Bathing

[Donna K & Quincy]

I only bathe my doodle if he needs it, other than his legs and belly when he gets dirty he hasn't had a full bath since he was groomed in Nov. Should I bathe him more often? He doen't smell at all. Would he be easier to brush and less prone to matting if I bathed him more often?

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Thank you very much Barb. I appreciate it bunches. Ordering some things soon.

[1jdimym3xmdag]

I hope not. Faith seems to be a dirt and dust magnet. She is constantly bathing herself just like a cat does. I brush her out at least every other day. My vet and groomer have reccomended that I bathe her at least once a week. One thing you need to remember is that most doodles have skin allergies. I use an oatmeal based shampoo to keep from giving her dry skin.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

I have never heard that most doodles have skin allergies. I have 14 doodles and have raised others. I also have had 115 puppies. No skin allergies that I have heard about. I have also heard from my vet that oatmeal based products are high on the suspected allergy list for all breeds. I was asked to stay away from it with my schnauzer and shepherd.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Harlow is bathed every couple of weeks sometimes more because of all the rain we have had. She loves to play chase with the boys in the backyard (which is now 1 great big mud puddle). She will come in dripping wet and muddy so I keep a beach towel by the door to sop up as much water as I can. I also brush/comb her every evening while watching TV. She is in that awful puppy to adult coat transition stage so if you even look at cross-eyed she mats. =o(

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Connor my goldendoodle is 2 yrs old and I bathe him about once a month. His coat is very soft and a pretty fine texture and it starts to feeling different right before I know it's bath time. He never gets stinky, though. He's a therapy dog, so I do need to keep him as clean as possible. He gets combed every night to keep him looking sharp.
Simon is an almost 9 month old Australian labradoodle. He is spiral fleece and has a dense, cottony soft coat. I comb him every night and brush every other night to make sure to get out any transition baby coat. It has been 2 1/2 months since I bathed him and he still smells and feels fresh.
I don't have matting problems with either dog. I think I am very lucky. :-)

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Peri gets a bath probably once every 4 months. If she gets muddy in between, I only rinse the mud part off. We comb out her coat often, which helps get the dirt out. Husband made the comment just this weekend: "she smells just like a doodle...I love her smell" - haha! It wasn't like she smells like roses or anything. She was bathed almost 1 month ago when I had her groomed. I have always heard the natural oils are so good for their skin - bathing frequently can dry them out.

[Stella]

We hardly ever bath our boys!! The F1 has some lab-ishness to his coat, it seems to have a waterproof quality to it and the rain, snow, mud just falls off him! The multigen takes forever to dry so that is my reason for not bathing him! They both love to play in the mud, but I just let it dry and then brush them out. Neither of them are stinky, they smell lovely. The F1 prbaly gets bathed twice a year at the most. The multigen gets a bath when he goes to the groomer - the last time he went was 4 months ago.