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

[Jennett Pulley]

We bathe Lolli every Sunday with an all natural mint and rosemary shampoo.  She's had no dry skin problems at all.  I want her to be used to bathing regularly and while it's not her favorite thing, she does seem to prefer the water deeper over shallow.  She LOVES the rubdown after and rolling in the grass when wet is the best thing EVER.  Sigh...

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Renee ~ Monreaux is so darn cute! Is he getting yucky at night in his crate?  Does he have diarrhea, or just stepping in it?

We also have a new puppy and he is 11 weeks tomorrow.  He had diarrhea for two nights and it was a nightmare.  I decided to gate off 3/4 of our bath (so he has an area about 8' x 8' and put his crate inside that area with the door open.  I put a pad out in that area in the opposite corner of his crate and that way if he woke up and had to relieve himself, he could.  Also he could get away from it.  The third day I bought Acana Lamb (an LID formula) and it was like a miracle - no more diarrhea!  

And we have had no more accidents in the crate.  He is crated at 10:00 p.m. and out at 5:30 or six.  I think it is difficult for them at first especially if they are being left in the crate too much, or having some digestive issues. I try not to crate Beau during the day.  I move his crate from the gated area during the day and he generally goes into his crate on his own when he is tired.  

I hope things will settle down for you soon.  It is no fun to have to be bathing them continually.  Good luck.

 

[Sarah & Theo]

I have been wondering the same thing about bathing too.  Our boy Theo is 9 weeks old and I bathed him for the first time yesterday. He was just so stinky!!  

My breeder told me not to bath him too often, but considering how smelly he got in just one week I think I will be doing it every week to two weeks.  

I washed Theo with Aloveen oatmeal shampoo and leave in conditioner.  It is really gentle and smells delicious!  

I really like others suggestions of rinsing in the shower!  What a great way to freshen them up without the full bath.  

I think more frequent washing at this early puppy stage would also be good to help them to get used to having baths.

I have been using baby wipes to clean Theo's mouth after eating (ott??), and his ears if they fall in his food.  They are handy for wiping muddy paws also.  

   

  

[Ann & Penny]

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

I use baby wipes to wipe Penny's paws every time we get back from a particularly long or muddy walk. I also got puppy wipes to wipe down her face whenever she gets food stuck in her mouth.

In addition to that, I invested in a spray - 

Best Shot UltraMAX Pro Pet Finishing Spray

for when she starts smelling a little rough between baths.

What products come highly recommended?

Best Shot shampoo and conditioner came recommended from a groomer's blog that I've read. 

How often should puppies be bathed?

Not sure about the should part, but I bathe Penny once every two weeks. 

I also invested in a high velocity vacuum to help with the drying. It blows out cold air, not warm, so it doesn't irritate the skin. She's so scared of the noise so I stuff her ears with cotton balls and I drape a towel over her ears. She dries out faster, it helps blow out mats, and makes her extra fluffy! I'd highly recommend that over an expensive brush.

[Bonnie and Kona]

You can always rinse her without shampoo with no worries. I would just use a very mild shampoo when you bathe her. No reason to have a stinky, dirty doodle.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I agree with your suggestions, Ann  & Penny. I do just about everything you do, with the exception of the brand of shampoo (I use Wild Animal, aka, Kelco - they have close to 2 doz. different natural formulas). I also have an inexpensive (>$100) high velocity dryer, (and the sooner you start exposing your puppy to one, Renee, the better - that noise is something it will be exposed to for the rest of it's life). The dryer makes short work of drying your doodle. Have to agree that an expensive brush isn't always the best option, either. My Le Pooches brushes go unused. I use a Chris Christensen wood pin brush and large metal comb almost exclusively (with a good mat splitter or 2 thrown in for good measure). For wiping feet, we buy the unscented baby wipes by the case at Costco!

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

Which large tooth comb did you get?  Hurley is a wavy fleece going through the molting process. Based on your comments about the Chris Christensen brush and comb I decided to look into them.  Not sure which comb to get.  Any suggestions?

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Not sure the kind that would work best for wavy fleece (Lucy has a wooly coat), but I use ones similar to this:

http://www.petedge.com/product/Geib-Stainless-Steel-Greyhound-Combs...

You can find them in just about any good pet supply store. I think they're called, 'Greyhound Combs'.

My favorite Chris Christensen brush is the 27mm T-brush on this page:

http://www.chrissystems.com/grooming-tools/brushes-/pet-grooming-sh...

I only use it on Lucy's long tail and sometimes on her face (although the comb works well on the face too). The brush really works well on longer hair.

[Sue & Lily Grace]

OMD looking at her face is like looking at my Lily Grace. Lily is just home 3 days so I do to have a lot of experience with this yet. I also use the Christensen wood pin brush on Lily. I bought the small one and it is smaller than I would like, but great for a,puppy. Living in Florida we still have lots of stickers and hitch-hikers sticking to her. I have just been snipping them off with small scissors. The slicker brushes are too harsh for her yet. I also use unvented baby wipes to wipe her down when she comes in. Good luck.

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

I will check them out. Thank you for the suggestions.  Hurley is definitely molting so brushing is longer than usual due to getting out the knots.

[Emily & Wispa]

Monreaux is adorable!  Wispa is somewhere between a wool and fleece coat (her hed/neck/front legs are wavy fleece, and her rump is wooly), and we bathe her whenever she needs to be bathed.  I know it sounds vague, but I think it amounts to roughly once every 2-3 weeks.

We just use baby shampoo, which is what was suggested by our dog walker/groomer, and she's never dry or itchy afterwards.  She never gets a bath bath, it's always using the shower head, and she loves the feeling of it.  We use a gentle spray and sometimes she tries to eat the water :D  Afterwards, we towel dry her and then do a nice blow dry.  Again, it's something she's come to love, although she was skittish at first.  We use the warm, not hot, setting on the dryer and started on the lowest setting, but now she likes it full blast!

In between baths we just rinse her feet in the shower, and we brush her every couple days.  Her coat change should be happening in a couple months, so we'll be brushing her far more often then!

If he's having accidents in his crate and sleeping in or on them, then you really should be bathing him anytime he soaks up his own pee.  And I really do suggest baby shampoo, it's the best thing, really.