Bathing your doodle after visiting the beach

[Margo]

Hi everyone, I am a new doodle owner and had a question about bathing and the beach. We took Lily to the beach today for the first time (she’s almost 12 weeks)… She loved it – the water, the sand, and the other people and dogs. We gave her a bath when she got home. Before this bath, we had just bathed her once (just last week). This time when we washed her, we brushed her out pretty well first and then didn’t rub much, and just cleaned certain areas well (such as her legs and underside) that got wet with the salt water. We’ve heard that doodles really should only be bathed every month or so, because their coats are somewhat self-cleaning (I love this concept – wish it could apply to other areas of my life such as my kitchen!) and also that bathing too much can deplete their coats of the oils that help repel the dirt. Any advice from any frequent beachgoers out there as far as how to or products? Is it okay to sometimes just rinse off sand and salt water and condition the coat maybe? We let her dry naturally this time because of course she hates the blow dryer and it is such a beautiful day here. Thanks! I love this website. There is so much helpful information and everyone is so nice! Margo

[Tamara & Giada]

I'd say if it were just sand and salt water, a good rinse with clean water at home is all she would need......no need for a full bath. I only give mine a bath if she is VERY dirty. Of course I too am a new doodle Mom:)

[Danielle]

Koda and I make frequent trips to the beach and after every trip I give him a good bath. I figure the sand in the fur could be more of an irritant than the bath. It is amazing how much sand ends up in their coats! I have never had any skin or coat problems with him after over a year of going to the beach and washing him when we get home. So, after the beach, if your dog is sandy and smelly I don't see a reason not to give him a bath. Koda knows now as soon as we get home he goes right into the tub.

[Pam & Ruby]

i'm a new doodle mom and have needed to wash Ruby at least once per week because of the trips to the beach, and her gardening habits. Thankfully, her need to garden is being fixed. But I'm also a horse owner ...so I've been using a horse product "Cowboy Magic Conditioner & Detangler - dirt repellant". It is a staple with horse owners. So far, like a few weeks, it's proven to be great!!!

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Sadly Jordan will never go to the ocean again:( and we live by the ocean.
So we went and seriously sand was stuck in her hair. I rinsed her at the park before we got into the car. I thought I had gotten all the sand out there.
When we got home she still smelled fishy so I put her in the tub. No Joke it took me an hour to get all the sand out of her hair. It was crazy.
So no more sandy beaches for her. Luckily we have lots of rocky beaches here in the Pac NW.
As for shampoo and cond. I use people products. I have used baby shampoo and cond, but I love Pureology it is what I use. I also spray her with Abba true curls for a leave in conditioner. You can use people products on dogs just make sure the PH in under 4.
The dogs get a bath once a month or as needed. I brush Jordan once a week, and we never have mats.People tell me she has the softest hair.
I am a smell oriented person, and I hate the smell of dog shampoo. I did use a dog shampoo called cloud something before I got Jordan. That one smelled good, and worked great on Payton (ND).