Bathing your dog/how often?

[Lin D & Yogi]

I am a newbie here and wonder how everyone feels about bathing their dogs.  I have heard that one should not bathe labradoodles too often because, it will dry their hair out and make it less able to self clean itself.  I have a light colored dog with a fleece coat and when he gets dirty, I let it dry and the dirt just flakes away leaving it looking nice and clean.  I don't want to ruin that.  On the other hand, have heard that they are dogs that love water and their coats are fine and frequent bathing doesn't hurt to it.  How often should one bathe their  dog? 

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

First off, your puppy is ADORABLE!!
I bathe my F1 goldendoodle about once a month. Since he does therapy work, sometimes more often because he needs to stay super clean.
I took Simon my ALD in for his first professional grooming a couple of weeks ago and she told me you should bathe your dog every 2-3 weeks. Yikes! Simon looked good and does not get a doggie smell, so I had let him go without a bath for almost 3 MONTHS! I just kept him brushed and combed and he looked good. I guess I should bathe him more often, then. :-)
I do always use conditioner after their bath, then blow dry. They've never had any skin problems.
Obviously, I'm not a pro, but I hope this helps.

[Lin D & Yogi]

Thank you for your input. Everything helps.

[Lin D & Yogi]

Thank you for all the pointers.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Extra bathing does make it so my doodles are less able to self clean. This is from the founder of ALD's. Because there are many different doodles and coats, this might not be true for all. I bathe my doodles 3 to 4 times a year. In the spring they get a big haircut and a couple of tidy up sessions in the summer and a little haircut in the fall to take them thru until the first spring bath. I know a person who has one of my dogs [ the dog has a wool coat] and he has not been bathed in a year. He is regularly brushed and his coat is kept trimmed short in summer and left long in winter. He swims a lot and his coat is wonderful.
If my wool dogs get into burrs, the burrs work themselves out to the top and fall off.

[Lin D & Yogi]

My dog doesn't have that doggy odor either. But, in the summer he might get into something that makes him smell. I think I will try to go awhile until he needs it. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Your dog is precious. Just like people some doodles get dry flaky skin from bathing and some don't. Ned seems to mat easier when we bath him as opposed to the groomer. Obviously it is our problem, but he does have dry fur.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Combing is more important than bathing by far. My doodles go thru the winter, Nov to Mar without having a bath. If they get muddy it falls off. I can remove dust from their coats with my blower and they look and smell freshly groomed.

[Sandie & Matilda]

Yogi is a cutie. Any dog breed not just doodles, can get dry skin from too much bathing. Brushing and combing will get out a lot of dirt. When I know Matilda is going to be around other dogs (my husband is allergic) I put a coat on her so that the other dogs slobber goes on the coat not on Matilda.

[Sally loves Maple & Lucky]

ahh, What a cute baby! Our Labradoodle's coat will dry at the ends when she's at her full length. We bathe no more than 8 weeks apart. Just like human long hair, the ends need extra attention. I find a spray, leave-in conditioner (in addition to the creme rinse) that I can spot target to those areas helps a lot. It's mostly her hip area that drys out. But most of the year we keep her under 2" which keeps her less maintenance for us and cooler for her.
Waiting patiently for my delivery of Liquid Slicker to arrive and plan to use it on both dogs soon.

[F, Calla & Luca]

My two get bathed twice a year whether they need it or not! I do spot clean as necessary. But grooming them usually wokrs fine to keep them looking and smelling good.

[ej]

My GR gets showered 4 times a year. And Doodle gets showered once every 10 weeks.

[Joy & Buddy]

Can anyone recommend good shampoos and conditioners and detanglers? Buddy just got his first haircut (he did not get shaved and he looks great!) and the groomer (Ned's wonderful groomer in California) said his coat was very dry. (I feed him TOTW Pacific Stream formula which is salmon & sweet potato.) I had just bathed him with Cowboy Magic shampoo and conditioner about 2 weeks before and had been using the detangler on his mats while waiting for our appointment. She recommended using No More Tangles (this is a human hair product) for combing out and Pantene Hair Repair, diluted, as a conditioner after shampooing.