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How Often Should You Bathe Your Pet?

Submitted by Michael Adams on November 27, 2009

Pet owners are completely responsible for their pets and grooming is an important part of their everyday care. It doesn�t matter whether your pet has a short and close coat or a long and furry one, bathing your pet is essential in order to maintain their health. Your pets have extremely sensitive skin and they may need to be shampooed and cleansed regularly in order to keep skin infections and parasites at bay.

Though individual breeds and pets may require a different bathing schedule, they do require to be bathed at regular intervals. If you have a cat, you don�t have to worry so much. Cats are able to groom themselves and can actually live their entire lives without ever having to take a bath.

Cats also dislike water and most of them wouldn�t cooperate for a quick bath. Inexperienced owners may not be able to bathe their cats at all and may ultimately feel frustrated. However, a lot of cats may require bathing because of skin infections or other parasitic attacks that can only be cured with the help of antiseptic lotions or medicated shampoos. Cats who have become old, or those who are obese, cannot reach all areas of their body and therefore cannot groom themselves properly. Such cats may require periodical bathing to keep them clean and disease free. Dogs however, are another story. Dogs, because of their habits, are more prone to getting dirty. Dogs need a bathing and grooming routine in order to keep them clean and healthy. Regular bathing is also important in order to let the dog�s coat remain clean and healthy. Dogs do not essentially dislike bathing however, if a dog is not attuned to receiving baths right from the time when it was a puppy, it may create problems for its owner when bathed at a later stage. Most dogs are happy being bathed only once a week but they do require regular grooming and brushing between baths in order to keep their coats clean and dirt free. Regular brushing not only keeps them clean but can also help remove dead hairs from the coat so that shedding is checked. The periodicity of your dog�s baths completely depends on the activity level of the dog, the hygiene maintained in the house, and the kind of coat the dog has. It is advised that young puppies should not be bathed to often but adult dogs can be bathed once or twice a week, depending upon how bad they smell.

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