Bathing Recommendations

[Puppy Madness]

Monreaux is now 10 weeks old and I'm wondering how often he should be bathed.  House training is slow going for us (he did better the first 2 nights than he's doing now).  He has had 2 accidents yesterday, one being my fault as I didn't take him outside after a play session, in addition to accidents in his crate.  Needless to say, he starts smelling yucky!  I know bathing him often isn't good for his skin, coat,or health, so my questions are:

What should I do for the time periods in between baths?  

What products come highly recommended?

How often should puppies be bathed?

I searched several discussions and forums w/o any clear answers... so I apologize if this has been addressed before ;-)

Renee & Monreaux aka Dirty Boy

[Chelsie]

Oh my gosh he is cute! I am still a newbie to the doodle world, so this is just what I've noticed and am doing. I first bathed Sam about 2 weeks after bringing him home. He didn't like it at all! I waited way to long to bath him again...maybe a month or so. His coat was so stringy and brushing was hard. Usually after I brush him, which I do everyday, he is fluffy looking for at least a day, but when he is dirty brushing doesn't really help his fluff! Now I bath him at last once every 2 weeks, but I try not to do it more than once a week. We live in the rainy Seattle area so his feet do get rinsed off several times a day in the shower! I recommend brushing them every day, I just have a cheapie brush for now, but will be purchasing a nice one here soon. Use a comb to make sure you got out all the tangles after brushing...and don't skip the places easy to miss, armpits, under tail, all sides of legs and feet! Sam gets a treat after each brushing so he now, he didn't use to, just lays there for me to brush him, most of the time! I use the Tropiclean Puppy shampoo becasue i hated the smells of other puppy shampoos. It is also the same brand the groomer we will use uses. I do use a detangler for in between baths which has been a life saver for us. It is the same brand as the shampoo I do believe. Hope this helps a little!

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Chelsie, he is most adorable but I am be a bit biased because he looks just like the pictures of my Lily Grace that the breeders have sent me. Good luck with him.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Monreaux is just too cute. Keep posting photos. I am in love! 

There is no schedule for bathing puppies. You are right you don't want to do it too often but if he has urinated on himself or has poop on him two days in a row then he needs to be washed two days in a row. He will be okay. You can always rinse him with clear water... no soap so it won't dry his skin, if the mess isn't too awful. I know some have used baby wipes for quick clean ups. You need to clean his crate with Nature's Miracle so it doesn't smell like urine any more. It's super important that the pup not smell where he has had accidents because he might decide that is the exact spot to do his duty. 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Out of curiousity, how big is Montreaux now?  Personally, I wouldn't be able to stand a stinky puppy. If he's small enough you could just put him in the kitchen sink and wash his tummy and paws with mild puppy shampoo, then rinse well. That should do the trick.

When Lucy 1st came home I remember feeling a little daunted over the idea of washing/bathng her. Her 1st vet visit (2nd day home) the vet told me I should wash her behind because it was getting a little matted down there. It was a big deal for me that first time (done in the kitchen sink). Boy, how things have changed... I'm a pro at giving her baths now :)

[Bonnie and Kona]

I've never tried wipes... my dogs are standards and they would not have sufficed but I have read about it in the grooming group. Some swear by them. One of my doodle smells like heaven. I bury my face in his fur all of the time. The other one went through a stage of smelling just horrible... cannot describe it any more because he outgrew it. I never figured out why. His smell even permeated the carpeting in our family room and really bugged me. It was over before he was a year old though. He smells fine now, but when I haven't washed his collar often enough his collar gets that same sour smell. hmmm. 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

What an adorable puppy! I agree with Bonnie and Kona on bathing the puppy when necessary. I use several different brands now, but ones that are formulated for curly/fluffy white coats (Lucy is white/cream). I also use a dog conditioner. I remember when Lucy was home those first few days we just sat her in the kitchen sink and washed off her hind quarters. She never made any messes in the crate. Just curious, I saw an earlier post of yours that you had the Poochie Bells. Have you been ringing those every time you go outside? I would say, 'ring the bells, go potty', every time we went out, while ringing the bells. It took Lucy 3 days to figure it out. She'll be 3 in a couple weeks and she uses the bells to this day. Made house training her a breeze, too. We're getting our 2nd doodle puppy Nov. 6th and we'll be doing all the same things as we did the first time with Lucy. Hopefully, she'll help with laying down the ground rules for our little Oscar (as well as keep him out of trouble, that puppies are so prone to get into).

 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules.  When Riley was a baby I used to bathe him every week or two.  Now he is a big boy I do it about once a month.  Very important that you make sure there are no mats or tangles before you bathe and be vigilant about rinsing every last bit of shampoo and conditioner out.  You should really blow dry before brushing again.  In between and for accidents I use baby wipes.  I taught Riley to stay on the mat until I dry/clean his paws if it's wet outside and that is so valuable.  A spray detangler is very useful.  I use a horse mane and tail detangling spray before I groom him daily.

Monreaux is adorable, I'm very partial to Parti coloring : )

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

As others have said I would definitely agree with. However, I have been told you can over shampoo & condition which can lead to dry skin.. I get Hurley bathed once a month. In between I rinse him ünder the shower if he gets to dirty, etc. There are definitely plenty of products to choose from and you will find the one that is right for your doodle. I use what Hurley's trainer recommended (Tropiclean). Our son uses what was recommended to him which is Nature's Miracle.

[Julie and Charlie]

Charlie has had weeks when he needs a bath (or at least some area of him did) every day or every other day. I thought he would never enter the bath tub again under his own power!

I'd say bathe him at this point however often you need to and use gentle shampoo. I've never found baby wipes to be very effective on all of the fur.

[Adina P]

Me neither on the baby wipes.  Can you imagine a person trying to wash their hair with ONLY baby wipes? 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I've been trying to stretch out Sophie's baths because they always dry her out and she is a little itchy for several days.  She has to have them regularly because of her therapy work.  What I've taken to doing is putting her in the tub and doing just her face and legs.  Sometimes I just do it with water and sometimes I will use soap, but I don't do the entire body every time.  It really freshens her up.

[Adina P]

I would bathe as often as you see fit as long as it's not regularly more than once a week.  Of course if a dog gets into something horrible or has pee all over himself, by all means wash that stuff off.  But a little hosing off in the shower with warm water won't hurt him even if it's more frequent.  Just hose off the parts that are worst and if something needs some sudsing, then do it and rinse well.