Here is a stupid question. It has been almost two months since I bathed Lily (no dead stuff to roll in with all the snow), and I wanted to know if you have to wash your dog every couple of weeks. She does not smell at all (I sniffed her all over- she looked at me funny), and I brush her every day and her coat is not oily or dirty, so I don’t see why I would have to, but I just wanted to check.
If she doesn’t smell and has nothing on her coat, can I just skip bathing her? My gut instinct is that if dogs were meant to have baths regularly, nature would have figured out a way for them to bathe on their own, and I should just her natural oils, my brushing, and her self-grooming do the trick until it is clear that I need to bathe her.
Tom Traubert
Short-haired dogs generally don’t need to be bathed all that often; at least not nearly as often as those that require grooming. We bathe ours only once every six weeks or so and they’re just fine. Do it too often and you’ll dry out her skin; she’ll scratch like crazy and be very uncomfortable.
brantl
Yes, you’re right. Bathing tends to dry out their skin.
Keith
I only bathe mine when he smells or has the oily coat. I’ve got a blue dog, and they’re very susceptible to dryness and staph rashes with frequent bathes.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Now we know how John picks up babes.
You’re right, you don’t need to bathe her every two weeks. I don’t know if I read this or it’s just a theory of mine but it’s better if you don’t wash them too frequently because the condition of an animal’s coat/skin can tell you about their general health. Plus you risk stripping natural oils and in this weather she can get a cold.
RoonieRoo
We only bathe Gregor when he starts to smell doggy. He doesn’t roll in smelly stuff so he gets a bath maybe every 4 months max. Frequent baths make for an itchy, dried out pup as the others have said.
kommrade reproductive vigor
WAIT A MINUTE.
Why is a man with his arm held on by staples and who has already had one near death experience in the bathroom asking about washing anything?
Shut up and have another beer.
eastriver
I only do it a couple of times a year. But then, I’m prone to hairballs.
Seanly
I rarely bathe my dogs. They have a thick undercoat of long hair mixed with the short hairs (or is it the opposite of that?)
Anyway, if she has a double coat, frequent baths are actually damaging to the coat/skin. Better to brush her on a regular basis.
Also, while it is okay for your dog to sniff you (especially the crotch & butt), it is a faux pas for you to sniff her.
ronin122
@Keith: Aren’t they also susceptible to corporatism and over-bipartisanship?
Kennedy
You are correct; over-bathing can be detrimental.
I generally don’t bathe my Boston Terrier unless she needs it, which is a function of if she has been digging holes in my yard and rolling around in the dirt.
eemom
your gut instinct is correct. You are a born dog person.
different church-lady
speaking of pet questions: I just got a cat. What’s that brush thing that John uses to decimate Tunch’s fur?
slag
@different church-lady: The Furminator. My cats hate it. But they hate all brushing. Always have.
General Winfield Stuck
All has to do with the stank factor for me. Charlie has lots of fur and I suppose that contributes to his rank factor getting pretty high in just a week. So that is what the bath timeline will be since he has to stay indoors with apartment living, except when on walks with me. And since I let him lay any where he wants, and he sleeps at the foot of the bed, he is going to get that weekly bath.
Because he is small, and behaves perfectly while taking baths, it’s no big deal for me or him, only takes ten minutes or less. And I can tell he his happy with having clean fur afterwards.
cincyanon
It depends. I have one dog with medium long hair that sheds so much that I rarely have her bathed at all and when I do it’s due to her rubbing on opossum poo or a dead squirrel…or mud. She hasn’t had a bath in probably a year.
Had another dog that smelled like a wet moldy sweater every time it rained within weeks of a bath.
You Don't Say
Yes, people are much more likely to over bathe dogs than under bathe. When I was a kid oh so many years ago we bathed the dog, I don’t know, no more than every few months, unless of course the dog got into something. Now people talk about bathing their dogs every week. Not good for the dog’s skin.
@different church-lady: The Furminator, and be sure to use no more than once a week.
Jeff
We send our 2 dogs ( beagle-pinscher mix, corgi-spaniel mix) to be groomed about every 3 months or so. More frequently I believe runs the risk of drying out their skin too much.
Rather than bathing, the key to sweet-smelling pooches is regular brushing and care of their teeth.
cincyanon
Off topic but…I also put a tablespoon of vegetable oil in my dog’s food during the dry winter months to combat dry skin and itching.
Sue
My malamute mix never needed bathing, he always smelled arctic-fresh. My beagle mix needed something every few months. Both had to go to the groomer’s for nail clipping because I’m a coward that way.
I say wait until he’s one step beyond yummy-doggie smell, then hit the suds.
pandora
First time commenter, but avid reader – LOVE this blog!
Now that I got that out of the way… once we had children, our dog was lucky to get a bath once a year! She’s a rescue dog, lab mix, 11 years old and going strong – despite our neglectful parenting! But after all your pet questions, I am feeling a wee bit guilty.
tavella
Dogs don’t need bathing unless they stink. Some dogs really enjoy water, of course, so there’s no reason not to let them in the shower if they want, but it’s not necessary (it’s not even necessary if they stink, but it’s much nicer for their humans.)
Punchy
Bathe once every 6 months. Are you still brushing her teeth every nite?
NickM
There’s always a lot of pet-knowledgeable comments, so I hope nobody minds if I go a little off-topic with a cat question.
We have two cats, a 14 yo and 3 yo. About 2 weeks ago, the 3 year old went on a spraying tear, after never having done anything like that before. And of course she’s spraying mostly bedding – from the dog’s bed to the peoples’ bed. Anyone have ideas about why she’s doing this and more important what we can do to stop it?
skippy
haven’t had a dog for years, but i had many when i was younger. don’t wash your dog till he stinks. no need.
besides, when the weather’s warmer and you take her on a walk, if you live near a pond or lake or something, let her go swimming, that will suffice.
Punchy
OT:
Holy shit has this fuckin country gone mad, or what?
Busted for Legos? Really?
JGabriel
OT, Recession in Modern Times: Cybercrooks are outsoucing the job of infecting computers, and the pay sucks — only 18 cents per infected PC in the US, less for other other countries.
Notorious P.A.T.
If it ain’t broke. . .
PurpleGirl
My friends rarely bathed any of their dogs (a Dobermann Pinscher and retired racing greyhounds). The only time I do remember them bathing Hugo (the D-P) was after his encounter with the skunk — and that involved lots of tomato juice.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@NickM: Have her checked for a bladder infection.
Sasha
@different church-lady:
As people have said, it’s the FURminator (it’s even got it’s own entry in the BJ glossary). However, I recommend you go one better and get the FURminator with FURejector, which allows you to clear out the comb by simply pushing a button.
bemused
@Sue:
It’s the same with our Samoyeds. They really have no odor unless they get rain soaked but then they just smell like wet wool. One big reason we like the northern breeds. I love dogs & want to pet every one I meet but I don’t love the doggy smell that lingers from labs & other water dogs.
Origuy
@Punchy:
Zero Tolerance ≡ Zero Common Sense
Alan
Free the animal, let her rinse herself in the tub. Go paleo. :)
Fallsroad
My Golden Retriever is a service dog (seizure response) and I am required as part of my agreement with the organization that trained him and gave him to me to keep him groomed properly and smelling decent since he goes everywhere I do. Besides, it’s only polite that he not be offensive in publicly shared spaces.
I was surprised to discover that, contrary to my expectations, he only needs a bath about 3-4 times a year unless he’s gotten into something foul.
Regular brushing and proper diet seem to take care of most of it, though I rely on my wife’s far more sensitive nose to know when bath time has arrived just to be sure he doesn’t offend people.
recusancy
I’ve bathed my dog maybe three times in her entire life and she’s 6, happy, and healthy. She’s a husky so she sheds most of the dirty hair away and keeps herself pretty clean.
Jeff
@NickM
When a cat does something like that, it often means they’re stressed some how–was their any change at home– new dog, cat, or human?
If it’s a cat– the 3yo may be marking territory. If it’s a dog it may be anxious– and if its a human …
As to stopping it– if you can identify the stressor and put some distance between your cat and it that might help.
Max
Ah, to have a short-haired dog, whose hair doesn’t grow like a weed.
Max the Wheaten gets bathed once every week or two. He gets filthy on the Oakland trails. Max never met a puddle or a mud-bog he didn’t like. He gets a $100 haircut every 10 weeks or so (show cut) at the groomers to keep his ever-growing hair under control and to avoid him looking like a bearded collie. He has “hair” not “fur”.
Expensive maintenance program for a dog, but he’s a non-shedding, hypoallergenic, breed. For me, its worth the trade-off.
Tonight is bath time for him. I will suds him up in Lily’s honor.
WaterGirl
My cocker spaniels needed bathing regularly. My big black bear-like dog had allergies and needed a bath occasionally.
I currently have a self-cleaning (mostly white) dog. He is 11 years old and weighs 40 pounds, and I have given him a bath only once. He looks great, smells great, and people often ask if I’ve just given him a bath. Lily’s photos make me think her coat is of a similar type to this one.
My take is that if you have to ask, Lily doesn’t need a bath. If they have a good thing going, it’s best not to mess with the doggie ecosystem.
Rook
@kommrade reproductive vigor: Geez. The poor guy is going to have stitches removed and you smack him once across the nose.
That’s funny!
Maude
@NickM: I had my last male cat for 15 years.
I would take the girl cat to the vet. See if there’s something wrong.
Cats smell things and spray on them. Siamese can be very hard to live with.
Have you used a different detergent or anything that smells differently?
This would drive me crazy. I hope you find the answer and please let us know.
Sloegin
Dogs can and should smell like dogs imho; we’d only bathe our dogs if they rolled in a batch of dead fish (grew up on a lake).
Americanitis
I have two big dogs and a little one, and I bath the little one whenever she gets into something – Jack Russell, so its pretty frequent; ~ every month or so. The big guys get a bath maybe 2 or 3 times per year. If a dog is eating properly and is healthy, s/he will rarely smell bad. Unless, like my Zoey, s/he is a Jack Russell who likes to roll in the mud and other stuff.
metricpenny
John,
I’ve just finished catching up on today’s posts. I read your post from 9:12 am RE: getting your sutures removed and finally being able to shower.
Is this post really about Lily or about you? ; ~ )
We wash our pup here in GA only when her odor starts to offend. Usually once per month in the summer and fall (warmest weather so outdoors more); and, every 2 – 3 months in the winter and spring.
Digital Amish
When my mostly lab gets to smelling too bad, we take him down and throw a stick in the river for a half an hour. Dog bathed.
Mojotron
I think you’re supposed to have her Martinized.
Furminator
@ different church lady:
if you are going to buy a furminator, buy it online – it costs about half of what you’d pay if you bought it at the vet. (duh!)
Scuffletuffle
@NickM: Yes, have the cat checked for any medical conditions. Spraying is sometimes a territorial thing, and yes female cats do it, too. It usually just doesn’t smell as stinky, to us at least. Have the two cats had any getting along issues lately, or has there been a visitor that might have made her feel insecure?
growingdaisies
Once a month or so is a pretty good rule of thumb, as others suggested. I wouldn’t do it any more frequently than that unless she gets into something.
But since she’s a dog and by nature is always getting into something (even if you didn’t see it), I don’t know that I’d go much LONGER than once a month. You are petting a type of animal who tends to run around looking for dead things to roll over. Just sayin’.
schrodinger's cat
When are you going to bathe Tunch?
Uncle Glenny
I’d say no for Lily.
I had a pit bull (black) with bad skin, and he’d discolor the (off-white) furniture where he rubbed against it. He also shed continuously (non-seasonal, it happens to indoor dogs). He got bathed semi-regularly, with selsun blue no less.
My shepherd-collie mix, long-haird and fluffy, didn’t need bathing, just brushing. She was a heavy seasonal shedder, too; so bad it was worth it to take her to the groomer (who used a furminator, btw – never did buy one for myself). The groomer did such a good job that, if I timed it for the right part of the year, I only had to do it annually.
jeffreyw
We bathe only as needed. Generally works out to about twice a year.
Michael D.
I bathe my dog once a month in cold months and more often in the warm months because she is outside and getting dirtier. She’s a Labrador and sometimes swims in the winter as well, so I always wash her after that.
MY recommendation would be to wash bathe your dog every couple of weeks if it is long hair, every month for short hair, and at least every couple weeks int he warm months.
Here’s a more professional recommendation from Small Dog Paradise.
Scuffletuffle
My Clumber Spaniel only got bathed every three to four months, otherwise her skin got too dry. On the other hand, her doggy smell was a lovely yeasty smell, just like baking bread, so it wasn’t at all unpleasant. At least not to me. When I loaned her out for breeding, one of my conditions was a clump of fur/hair be mailed to me periodically so I wouldn’t miss her too much. Although I still missed her snoring!
Mouse Tolliver
I only bathe my dogs in the summer to control fleas. Otherwise I wipe them down with these scented doggy wipes that you can find in just about any drug store.
Max
I used to give our chocolate lab and shepherd/husky mix a bath every so often, but it was such a PITA I quit. It’s been about 5 or 6 years since we’ve bathed them. I have to hose off a patch of goo now and then when they roll in the dead stuff, but that’s it. We all seem to be ok, and no visitors have commented on anything untoward.
Every once in a while we visit friends who bathe their dog regularly, and I envy the freshly-shampooed feel of their dog’s fur. But I manage to let the feeling pass.
NickM
Thanks to Komrade, Maude, Jeff, Scuffle –
I made the vet appt. A medical problem didn’t occur to me before, I thought it had to be behavioral.
The older cat is frankly starting to really decline – she seems to be suddenly be getting frail and tired – it doesn’t seem like she’s ill, just getting really old. I guess it could be the younger one is making her move on the throne, so to speak. It’s very frustrating. I’ll report back in an open thread after the vet visit. Thanks again for the advice.
Dino Goposaur
Like your poor arm/shoulder, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Especially with short haired dogs. Unless it’s poo or a container of Kung Pao that your beagle managed to drag down off the counter dumping on their head and can’t lick off and won’t let the other dogs come and clean it up because if they can’t get at it – no one will – I say, “live and let live”.
It’s always a good cover for your own less than desirous hygiene if you choose to let it slide.
licensed to kill time
My rule of thumb is always “wash dog if stinky or covered in muck”, otherwise leave well enough alone. And since all my dogs would immediately run off after a bath and roll around in something, anything! to get the soap smell off I figured they were trying to tell me something – like, “WHY are you ruining my natural doggishness and wonderful smell?”
Really, their noses are SO sensitive I always wondered if it was sheer torture for them to get bathed w/soap.
Scuffletuffle
@NickM: That may well be it. My cats are often hostile to one who is not up to snuff, even though they generally get along. Always best to be sure about medical issues though, because cats, like dogs, can be very stoic and not show obvious signs of distress.
DFH no. 6
I’ve had a number of dogs (and a few cats) over the years, going back to the halcyon days of childhood (’50s & ’60s). The dogs have been of all varieties and sizes, mostly mutts from shelters along with a few strays.
These were (and are) all dogs who lived in the house (city and suburb, Ohio and Arizona), but were also outdoors a lot (backyard, walks, camping).
We never bathed them unless they got into something nasty, or got muddy, or (as happened one time when I brought home a tick-ridden stray) they got ticks. The ticks took some doing to get rid of (along with the stray, we had 4 dogs at the time). With muddiness, all it takes is a hosing off.
I don’t think I’ve given even 20 total dog baths in all the years with all the many dogs. Some of my dogs never got any at all, ever (we had one sweet female german shepherd mix a long time ago who was more fastidious than most people I know, and so never needed a bath even once in her 12 years).
People bathe their dogs way too much — it’s not generally good for them. It’s one of those things I just don’t get, like people in the Valley of the Sun here getting their houses sprayed monthly for “bugs” (something I’ve also never done — in 30 years here — and I’ve never had any “bug” problems any more than I have stinky dogs).
chopper
i’m supposed to bathe my mutt twice a week. that doesn’t happen, as she’s 70 pounds, built like a brick sh1t-house and absolutely hates water. did i mention i have to put her in the tub, as i live in an apartment?
yeah, that’s fun.
Butch
The only place we can use for doggie baths in our little mountain hippie house is a bathtub with a glass door (obvious potential breakage issue; the laundry room is tiny with no sink), so the mutts don’t get a bath unless it’s warm enough outside. In any case, Butkus, Barley, Pancho, and Beauregard think baths are illegal. I do give ’em an Omega-3 every day for their coat.
Michael D.
With respect to this, that’s true. There is no evidence that bathing more regularly has an effect on a dog’s lifespan. A wolf – probably not a “dog” that bathes regularly – has an average lifespan of 16 years. Also, remember that no matter how good your shampoo is (if you buy it at a pet store) they tend to dry out a dog’s skin. From what I understand, oatmeal shampoos are great for maintaining moisture. Does anyone know more about this? I always buy oatmeal shampoos but, admittedly, on the recommendation of someone who is giving me “hi” own opinion.
If I might gfo a little off topic and make a FOOD recommendation for larger retrievers. I bought my dog from a very reputable and well-known breeder (I’m adopting going forward) He makes his own food (i.e., he formulated it with a vet and now sells it online. It’s called JaxMax and it has ZERO fillers. It’s made with Chicken Meal – not plain old chicken. No corn, no ash. For a 2-3 month supply, he’ll deliver it for $60.
I also give my Labrador Retriever a daily dose of Vitamin C. Be careful if you do that. Most V-C’s are ascorbic acid based – not good. The best Vitamin C out there for dogs is from Amway (Nutralite.) My breeder wouldn’t even sell me my dog unless I agreed, in writing, to supplement her diet with this. I don’t buy it from him, but from another friend.
Sentient Puddle
@kommrade reproductive vigor:
Y’know, I don’t think I heard the story about his near-death experience in the bathroom. Is there a link to an old post for this?
The Pale Scot
My Scottie lasts about 2 weeks before he gets fragrant, doesn’t like the bath but loves getting dried, just dives head first into the towel Rub! Rub! Rub!.
Mostly what works for you, but if she’s sleeping in your bedding and has access to your entire place it doesn’t hurt to think about hygiene. Hair is a bacteria magnet.
In Afghanistan the Army has utilites for infantrymen to wash their hands as soon as they come back from patrol.
marcopolo
As a dog owner (three of them) of 15 years, I have never bathed any of them unless they were covered with mud or had a run in with a skunk or something similar. As of now, neither of my 2 dogs has had a bath in at least a year. They both look and smell great and I haven’t heard any complaints from family, friends, or neighbors. I didn’t read all the comments in the thread but if no one pointed it out, bathing dogs messes with the oils in their coat which messes with the monthly application of flea and tick stuff, if you use that.
dopealope
I bath my German Shepherd probably 3-4 times a year, but brush her very frequently. Of course, she spends a lot of time in my pond so I don’t know if that counts …
Michael D.
@dopealope:
Actually, it depends on whether or not your pond is still or flowing. If it is still water, you should bathe her more frequently because of bacteria in the water.
bemused
@NickM:
If the vet doesn’t find a physical reason for the problem, you may want to try what my friends did. Their persnickety/neurotic Persian would not use the litter boxes. They had 2 or 3 out for him but that didn’t make any difference. The vet suggested these pheronome diffusers that plug into sockets that dissuade the cat from peeing in those areas. It’s working on this cat.
itsallaboutme
Try a light exfoliant, followed by an astringent, SPF 15 and a spritz of Evian. Perks me up
JGabriel
Sentient Puddle:
Why, yes, there is!
John Cole, May 18th, 2009 at 9:50 pm:
.
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Scuffletuffle: I hear you about cat stoicism. We adopt rescue cats, and generally keep two in the house all the time. With exception of our latest cat, we usually adopt mature cats (we typically get them when they are 9-11 years old) or younger cats with disabilities. We’ve lost three feline family members in the last few years, one to old age, one to cancer, and one to FIP. The only way we knew two of them were sick was that they became torpid in only a day or two, and went off to one particular closet in the house and started to nest there. The cat with FIP (a beautiful, totally deaf, totally fearless rescue cat) was symptomatic, but responded to palliative care for a while. Then she started hanging out in the Closet of Death… Strange thing is that none of these cats knew one another, and had not experienced the trips to the CoD by the other cats.
jibeaux
I don’t know how all you guys got these non-stinky dogs. The dogs I had growing up always stunk. Probably had something to do with the irresistible temptation to roll in dead things and crap.
Chat Noir
@NickM: Good luck! Hope that both your kitties are OK.
If your vet is able to rule out any kind of physical ailment, consider litterbox maintenance. Since I have 3 cats, I clean the litterboxes at least twice a day. Cats get cranky if their boxes aren’t clean and they’ll find alternative places to eliminate if the boxes aren’t up to par. I assume you’re doing that already but just thought I’d throw it out there just the same.
Max
@Max: You’re bogarting my moniker.
For a second, I thought I had a psychotic break and flashed to a life where I had a chocolate lab.
I call shotgun on “Max”.
——–
For the group, related to pet maintenance… Max’s limp turns out to be related to a cut on his pad. Any suggestions for salve or balm to put on it? Natural ingredients only, as he’s bound to licky.
Comrade Scrutinizer
@JGabriel: Oh, thanks so much for dredging that up again. I had almost gotten over the trauma of reading that the first time.
suzanne
My husky needs bathing only once every six months or so, unless there’s some sort of dust storm (I’m in Phoenix/East Valley). It’s funny, though. When she’s dusty, she leaves so many damn furballs, it looks like there’s frickin’ goombas crawling across my floor.
charles
My dalmatian is self-cleaning. He jumps in about every mud puddle we pass and often rolls around. Many times other hikers can’t even tell he’s a dalmation through all the mud. But miraculously within a couple miles he’ll be back to his normal color. Finish off with a brush and you’d never even know that he’d just been rolling in muck.
licensed to kill time
@suzanne:
Wait, there’s little Italian mobsters crawling around on your floor?
suzanne
@licensed to kill time:
Only when my uncle comes to visit.
Michael
OT, but this is obviously the fault of the Obama administration and its efforts to prop up lazy incompetents of the UAW by boosting the sales of the bailed out GM and Chrysler behemoths. It is the Kenyan illegal/Chitown thug/Marxist/Alinskyite way to be so devious…..
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/04/autos/prius_timeline/index.htm
This obviously should’ve been left to the sainted Market(peace be unto It) to correct. Soc!alism has ruined a good thing yet again…..
glasgowtremontaine
@NickM:
Two possibilities:
(a) The bedding is being used as a softer alternative to the litterbox. So maybe the cat is in pain (cf. Kommrade Reproductive Vigor’s solution). Also worth checking: have you switched litter brand lately? Some cats freak out about this (a.k.a. Mr. Picky-Substrate).
(b) Territory is being claimed. When this happened to us, the problem turned out to be the non-spraying cat, who had been subjecting the spraying cat to seemingly random fits of feline psychopathic rage (‘redirected aggression’, a.k.a. “who’re you calling ‘other cat’, Other Cat?”). Luckily one of our catsitters had taken a shine to Psycho Cat, who now lives with them as an Only Cat.
Anyway you have my deep sympathies, and I commend to you enzymatic cleaners, some of which actually do work (unfortunately I can’t remember which, but you might try the one in the black bottle).
Michael
GAAAAAAH! FYWP……
OT, but this is obviously the fault of the Obama administration and its efforts to prop up lazy incompetents of the UAW by boosting the sales of the bailed out GM and Chrysler behemoths. It is the Kenyan illegal/Chitown thug/Marxist/Alinskyite way to be so devious…..
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/04/autos/prius_timeline/index.htm
This obviously should’ve been left to the sainted Market(peace be unto It) to correct. Soc!alism has ruined a good thing yet again…..
alhutch
Egan, our Wire Haired Fox Terrier, gets frequent bathes as well (usually once a week). Type of coat really dictates the need.
He can get pretty ‘earthy’ by the end of a week (muddy NW dog parks x5 per week and the creek behind our house chasing nutria and such) and his hair holds onto everything.
Upside, he doesn’t shed and doesn’t mind the bath (and loves running around like a Tasmanian devil after).
daryljfontaine
@schrodinger’s cat:
The real question is, will he post video for our amusement?
D
Martin
Every 2-3 months for the corgi. But socal tends to keep him out of anything that would gunk him up.
acuvue oasys rebates
Agree with a lot of what’s been said.
Don’t over bathe any pet, be it a cat or dog.
The longer haired breeds tend to smell more than short but too much bathing strips away their natural hair/body oils needed for a healthy coat.
I’d only bathe them if they smell – if they don’t, just brush them well to keep them smooth, silky and happy.
WaterGirl
@glasgowtremontaine: @NickM:
I had great luck in the past with a product called CitraSpot, which you should be able to get in any health food store. I am allergic to most scents but CitraSpot just smells just like citrus, which is not a problem.
Maude
@Michael: Some time ago, a commenter said that the Toyota of today isn’t what Toyota used to be.
They blew it big time.
I think that Tunch should have a nice warm bath once a week.
JGabriel
Comrade Scrutinizer:
Thanks! Your appreciation is duly noted. We aim to traumatize.
.
geg6
Few dogs need bathed more than a couple of times a year unless they have rolled in something bad, the coat is oily and matted, or they smell horrible. Lily, being so short haired, probably doesn’t need bathed often, especially in winter when she’s not able to roll in dead shit.
OT, but this floored me. It shouldn’t have, but it did:
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/04/wallace-palin-lap/
60th Street
Short general answer is NO, but frequency, I would suspect, depends on the breed and whether or not they routinely smell to you or others.
I live in an 1100sf condo and have three medium-large sized dogs, all mutts. NO smell, and I ask pretty much everyone who enters if they notice any “dog smell” to make sure I haven’t developed some sort of owner-immunity. They don’t.
All my dogs self clean, just like cats and they get a good hour of run time in the wilderness each day in the winter and two when the weather’s nice. I allow them on beds and they have their own dog blanket-covered couch. I swiffer up their fur and wash their and my blankets routinely and the house stays smell-free and awesome.
When I do bathe them I use mild baby shampoo, but that’s only when they roll around in something funky and in addition to spraying them with a destinkinfying home spray recipe. (In a 16oz spray bottle = 1 tsp baking powder, 4 oz hydrogen peroxide, 12 oz H2O and one small drop of liquid hand soap for fragrance which is optional.) You’d be surprised at how many smells that spray will kill after 1-3 applications. I use it on floor/rugs/furniture after cleaning up accidents or barf incidents, too. One or two applications will kill any permanent smell.
Okay, that’s all I got. I have absolutely no handle on breath problems. *sigh* HELP!
twiffer
@Michael D.: er, you do know that vitamin c is asorbic acid…right?
Martin
@twiffer:
Forget it, he’s rolling.
IP Guy
In all seriousness, you really need to read “Happy Dog” by Billy Rafferty (it’s on Amazon — all 5 star reviews). It is the best reference book on all of this type of thing, and he’s a pet skin and fur expert. And yes, you should be bathing your dog regularly. How often depends on how dirty she gets, but dogs feel better and are perceptably happier when they are clean. Really, it’s true.
abo gato
Our two JRTs get a bath when they get skunked (which is all TOO frequently for me) or roll in the dead stuff. I don’t know what it is about their fur and mud though. They love to dig and can come in covered in mud. We’ll leave them outside and like magic (magic, I tell ya) they can be back to their brighty whitey selves in a couple of hours. I never had a dog that got so clean on their own before.
janeform
A green product that rids your carpet etc. of pee and poop odor is Bac-Out by BioKleen. It really gets the stink off! And the stain. I don’t know what I’d do without it. Don’t use it on your doggie or kitty though — it’s not a shampoo.
Blue Raven
@Michael D.:
As an ex-Amway distributor, the biggest difference between Amway’s vitamin C and most other people’s is they use their own crop of acerola cherries as the source. But all vitamin C is ascorbic acid.
geg6
Okay, sorry for another OT moment, but I liked this one. It’s a very similar moment to the one when he was with the Senate Dems and talked about the Village Voice headline about the new 41-59 Republican majority in the Senate. And like then, they laughed. But Obama didn’t and he isn’t here:
http://control.newsinc.com/Home/VideoPlayer/?freewheel=69016&sitesection=ndnsubss&VID=71062
Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
also OT, but you put ’em where ya got ’em:
Justice Thomas says we’re not allowed to question the Supreme’s motives.
Sirkowski
Female rats naturally smell like raisin juice, so no need to bathe. ^^
arguingwithsignposts
I go to the airport, and suddenly it’s black helicopter SUV’s performing hit-and-runs on administration critics and random pet questions.
In other words, a typical day at the office at Balloon Juice.
To all the nutbaggers who see conspiracy theories in the Treacher incident, Smudge gives the middle finger salute, with tongue.
Brick Oven Bill
It is usually best to trust our instincts, and put faith in Mother Gaia who has produced our robust pets. But in cases of deep uncertainty, one can always consult a Navy Corpseman.
eco2geek
@schrodinger’s cat:
Probably right after he sniffs Tunch all over. If he survives.
burnspbesq
@Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion:
Good grief.
If Justice Thomas is worried about people undermining the legitimacy of the Supreme Court by their actions, he could start by looking in the mirror.
Shinobi
Vlad only goes to the groomer when his hair is falling out in hamster sized chunks. (This is not an exaggeration.) And he remains otherwise unbathed unless there is some kind of major incident.
He does wash himself regularly. If he gets mud on himself he cleans it off himself. (unless it is too much and I am forced to intervene) This only serves to further my theory that huskies are essentially bigger hairier cats.
Jules
No smell=no bath
If only the beasts that live at my house could go more the a couple of weeks before reeking.
Mouse Tolliver
OT: Here’s the weirdest political attack ad ever from Carly Fiorina. It’s got some guy crawling around in a field in a sheep costume. No one could have predicted a Republican would produce an attack ad with plushy p0rn.
Martin
God, I love how they play this game.
First the GOP attacks the administration for failing to get intelligence out of the undiebomber, and then when they defend themselves by revealing that they did get intelligence, the GOP attacks them for revealing that they got intel, thereby helping the terrorists.
Dog is My Copilot
We don’t bathe our goldens frequently, unless they start smelling a bit. Their skin can actually dry out from too much bathing. I know there are some breeds that have a stronger odor, but for the most part I wouldn’t think you’d need to bathe any dog that frequently unless you notice a real need.
JoyceH
@bemused:
Yaay, Samoyeds! Aren’t they great? No doggy odor at ALL. I take Maggie to the groomer when she’s starting to look off-white, get her bathed and brushed out. Maybe once every three months or so. She comes back just gleaming!
licensed to kill time
@Martin:
Ah ha ha ha ha! GOP’ers are just pissed because motherboarding is more effective than waterboarding.
Josie
Max – about Max’s cut on his pad. I make a salve with shea butter and oils, melted and mixed with candelilla wax, that works on people and pets. My daughter-in-law uses it on noses and pads for her St. Bernards with good results. If someone in your area makes homemade soap, they would know how to make such a salve. Or you could look at products by Burt’s Bees. I think their stuff is all natural.
Mnemosyne
@DFH no. 6:
My parents are snowbirds (they live near Scottsdale) and came back after a summer away to discover that scorpions had taken up residence in their living room.
Those are the “bugs” that people are trying to keep out.
WereBear
@NickM: My first question is always: is she altered? If so, bursts of territory marking can occur when they see another cat in the yard, or stressful events are taking place.
Feliway is what the diffusers are called. It’s calming pheromones; you can’t smell it, but it can work wonders.
eco2geek
You all have convinced me that my Akita’s frequent bouts of scratching may be due to bathing her too often. Instead of doing it once a month, I’ll try waiting until she smells too doggy.
Which will be fine with her, since she hates going to the groomer’s. Maybe it reminds her too much of her stay at the Humane Society.
WereBear
Dogs roll in disgusting stuff because, as hunters, they wish to disguise their smell. Stinking like clumps of rotten stuff is great, since that’s also abundant in the woods, and quite smelly enough to cover their own scent.
Cats, being desert creatures, don’t have such access. So they groom away all scent; but for the same reason.
So they can sneak up on something without giving themselves away.
IP Guy
eco2geek — don’t believe it! Seriously, if you talk to canine dermatech certified experts, they will tell you that most of what you’ve heard here is completely wrong. Everyone, no joke, go read Happy Dog. The author is a canine dermatech specialist, a master groomer, and knows way more than any of you. Some of the things folks are suggesting here are completely nuts.
jenniebee
@Punchy: considering the state of public school administration today, he’s lucky the school nurse didn’t check his skivvies for tiny plastic bullets.
MikeJ
Never wash a dog. Always send them out to be dry cleaned.
bemused
@JoyceH:
They are the most fun dogs we’ve ever had. We’ll never choose another breed again. Sweet, hilarious & extremely bright, as you know.
It’s amazing how they can get all wet & covered in mud but after a nap on old blankets, they get up when they’re dry & all the sand is left on the blankets. All white & fluffy again too.
When they blow their winter coats, that’s a whole nuther story.
Mnemosyne
@NickM:
One last possibility in case it’s not a physical problem: if there’s a strange cat wandering around outside your windows, your cat may be freaking out because her territory is being invaded. That would be a reason why she would be spraying your bed and the dog’s bed to merge all of your scents together — kind of a “don’t fuck with me, man, I have backup!”
If your other cat is starting to go downhill, she could be physically reacting to that. Cats are actually quite emotional and the stress of the other cat declining could trigger a urinary issue.
jeffreyw
@60th Street:
Not a surprise here, that is essentially the potion Mrs J uses for treating our dogs after a tussle with a skunk.
Something Fabulous
@NickM: Sorry to suggest adding extra expense, but when you go to the vet, you might want to take them both. Healthy indoor cats generally have a much longer life expectancy than dogs, so a sudden decline like that at 13 might be a sign that there is something more than just old age going on. And the younger cat might be reacting/responding to that.
Do let us know!
GReynoldsCT00
Since this is a pet thread, I’m sad to say I just had to put one of my kitties to sleep today. Kidney disease. It happened so quickly… treasure each day with your little beasties.
Max
For those pet lovin’ O-bots….
Watch the President answer questions from the people @ 5:45 eastern today.
Linky –
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/OFAconversation/
WaterGirl
@jeffreyw: So you do the cooking and Mrs. J washes the dog after a run-in with a skunk? I think you have the better end of that deal!
bemused
@GReynoldsCT00:
Hugs. It’s hard losing a furry child.
Anne Laurie
Nope, Lily doesn’t need a bath unless she stinks to you, which shouldn’t be a problem in the winter with all the dead-shite-to-roll-in well frozen. I’ll add one more tip: Cornstarch. If you can’t wash your dog / cat / scalp with water, sprinkle cornstarch liberally into the coat, let it sit a few minutes, and brush it out. Cornstarch is the main ingredient in the various “dry shampoos” for both pets and people, usually mixed with fragrances which are nice but not necessary.
WaterGirl
@GReynoldsCT00: That’s so hard. I am so very sorry. It’s just shocking how quickly it can happen. I will keep you in my thoughts.
Jackie
I have three dogs with long hair (think mutts with golden retriever genes.) I NEVER bathe them. Exception: skunks and really dead stuff. They look great and smell fine. You’re righ: Dogs in their natural state don’t take baths, although some might enjoy a swim now and then. Americans are too obsessive about dogs and hygiene. Leave the poor things alone.
bemused
John is brilliant. All he has to do is ask a pet question that he probably has already made up his mind about & the BJ kiddies are peacefully occupied for an hour or so & he doesn’t have to break up squabbles or yell at people to stop spitting at each other.
very reverend crimson fire of compassion
@GReynoldsCT00: You’re in my thoughts. Losing a beloved pet is losing a family member.
Anne Laurie
@NickM:
Yes, first step is to take both cats to the vet. As small predators, cats are too dam’ good at not letting us know when they’re in pain… and kidney failure, I’ve been told, isn’t even painful, just makes one feel more tired & sleepy all the time. But if your older girl is losing kidney function (which your vet will be able to tell with a blood test) a change of diet can give you more time together. So can hydration, which since I’m needle-phobic I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to handle, but when it came to a choice between my nerves & my late great Figaro’s health, we managed. Your younger cat may have a bladder infection, or she may (as you guess) be freaking out that the Cat In Charge is not well… either way, the vet should be your first stop.
As for cleanup issues, the bottles of liquid enzyme cleaners are good stopgaps, but the “neutron bomb” of organic de-stinkers is a product called OdorMute, a powder that can be mixed with water and used as a furniture spray, a pre-shampoo, or in a washing machine. It may be available in your local big-box pet supply store or from your vet as well as online.
Anne Laurie
@GReynoldsCT00: Condolences on your loss. You’re right, they always leave us too quickly & too soon.
WereBear
@GReynoldsCT00: I’m so sorry.
And, I will. Thanks.
Jules
@Mouse Tolliver:
Courting the Furry vote?
That is one funny, but insane, ad.
Mnemosyne
@GReynoldsCT00:
I’m so sorry. We managed to keep Boris going for four months after his kidneys started to give out by giving him subcutaneous fluids every day (sometimes twice) but it was a major commitment. Once he started the final slide downhill, though, he went shockingly fast.
Tim I
You sir are a barbarian! very dog is entitled to at least one complete spa treatment per week – pedicure included. You are clearly following in Michael Vick’s footsteps. For shame.
suzanne
@GReynoldsCT00:
***hugs*** I had to send my Nico to the Great Kitty Tree in the Sky a couple of years ago because of kidney disease. It sucks balls.
frosty
We had three German Shepherds and I can’t recall ever bathing any of them. The little white mutt who liked to run away and roll in cat poop, well that was another matter.
Give ’em a bath if they get into something, otherwise don’t bother.
IMHO.
JenJen
Asking the masses for pet-bathing advice is retarded. ;-)
shortstop
Sweet Jesus. We thought we were the only ones with a beagle-pinscher (Doberman, not affen) mix. What does yours look like? Ours has the long-legged body of a skinny Doberman and the markings of a beagle.
DPirate
Don’t wash your dog unless you cant stand the smell of him. He doesn’t need to look nice to attract the opposite sex, unless it is to attract them for you, of course.
DFH no. 6
@Mnemosyne:
I know that scorpions are among the bugs people around here spray their homes for (I live in Scottsdale, used to live in Phoenix). Opinions are divided on how effective spraying poison actually is for scorpions, though (I think the usual stuff just mostly kills crickets).
If you go away for the summer you may return to find scorpions inside. I don’t know — we took a month-long trip to Europe one year when I had my old house in an older, wetter, greener Phoenix neighborhood (much better environs for scorpions than Snobsdale desert) and found no scorpions on our return (just a few crickets, which we dispatched without resorting to poison).
Anyway, I was talking about people who routinely have their house sprayed (typically once a month, month after month) while they, their children, and their pets are living there. Very common here (and a big surprise to me when I moved here from Ohio, which, by the way, is way buggier than Arizona).
I’ve never done it at all in nearly 30 years in Arizona, and I know a number of other people who never do it either. I’ve actually heard more people who have Dale Gribble or Tom Delay over regularly complain about bugs in their houses compared with us hippies who go natural.
Same deal with the dog-bathing theme here: some of us never (or rarely) bathe our dogs, and seem just fine with it. Others appear to bathe their dogs on an incredibly (to me) frequents basis, like every few months or even few weeks, and still find their dogs to often be stinky or otherwise in need of a bath. I don’t get the frequent dog-bathing any more than I get the frequent bug spraying — I’ve never found either of them necessary at all. To each their own, I guess.
NickM
@bemused: Neat. Thank you – I’ve never heard of this kind of thing, but it sounds like a good idea, at least. As long as the pheromones don’t smell like cat pee!
NickM
@Something Fabulous: I thought of that. Good idea. Thanks to everyone for the tips – I’ll update.
JWW
Hello John,
Long time no speak. We do have one thing in common, our love for animals. For bathing dogs, you should check the AKC website or a specific breed website. Dogs have very different bathing needs to keep a clean heathly coat and more important heathly skin. All dogs need a healthy skin to keep the coat in good order. Most dogs have fur and some have hair. Those with fur need minimal bathing and regular grooming(basic combing) to allow the coat to breathe and rejuvinate. This allows the oils from the skin to protect the fur. A well brushed muddy dog(fur) with a warm water rinse and no soap will not scratch itself as it has fleas. A well washed dog that can’t produce oil that has been removed by shampoo will scratch for days(leaving you to wonder why) Those with hair need regular bathing(Johnsons Baby) and grooming. Their hair, like yours gets dirty, oily and itchy within a few days to a week. They require a gentle shampoo(Johnsons Baby) or breed specific.
LanceThruster
Re: pet bathing – I wanted to share this because it spared me and my dog a lot of grief before he went off to the Happy Hunting Ground. I had a rescued purebred Dalmatian named “Chief” who licked both of his hind feet and one of his forelegs raw. He also had smelly oil in his coat that took forever to wash off/wear off on your hands when you petted him or if he rubbed up against you and dog shampoo baths didn’t help. Multiple visits with two different vets had me injecting him twice a day with something to deal with the skin allergy they thought he had or giving him pills.
This was fairly expensive and had zero positive effect. I then went to my regular local vet (I was using vets in the area I was rescuing him from because the person holding him for me was from there) and the response to the remedy was quite dramatic. She said purebreed Dalmatians are known to have skin problems (oily, itchy, smelly, clogged pores, etc.) and she had him on a short duration of antibiotics to deal with his raw patches and a special shampoo daily (in the dead of winter -though SoCal- but still a drag in the cold and after dark, in addition to the extra attention to make sure he was fully dry and warm to bed him down). Within a week he was much better smell-wise, and with a couple more weeks, switched to bathing every other day, and two more weeks after that, cutting baths down to once a week (if needed).
His habit of chewing/licking his feet lessened enough for the scabs to heal and even some of the fur to grow back (though he never stopped entirely). This President’s Day is the 4th anniversary of his death. I still miss him; he was a good ole boy. The point being that finding the right vet is essential and I’m grateful to Dr. Prescott (Santa Anita Small Animal Hospital) for knowing just what to do.
My cat Keba used to be indoor/outdoor and got baths as needed. She’s been indoor exclusively for about 5 or 6 years (she’s about 15-16 now) and she hasn’t been bathed since before her $2000+ surgery to have a benign melanoma removed by clipping the majority of her right eartip almost a year ago. Though she has fur that occasionally looks like “bed hair”, there’s no bad smell other than her paws occasionaly having the smell of the scented clumping cat litter on it. Unless she starts to stink, I’ll wait till it warms up. Her breath is getting a little ripe meaning it’s time to have her dental health revisited.
I hope the dog story helps somebody else because for me it took some time before I was able to get Chief the right help. To pet him and hug him I’d put on grooming gloves and change into grubbies; but it was such a wonderful change for both of us when his fur BO stopped being toxic.
LanceThruster
Re:organ failure and hydration for older cats, my friend with a 20 yr old fat cat says that it helps greatly (particularly with cats who often don’t drink much water on their own) to mix their food with water. I do this with mine (1 old indoor, and 2 middle age porch cats) and they have no complaints. They still get their dry food but I mix their canned food into a slurry. Seems to make it even easier for them to clean their plates.
lizzy
I have a lab, a golden and an Irish Wolfhound. I don’t bathe them unless they get really stinky. Hosed the wolfhound down last summer, don’t remember why – she must have gotten into something. That was a fun experience. First I had to sneak up on her with the hose, then she took off, had to chase her down (neighbors must have loved that), then I had to “assert my superiority” by sitting on her (kind of hard to flip a wolfhound on their back a la dog whisper style). Once we both knew who was in charge it was a piece of cake…….and I came out pretty clean and smellin’ SWEET!! Seriously John, you got a good thing going on with Lily, don’t screw it up with soap ;)
Mum
I’ve raised Collies, a St. Bernard, and Dobermans. The Dobermans only required a slicker to keep their coats looking great. The Collies and the St. Bernard needed combing, brushing, and stripping (during the shedding season), but they only got baths when they met with skunks or rolled over in something truly disgusting. Bathing can often actually do more harm than good as it strips essential oils out of the skin and hair.
sam
We take our dog, He Who Must Be Obeyed (the Dog Whisperer would be appalled), to the “beauty parlor” once a month, whether he needs it or not (and we have no idea if he does or does not). We do this primarily because he likes the attention (he’s a chihuahua and thinks he still some form of fucking Aztec royalty). It’s not that expensive for the bath and toenail trim. And besides, the folks where we take him have the awesomest candy bowl for the human slaves who bring their masters in.