Bathing

[cookiemama]

How often can I bath my pooch, after a week or so she starts to smell doggy!
I have a mild puppy shampoo, have seen something on the internet about making your own shampoo with baby shampoo and aloe vera so you can bath the dog more often.
The groomer said dont bath unless she is dirty, muddy etc, but she starts to smell, what do we do?
PS just love this site, have to drag myself away from the computer soon!!!!!!:rolleyes:

[Gonzo]

Dont't bath too much. Too much irritate the skin. I have a poodle and I don't bath him each week. I think once each month is realy enough. Most I bath only when my dog is dirty or was swimming a lot in a lake (because he had then always bacteria in his hair). But don't take always a shampoo.
When his wet then dry him good so he smells not so much.

[sheplovr]

I never bath my Shepherds nor when I had Bostons, Engl Bulldog. You will strip the dog of it natural made oils to keep the skin pliable and soft. Get a doggie spray and wipe over her. She should not smell that much to bath so much unless it is what she is eating or very dry skin. All dogs smell when wet but when dry they should not. Try brushing her ten minutes a day and dab some doggie colonge on her. Make sure she does not have dirty ears, they can smell. Keep her privates wiped with baby wipes.

[MyDogShelby]

There was a discussion on this a few days ago...I think that once every 2-3 weeks is generally good. If you overdue on bathing, you strip the dog of its natural oils, and it could end up having skin problems/irritations...basically your drying the dog out.

What you could do is buy a container/package of doggie wipes. They sell these at the pet supply stores, and I just recently bought a container at Target. So when she doesn't really need a bath, but she is starting to have that doggie smell, take a wipe and wipe her down. :)

[Sabledog]

i have miracle coat spray on waterless shampoo its awsome, it smells really good (it has tea tree oils so it smells minty!) and it leaves the coat and skin really shiny and healthy, you just spray it on and brush it in and it leave it, very easy to use and it saves the hassle of giving an actual bath.