How Often Should You Bathe A Dog?

How Often Should You Bathe A Dog? Bathing your dog seems to be an important step towards keeping them permanently healthy. But how often you should bathe your puppy? This is a question that comes to the mind of many dog owners.

Well, there isn’t a precise answer to this question, as the frequency may differ from one pet to another. Still, there are some rules of thumb that you should consider when making the bathing routine for your four-legged buddy.

How often should you bath a dog?

Adult dog

Unless your dog gets messy every day, you have to bath it once a month. This is a reasonable timing that will never have the dog too dirty. Keep in mind that you should use only a dog-specific shampoo to prevent unwanted irritations.

If your dog loves to play in the dirt, you can bathe it more often. However, you should never bathe your friend more often than once a week. The sulfated shampoo can dry out the pup’s skin if you use it in excess.

If the situation allows, you can only clean the muddy paws to allow the dog to walk throughout the house. There is no need to wash the whole body if it has dirtied up only its paws.

Puppy

For puppies, bathing shouldn’t take place often. If the puppy lives together with its mom, you don’t need to worry about bathing it. During the first 10 weeks of life, its mom is totally in charge of its cleaning and grooming.

Let the adult dog take care of its pup properly. But what about a puppy that doesn’t benefit from motherly care? If you have adopted a pup, you have to give it a bath only when it really needs it.

You have to avoid frequent visits to the shower because puppy skin is still sensitive. Bathing it often can irritate the skin. Moreover, many newborn puppies cannot regulate their body temperature efficiently.

They may experience a shock when interacting with water or air that feels cold against the wet skin. So you got to be very careful when bathing your puppy. During baths, you have to use warm water whose temperature is similar to the pup’s body temperature.

Also, before getting out of the shower, use a blow dryer to make the pup totally dry. Use the warm air setting and keep the device at a distance to avoid hurting the puppy’s skin.

Factors to consider

1. Coat type

Before making up the bathing dog plan, you have determine the coat type of your furry friend. Breeds with long coat require more care and more frequent bathing. Since their hair is longer and more abundant, more dirt can accumulate on it.

2. Activity

Of course, dogs that like to play in the mud, dig holes, and lead an active lifestyle require more bathing. If your dog is an adventure seeker, try to lessen the amount of shampoo you use daily for its cleaning.

When you bathe your speechless friend once a month, you can generously apply shampoo on its coat. Still, when it comes to daily bathing, you better reduce the quantity of shampoo. Keep in mind that the dirt on the dog that has just played in the muddy rain waters is still wet.

It means that you can easily remove it with a brush, some warm water, and some drops of shampoo.

3. Allergies

If your furry friend suffers from any health problem, you have to be careful with the bathing routine. If may happen that it is allergic to some shampoo ingredients. Any time you bath it, it will feel strong discomfort and redness or lumps can appear on its skin.

If you notice all this, you need to stop bathing the dog. Bring the dog to a vet. After inspecting it, the vet will come with a treatment and a reasonable care plan for your beloved pet.

How Often Should You Bathe A Dog? – Conclusion

The rule of thumb says that you should bathe your dog once a month. However, there are many aspects that you have to consider. Age plays an important role, as newborn puppies have sensitive skin and can’t regulate their body temperature.

Other factors influencing how often you can bathe your dog include coat type, activity, and allergies.