of his nails - the screams would deafen us!

[*kirty*]

Pia (Greyhound) has had about 3 baths in the 6 years we have had her lol. The IGs get bathed when I feel like it (not very often). The other two are more high maintenance. The Stand Poodle get clipped every 8-10 weeks and gets a bath at the same time. The OES gets a bath every 3-4 weeks when her coat is long, but less often when clipped. I will only clip her once a year. :)

[Tor]

Sebastian (boxer) gets a bath once a month or so, mostly just for extra softness; although he's white, his fur repels dirt. He just shakes it off. Nails done every couple of weeks although not all at once. Face and eyes wiped daily, I usually wipe the tear stains, which he's been getting probably because of all the pollen atm, with diluted vinegar or antibacterial cream.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Tor

[huga]

We don't have an actual routine, but I bath Sid about twice as often as I bath Lola. He seems to be a dirt magnet and she repels it. Plus he dries in about 2 seconds and she takes all day. Yesterday he decided to take himself for a swim and ended up rolling in the sand afterwards. So he got his second bath in a week. He seems to wear his nails down by himself, but I have to trim Lola's every now and then. Her dew claws are the worst, they seem to grow so quickly.

[tdierikx]

Harper and Pickles have never had a proper bath... might have gotten wet in the pool at the rescue once or twice when they were puppies is all...

Trouble has had baths, but doesn't really need them.

None of my dogs has a "doggy" smell, so I leave well enough alone when it comes to baths... *grin*

T.

[tdierikx]

Oh - my current foster puppy has ringworm, so has been having 2 medicated baths a week... poor little man!

I'm glad that the pet foxes (Tom and Ghost) keep themselves nice and clean... Ghost might behave, but I know Tom would crack a complete mental... and I'd like to keep all my fingers thanks!

T.