How Often Should You Bathe Your Dog?

We frequently have clients ask us how often they should bathe their dogs, and the answer really depends on a variety of factors, including the breed of the dog, the health of the dog and how much time they spend outside getting dirty.

It is important to note that there is such a thing as bathing a dog too often. Doing so can result in the skin getting irritated, itchy and flaky, and can even damage hair follicles and result in an elevated risk of bacterial or fungal infections.

Of course, bathing too infrequently can not just cause a dog to smell pretty bad, but also result in an elevated risk of health problems. With this in mind, here is some information from our dog groomers in Henderson, NV that can help you determine just how often you should be bathing your dog.

Factors to consider

Some of the factors that go into determining how frequently you should bathe your dog include the breed, the dog’s health, the kind of coat the dog has, the dog’s activity level and the location where those activities take place. Dogs that spend all day outside rolling around in dirt (and other types of gunk) are obviously going to need to bathe more frequently than those that spend almost all their time inside. In these situations, you can sort of “follow your nose” to determine when the time is right for a bath. Obviously, if your dog walks into a room and you can smell it immediately, then it’s bath time!

The bathing process

Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to bathe the body first and the head last. Dogs will often start to shake once their head is wet, so it’s better to wait until you’re already almost done with the process of bathing for the dog to shake than to have the dog continually shaking while you’re trying to complete the bath.

When using shampoos and conditioners, be careful with how you use the product right around the eyes. Even if a shampoo says it’s tearless or tear-free, that doesn’t mean you should be comfortable with it going into the dog’s eyes—you should still take great care when washing around the eyes and try to avoid allowing the product to get into them.

Finally, you should also know when it’s time to call in professional groomers. There are just some circumstances in which you are going to be out of your depth. Certain types of breeds have extremely thick coats that can be very tough for people without the proper training to clean as thoroughly as needed. Large dogs with a lot of hair can also be very difficult to dry off if you don’t have industrial blowers on hand. There’s no shame in working with a pro if you don’t have the time, space or interest in doing it yourself.

For more information about dog washing in Henderson, NV, we encourage you to contact the team at The Soggy Dog today.

Categorised in: Dog Grooming in Henderson, Dog Wash in Henderson

This post was written by Writer