How often should I wash my doodle!!!?

[Jessica]

So, the other day, I was watching 'At the End of My Leash' and I heard an owner being repremanded for bathing her dog (a rotti) every 6 months. Now, this was a bit of a shock to me because my Finny gets washed a lot more often than that! Worried about the fact that I might be stripping his coat of precious oils I, quick as a flash, Googled "How often should I wash my dog?" And the answer came back, 'for a non-shedding/low shedding dog, (like my Finny), about every 6 weeks'!!! Now my Finny gets walked every day come rain or shine - usually rain, since I live at the bottom of Grouse Mountain, Vancouver, B.C. And there are no places I can think of around here to take him where he would not come back with his legs up to the shoulder, and under-chasis drenched in mud, or green, slimey sea-weed; (those are the choices and yes, he has quite short legs). As a result, Finny gets washed most days (puppy gentle, no more tears type), but only the grubby bits and we do use conditioner. Is the general concensus that I should merely hose him down (and put up with the stink?) So, may I ask, how often do other Doodle lovers wash their Doodles!?

[Tamara & Giada]

I agree, a full bath about every 6 weeks, but I wash the feet much more than that to keep my house clean:)

If my dog got that dirty on walks, I'd wash her too!

[Diane Dolphin Rocker]

I have washed my Ruby only once in 11 months! She has been groomed 2X. She has this great fleece coat that drops the dirt as soon as she dries. :)) I do like the shaggy look though, so I brush about every 2 days to keep the mats at bay.

[1v200f3rbrnxk]

every 6 to 8 weeks here UNLESS they roll in deer poop ;

if it's a little mud on the legs, i towel dry them a bit and later brush it out.
during summer we hose them down and they lie by the floor fan or sit on the terrace in a breeze drying off at my feet.

they get brushed almost daily as it relaxes them and me too

[Jessica]

I'm astounded at the response to my forum question; thank-you everyone for taking the time to reply! Well, I put my new education into pracice tonight. My partner returned from the park with our little doggy all covered in mud from a grand game of flicker-ball and instead of rushing him to the bathroom at arms length for a lovely, soapy lather of lavender No More Tears, I simply enveloped him in a nice, fresh white towel...
Like Alladin at the lamp, I rub-a-dub-dubbed until the towel was black and my doggy was, well - grey at least. At first, I thought the magic had not worked, but over the period of the next hour, Abracadabra; the mud simply fell away! I cannot imagine where all the crud has gone...
Finny would like to say a big Thank-you to his friends at LabradoodleKisses; and now I must away - there are carpets to be vacumed, towels to be washed, sand to be swept and a puppy to, er blow kisses to...!

[23nyik3g6rkq5]

Well, Jessica... I join the group of "frequent washers." I, too, walk Yankee in the greenbelt in the Houston area so we deal with not only the heat, but the humidity. The greenbelt also has some swampy areas and there is nothing that smells worse than that swamp mud! Therefore, Miss Yankee generally gets a bath every week. The vet thinks her coat is gorgeous... no flaking and so shiny... and has told me if she doesn't care, he doesn't see a problem. I use a flea shampoo because that's a problem in the south and I don't ever want her to get fleas from our walks. I don't use a condition, I bathe her on the driveway so she can still "watch" people and then let her air dry. I think dogs are like people... I wash my hair every day and it doesn't bother me, one time a week doesn't bother her :)

I absolutley love these forums because I learn so much. Thanks to all of you from sharing your perspectives!

[Jessica]

Yo Debbie - way to go...I appreciate you can relate to the true meaning of the word mank. Is your dog really called Miss Yankee? If so, I think I might call her Manky Yankee. We had a great trip to Tofino, but the car drive home in the heat with Finn humming in the back seat of our Mini was dreadful. It smelled like we had a dead body stowed away. He's all lovely now though; fluffy n soft and smelling like a baby...

[20xlhzzaoccks]

I totally feel you pain. I have a very active white labradoodle. He gets muddy, dirty, stinky on a daily basis. Also, he swims almost every day year round (we live in Orlando). He has skin allergies and I have found that out of everything Dove people shampoo is the only kind that doesn't itch him or dry out his skin. He also takes fish oil. I rinse him off when ever he swims and use a little dove shampoo. Over the summer he gets bathed almost everyday and it doesn't seem to affect his skin/coat.

[Jessica]

Yes, I think Lil Nell would benefit from a bath now and then. About every couple of months seems to be the general concensus. How often did Debbie recommend a professional groom, ie a trim of her fur, toe-nails etc and ears cleaned? Are you having any luck with teeth-cleaning? Is she easy to de-tangle? She looks a dainty little thing, I can't imagine her manky, but the photo of her walking with Dad shows lovely little dirty feet!

[Lee Seidman]

We live in Florida, Lexi is out every day and loves to get into the dirt in her run. She is bright white and comes in the house with her face dark brown along with her legs and body. We shower her every week and try to sponge her off often.Golden Retreivers are known water dogs. I don't think bathing will dry their skin out.

[Maya]

I know this is way more frequent than most people do, but here it is:

I give Cassie a shower once every week - week and a half. A groomer told me to water down the shampoo, and she'll be fine. My vet said - instead of using a regular doggie shampoo and watering it down, it's better to use a special shampoo that is meant for frequent baths, and does not dry up the skin. She recommended *efa HyLyt shampoo - here's what it says... "with essential fatty acids... soap-free Hypoallergenic shampoo for routine cleansing of normal, dry or sensitive skin"... on the back it says "may be be used as often as necessary. I do water it down, though, or it takes forever to rinse out. Also - I use an oatmeal (something or other) doggie conditioner every time. I think all this really helps keep her hair nice and shiny, since I almost never brush her.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Connor my goldendoodle goes to work with me so he needs to stay clean and fresh. I wash him every 2-4 weeks. When he was off for the month of December, I didn't wash him for about 6 weeks. His hair and skin are in good shape -- he's very shiny :-) I brush him every other day to get out loose hair. He is an apricot doodle with no undercoat and soft waves and curls. If he was a fleecey, woolly doodle, his grooming routine might be totally different. I think it might depend on the kind of coat. :-)

[Sandy]

I must be a negligent dog owner! Toby had a bath the day we brought him home (he and the littermates had rolled in food just prior to us picking him up), and once when he had a "poopy bum". Other than that, we have not bathed him. He's just over 5 months old. Everyone says he smells really fresh and clean. Now, we live in Southern Ontario, and we are snow covered and frozen over right now, and Toby had longer legs. I guess if he smells bad, I'll wash him. Otherwise, I think he's good!