How often should you bathe your dog

(December 22, 2009)

There is no set frequency for bathing your dog. How often you should bathe your dog is entirely up to you. There are a lot of factors which influence the frequency of dog bathing and grooming. Your lifestyle and the time you have for your dog are major factors that influence your dog’s grooming routine. However, if your dog is especially active, it may begin to look dirty and smell bad every few days. Lap dogs, on the other hand, need a fewer number of baths because they tend to get less dirty.

Pet owners usually bathe their dogs at their own convenience. Some, who may have the time and the resources, bathe their dog everyday, while there are others who bathe their dogs only once a year. Those who can afford it send their dogs to dog grooming centers where all their dog’s needs are taken care of. To determine how often your dog may require a bath, check its coat. For those dogs that have thick double coats, a bath every 4-8 weeks is necessary. Dogs with longer coats may need a bath every three weeks. Smaller dogs that have smooth coats should be bathed only when it’s necessary. Two consecutive baths should be given at least two months apart. Curly coats that do not shed much can ideally do without a bath for at least six weeks, and dogs that have wiry coats need a bath once a month.

Apart from the kind of coat your dog has, the lifestyle of the dog is also an important factor influencing when considering grooming and bathing of the dog. Dogs that love to frolic in the mud need to be bathed every now and then. Dirty dogs are prone to parasitic infestations. If they do get infected, they may end up passing the infections on to their human families too. If your dog gets muddy often, ordinary shampoo may not be helpful. A mild shampoo in such a case is ideal to preserve the natural oils in the dog’s skin. The pH level in the dog’s skin is very different from the human skin. Therefore, they should be bathed only with shampoos meant for dogs. If you give your dog frequent baths, using a conditioner may be a good idea to keep the coat shining and healthy. Just like humans, dogs sweat more during the summer and should therefore be bathed with increased frequency during hot weather. In colder climates, you can reduce the frequency, and instead use other grooming products like powders and deodorants for dogs.