Giving my dog a bath every two weeks? V stinky

[zemastruve]

@marjihealing I have a short haired weiner (heehee) dog and a salt water pool. Do I need to wash her after each swim? Also, she is terrified of the blow dryer but is that necessary for short hair?

Sorry for asking for free advice

 

[tiago]

@zemastruve Not sure why you were downvoted, but here's a little info to help.

Salt does the same thing to dogs that it does to human skin, which is to say that it's very drying. Your dog's skin will become way too dry at some point, which usually leads to an overproduction of skin oil from glands that aren't getting or maintaining enough natural oil. So you end up causing a problem by too much exposure to salt.

So, you'd want to wash after salty swims with a moisturizing shampoo, and you may want to look into a dog conditioner. Don't use people stuff, just try the ones made for dogs.

For the dryer, using a hair dryer on a lower speed helps a bit. You might also want to look into a Happy Hoodie (a head wrap type of thing that covers a dog's ears during blow dry to reduce the noise a little and provide comfort). However, they don't work for everyone.

But one thing I've done is simply use the hair dryer on myself while showing my babies that it's not harmful. Just pointing it directly at myself while they're in the room (while also being calm) seems to work. But give it time. She just may be afraid and there's not much you can do.

And short-haired dogs have the same needs - the skin needs to dry thoroughly. You'll run into a LOT of problems by not making sure that her skin is thoroughly after bath time or swimming.

I can't stress this enough - make sure her skin is completely dry after exposure to water. Using an absorbent towel first to soak up a lot of the water, then using the hair dryer should also help to reduce drying time and get your dog dryer sooner.

Good luck!

 

[zemastruve]

@tiago Maybe they don't like my weiner joke... you can't win them all.

Thank you for the clear and considerate response!!!

 

[marjihealing]

@zemastruve It is still important for them to get completely dry and desensitized to the dryer.
And the salt water might dry out the pups skin, so if they are getting in the pool often.. baths with conditioner need to happen more often along with getting them bone dry.

 

[willbill]

@marjihealing Where can we buy the quality shampoos. It seems to be a private club that the average person can’t get into. It’s frustrating. I have a 5 month old all white Mini Schnauzer and her fur is very thin.

Is it the dander that make them smell so much? Is that why using a high velocity dryer is recommended?

 

[marjihealing]

@willbill I buy off amazon sometimes or pet direct, groomers choice etc

Hydra is an excellent brand, quadruped, isle of dogs, Artero, hemp pets, south bark, Lillian ruff.. are all good brands.

Yes it is very important to get them completely dry to the skin. It can cause skin issues, smell, and issues with their coat (ie matting).

 

[bereanish]

@fenhn Have you tried other shampoos? My dog bathes every 1-2 weeks, I use oatmeal shampoo (sergeant's fur so fresh, not sure if this is available everywhere), and she smells so nice until her next bath.

Also, making sure your pup is fully dried also helps. I blowdry my dog, comb, and then blowdry again.

Making sure their feeties are clean as well, teeth brushed! Since they lick their feet and then scratch.

Also wanna take note if your dog has a habit of rolling in certain places

 

[marjihealing]

@bereanish I’d actually advise most owners using oatmeal as yeast is so common.. it feeds it and will make it worse.

 

[bereanish]

@marjihealing Oh is that so? I hope that isnt the case for OP. As per my experience (trying different soaps as well), oatmeal worked best for my babies.

I hope OP gets a quick vet visit for any worries

 

[heismine]

@fenhn That smell usually comes from trapped shedded hair on double coat dogs. If she’s not dirty, just smelly, then between baths you can rub some corn starch in her fur then brush it out with a deshedding brush like a Furminator. The corn starch helps detangle mats and trapped hair so you can brush it out and get that undercoat out.

 

[miranda168409]

@heismine As a dog walker/sitter who frequently works in Streeterville, I believe I know exactly what you are going through. And I think a shedding comb can help you a lot. Other than when the lake turns over in the spring, most dogs can spend time there and come away pretty much okay.
Another helpful to for the smell can be dry shampoo, similar to what people use but specific to dogs. There are a lot of good ones out there. The trick is to spray it on your hands or brush rather than the dog.

 

[willbill]

@heismine Corn starch or Baking Soda?

 

[heismine]

@willbill Either but my groomer friends use corn starch to detangle mats. Both absorb oils.

 

[maddyiscool]

@fenhn Based on these comments I don’t bathe my dog enough lol. He’s 1.5 years old and he’s only had 3 baths we do it like every 6 months. Mind you we brush him and he’s short hair. He does get muddy but it comes right off and he does not smell bad at all. Sure Theres a dog scent but it’s not that gross dog smell (or I just don’t smell it but I don’t even notice it when I come home from being away and I’m super sensitive to smells).

 

[taradawn]

@maddyiscool short hair is wayy different from long. my moms dogs we wash maybe three times a year. my long hair I try to do once a month

 

[johnfarnandez]

@taradawn Even some longer-haired breeds do well without frequent baths. I can’t STAND gross dog smell, but have had huskies for 12 years - barring serious mud or other types of “incident-related” baths, I’ve never had them just get stinky. You can bury your face in their coat and it smells pretty darn neutral.

My previous husky had less than 1 bath a year on average. My current pup has had more frequent baths due to getting herself into trouble (because puppy!), but I think still less than 5 in the year we’ve had her.

 

[taradawn]

@johnfarnandez I have a sam and they don’t get stinky! you definitely don’t have to but blowing them out helps a ton with the brushing shedding so I prefer that over brushing more lol

 

[johnfarnandez]

@taradawn I haven’t ever had mine groomed, actually. I’ve thought about it but I’m not sure how she’d respond. She is pretty chill about 99% of things but hates having her nails trimmed or getting a bath, so I’ve been mindful of wanting her to have positive experiences. I know there are some great groomers out there, but I also know they don’t get paid to essentially train my dog into being okay with it, so…

 

[taradawn]

@johnfarnandez yeah I switched to doing everything at home. Just didn’t have stellar experiences and it wasn’t worth the money

 

[karenmonique]

@maddyiscool Same here. I used to bathe my older dog once or tops twice a year. It’s a little more frequent now, but never more often than once a month, usually 3-4 months between washes.