# HOW OFTEN DO YOU BATHE YOUR HAVANESE?



## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

The current discussions about the frequency of baths for Havanese has prompted me to create this survey. I find it an interesting discussion.

You will be allowed to vote more than once for those that have multiple Havanese. Maybe some Havanese are bathed more often than another you own because of variations in coats. I realize than some do not bathe on a schedule, but "as needed" depending on individual circumstances - different times of the year, perhaps a different location with a different environment for a second home, perhaps different when camping, etc. Just select the option that most closely fits your general bathing schedule.

Some owners bathe their dog(s) themselves while others take them to a professional groomer. For this poll, it doesn't matter. The question is how often someone, anyone bathes the dog.

The poll is anonymous. Good luck and thanks for playing


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## Desert Oma and Opa (Jun 14, 2021)

DogFather said:


> The current discussions about the frequency of baths for Havanese has prompted me to create this survey. I find it an interesting discussion.
> 
> You will be allowed to vote more than once for those that have multiple Havanese. Maybe some Havanese are bathed more often than another you own because of variations in coats. I realize than some do not bathe on a schedule, but "as needed" depending on individual circumstances - different times of the year, perhaps a different location with a different environment for a second home, perhaps different when camping, etc. Just select the option that most closely fits your general bathing schedule.
> 
> ...


 What a great poll. Especially for newbies. Looking forward to the results of this one. Have heard everything from once every couple of weeks to ONLY every 6 months or so to prevent drying out their skin. 
PS: How is Rickey doing with the stomach issue?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Better not have your dog in coat if you plan on bathing only once every 6 months! LOL!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I voted 1 to 3 months. I don't know that any of our dogs, that weren't showing, have ever been bathed more than once a month, but I doubt they go as much as 3.


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## Tere (Oct 17, 2018)

I voted 1 to 3 months since Shadow usually goes to the groomer every 6 weeks. Sometimes he gets a mini butt wash as needed. 
We have also gotten soaked in unexpected rain showers the last few days every day, if that counts!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tom King said:


> I voted 1 to 3 months. I don't know that any of our dogs, that weren't showing, have ever been bathed more than once a month, but I doubt they go as much as 3.


I certainly saw, while I had the litter, that my dogs coats CAN go that long between baths without having any sort of problem. I LIKE bathing them more often just because I can, I don’t have so many, and I like them to look their best when they are out in public, as they often are. But having even ONE litter, and eight dogs in the house at the same time, I have been humbled! LOL!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I wonder if anyone has any “lessons learned” with regard to bath frequency. For example, perhaps someone switched to more frequent bathing because it makes them easier to comb or they switched to less frequent bathing because their dog got dry and itchy. Just curious as to how folks arrived at their preferred bath schedule.

In my experience, I have found that less bathing is required if I thoroughly comb and brush my dogs daily. I have found brushing is really good for getting down to the skin and distributing the natural oils and for removing loose hair and dead skin. Previously, I mainly brushed to prepare the fur for combing but I am finding the brushing to be very beneficial. The CC brass fusion brush is awesome for this. I have been letting Mia’s hair grow which is fairly long now. I still can get a comb through it easily and she has not had a bath in a few months. I also never spritz her with anything when I comb which I am sure is considered a big no no but I have not seen any adverse effects and I don’t get conditioner build up which to me attracts dirt.

It would be interesting to see a poll on how often folks comb and brush and if they think that has an impact on how often baths are required.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I found that during blowing coat, I needed to reduce the length of time between baths down to every 4 days with Kodi, and condition HEAVILY, or he matted TERRIBLY. But I suspect that if I were less committed to maintaining his coat, he would have ended up in a puppy cut with most people. 😉 he needed to be fully combed out twice a day or he was matted to the skin. Panda was not nearly as bad. Pixel was not as bad as far as the terrible BIG mats, but she got covered with these tiny nit mats that would slide right between the teeth of even the smallest comb, and had to be pulled out with your fingers… very tediously. I DID give up and cut her down!

With both Kodi and Panda being white in all the parts that matter, (the parts that contact the ground… and Ducky follows in their footsteps) the determining factor as adults is not matting, but just that my dogs “do stuff”. Whether it is walks on the edge of the street or on woodland paths, or obedience and agility on black rubber mats. They get dirty. I don’t want my white dogs looking grey. So they get bathed. You can comb and brush as much as you want, but you can’t get that off without soap and water. 🤷‍♀️

I do not believe that you cannot bathe a dog OR a human without damaging their skin, any more than I believe that you can’t wash your hands without damaging your skin. You just need to use the proper products and condition properly. Show dogs get washed at least once or twice a week when they are showing;, perhaps more. Their coats still look beautiful. Look at Bono. Wanna ask how often HE gets bathed and blow dried? Look at HIS coat!  I use a mild shampoo with a a conditioner built-in as my “regular” shampoo. For showing, I use a shampoo with a whitener (NOT a bleach!!!) in it, BUT, I also use a much deeper conditioner at the same time. If I used this conditioner all the time, it would weigh down Panda’s very light coat, especially. But for just after a show bath, it leaves her looking and feeling wonderful!

So, as with most things… It depends! 

Oh, for every day, my go-to shampoo is Chris Christensen Pro Line Fair Advantage All-in-One. It has a VERY mild lemony fragrance, and leaves them feeling clean, soft and conditioned, and is mild enough even to use on the babies. I buy it by the gallon. I know Pam King prefers Coat Handler, and I think it works as well, but I find the fragrance too strong, and it bothers my allergies.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I was ignorant with Mia and did not even know what blowing coat was. She did mat up and I put her in a puppy cut. I just thought that she had a matting type cost. However, now that I am growing her out I realize how easy the coat is to maintain. It is only recently that I have done this so I may wind up bathing more frequently too. I am sort of experimenting on how long I should go between baths. If the legs or feet get dirty, I sometimes do foot or leg baths vs. the entire body. Mia’s main issue is staining from her tongue that is always out. I have decided just to keep that area short. This is one of the luxuries of not having a show dog. I can do whatever I want and if it means less stress for Mia or me I do it. But the rest of her body has been super easy to maintain so far,


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> I was ignorant with Mia and did not even know what blowing coat was. She did mat up and I put her in a puppy cut. I just thought that she had a matting type cost. However, now that I am growing her out I realize how easy the coat is to maintain. It is only recently that I have done this so I may wind up bathing more frequently too. I am sort of experimenting on how long I should go between baths. If the legs or feet get dirty, I sometimes do foot or leg baths vs. the entire body. Mia’s main issue is staining from her tongue that is always out. I have decided just to keep that area short. This is one of the luxuries of not having a show dog. I can do whatever I want and if it means less stress for Mia or me I do it. But the rest of her body has been super easy to maintain so far,


I’m all for low stress, but I also think it’s completely possible to teach the dog to accept the process without stress. That’s why I psoted the video I did on bathing Ducky. I think, if you watch it, except for his momentary alarm when I first turned the dryer on (which I ALSO could have done more slowly, if I’d thought he would object that much… I didn’t expect it!) I think you can see, there wasn’t much stress on eithe of our parts. That’s what I aim for. Grooming can be a nice bonding time if you are quiet and gentle about it.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> I’m all for low stress, but I also think it’s completely possible to teach the dog to accept the process without stress. That’s why I psoted the video I did on bathing Ducky. I think, if you watch it, except for his momentary alarm when I first turned the dryer on (which I ALSO could have done more slowly, if I’d thought he would object that much… I didn’t expect it!) I think you can see, there wasn’t much stress on eithe of our parts. That’s what I aim for. Grooming can be a nice bonding time if you are quiet and gentle about it.


Mia absolutely loves to be groomed and stands there for me 20-30 minutes per day while I groom her. Her mouth is not formed correctly and her tongue is always out. I find this area impossible to keep from staining. And the fur gets kind of stiff there. We are not talking just getting wet when she drinks. The tongue is out always. I guess what I am saying is that this is a problem area and it is easier for me to just keep it shorter vs. trying to keep it looking good. Mia is not going to win any contests but I still think she looks cute this way. I simply think it is less stressful to keep it short.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> Mia absolutely loves to be groomed and stands there for me 20-30 minutes per day while I groom her. Her mouth is not formed correctly and her tongue is always out. I find this area impossible to keep from staining. And the fur gets kind of stiff there. We are not talking just getting wet when she drinks. The tongue is out always. I guess what I am saying is that this is a problem area and it is easier for me to just keep it shorter vs. trying to keep it looking good. Mia is not going to win any contests but I still think she looks cute this way. I simply think it is less stressful to keep it short.


Sure! I wasn’t suggesting that you shouldn’t use an expedient where it makes sense! I made the decision long ago to keep Pixel in a puppy cut because that works better for both of us. And although I ADORED Kodi’s long coat, when I got sick, I just could not maintain it anymore. Again, it made sense to cut him down. Now, at 12, the consistency of his coat, much as I hate to admit it, is changing with age. He DOES mat more when it get longer. I would much rather spend our time together as he ages doing things we both love than taking mats out of his coat! NOTHING wrong with you shortening the hair around Mia’s mouth!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

mudpuppymama said:


> I wonder if anyone has any “lessons learned” with regard to bath frequency. For example, perhaps someone switched to more frequent bathing because it makes them easier to comb or they switched to less frequent bathing because their dog got dry and itchy. Just curious as to how folks arrived at their preferred bath schedule.
> 
> In my experience, I have found that less bathing is required if I thoroughly comb and brush my dogs daily. I have found brushing is really good for getting down to the skin and distributing the natural oils and for removing loose hair and dead skin. Previously, I mainly brushed to prepare the fur for combing but I am finding the brushing to be very beneficial. The CC brass fusion brush is awesome for this. I have been letting Mia’s hair grow which is fairly long now. I still can get a comb through it easily and she has not had a bath in a few months. I also never spritz her with anything when I comb which I am sure is considered a big no no but I have not seen any adverse effects and I don’t get conditioner build up which to me attracts dirt.
> 
> It would be interesting to see a poll on how often folks comb and brush and if they think that has an impact on how often baths are required.


From a puppy coat perspective, when my puppy had giardia, the vet said to give him a bath every day for a couple of days and every other day after that for two weeks (something like that). I immediately noticed how quickly he became cooperative with baths and grooming! I don’t think anyone should intentionally bathe their dogs that frequently without a reason. I do think that giving a puppy a bath a little more often than they “need it,” since Havanese puppies could go a month or more without a bath, could be really helpful to owners intending to keep their Havanese in a long coat down the line. It just offers opportunities for training that are closer together at a young age, when their coat is short and easy to care for. Not a reason to give tons of extra baths, but maybe a good reason not to avoid it 

I actually think Sundance does better with a bath every 5 days, which is too much and too hard to make routine. He gets a bath every weekend. He’s not particularly low maintenance, but it’s really manageable on the longer side until it gets to this particular length, usually when I love how he looks! The extra length makes a difference in how well I manage grooming and it’s usually when he ends up getting a haircut. Lately it has more breakage because I’m always playing catch-up. I think breakage probably causes problems the same way split ends do for humans.

There’s a trade off with some of the products I use. They make him easy and fast to comb but they do build up. If I used less spray I think he could reach 7-10 days between baths more easily. I would rather daily grooming take less time and give him a bath more often. I cannot imagine him going a month without a bath!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> From a puppy coat perspective, when my puppy had giardia, the vet said to give him a bath every day for a couple of days and every other day after that for two weeks (something like that). I immediately noticed how quickly he became cooperative with baths and grooming! I don’t think anyone should intentionally bathe their dogs that frequently without a reason. I do think that giving a puppy a bath a little more often than they “need it,” since Havanese puppies could go a month or more without a bath, could be really helpful to owners intending to keep their Havanese in a long coat down the line. It just offers opportunities for training that are closer together at a young age, when their coat is short and easy to care for. Not a reason to give tons of extra baths, but maybe a good reason not to avoid it
> 
> I actually think Sundance does better with a bath every 5 days, which is too much and too hard to make routine. He gets a bath every weekend. He’s not particularly low maintenance, but it’s really manageable on the longer side until it gets to this particular length, usually when I love how he looks! The extra length makes a difference in how well I manage grooming and it’s usually when he ends up getting a haircut. Lately it has more breakage because I’m always playing catch-up. I think breakage probably causes problems the same way split ends do for humans.
> 
> There’s a trade off with some of the products I use. They make him easy and fast to comb but they do build up. If I used less spray I think he could reach 7-10 days between baths more easily. I would rather daily grooming take less time and give him a bath more often. I cannot imagine him going a month without a bath!


Lot of good points in this post! I think it is absolutely true that (relatively) frequent bathing when they are little and their hair is short and it doesn’t take long, if it is done gently, calmly and kindly gets them used to the process. I mentioned that in the video I posted in Ducky’s thread.

The build-up issue is real too… at least on my dogs. More obvious on Panda, whose coat is the lightest. Any heavy conditioner, or a build up of conditioning spray during grooming over too many days, just leaves her coat looking dull and greasy.

And for sure, broken hair not only catches in the comb more, (leading to more breakage) but also is more likely to catch shedding undercoat and lead to matting.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Perry's in a puppy cut and he generally gets a bath when I'm ready to cut him again - so sometime between 6 weeks and usually 2 months (but has gone longer). Though I have noticed with him being on crate rest (which you would think would need less bathing) that he really needs a bath and it's been just over 3 weeks since his last one (and probably won't get one for another few weeks - depending on what the vet says at his check up on Wednesday, whether he is in a splint/ bandages for a few more weeks AND my comfort level giving him a bath while he's still healing).


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

It is very interesting to hear others experience. I assume the type of coat that the dog has makes a difference too. My growing Mia out is sort of an experiment. If it becomes difficult to maintain I will get out the choppers! So far she is extremely easy to comb and I cannot even remember the last time she had a mat. Her hair is silky and fine so maybe that helps. As far as baths, even though she has not received as many as other dogs, she is very good for bath time. I do give foot or leg baths as needed, sometimes just with plain water. One reason I try to minimize baths is that I do not have filtered water at the sink.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> One reason I try to minimize baths is that I do not have filtered water at the sink.


Why would you need filtered water?


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> Why would you need filtered water?


So they are not being bathed in chlorine or other chemicals in the tap (and soon to be well) water. We filter our drinking water with a Berkey and have filters on the showers for us. Maybe this does not make a difference but we avoid bathing ourselves in non-filtered water so trying to do the same for the dogs. Probably okay occasionally but would not want to bathe them frequently in tap water.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> So they are not being bathed in chlorine or other chemicals in the tap (and soon to be well) water. We filter our drinking water with a Berkey and have filters on the showers for us. Maybe this does not make a difference but we avoid bathing ourselves in non-filtered water so trying to do the same for the dogs. Probably okay occasionally but would not want to bathe them frequently in tap water.


We don't DRINK our tap water, nor do we give it to the dogs. (heaven forbid!!! It's NASTY!!!) but I don't have a problem with bathing the dogs in it. They have never shown ANY sign of any sort of skin problems. We don't filter the water we shower in either. We DO avoid showering (or bathing the dogs!) on the days when it is running brown... and it does! But we spend SO MUCH on filtering just our drinking water that it would break the bank to filter wash water too!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> We don't DRINK our tap water, nor do we give it to the dogs. (heaven forbid!!! It's NASTY!!!) but I don't have a problem with bathing the dogs in it. They have never shown ANY sign of any sort of skin problems. We don't filter the water we shower in either. We DO avoid showering (or bathing the dogs!) on the days when it is running brown... and it does! But we spend SO MUCH on filtering just our drinking water that it would break the bank to filter wash water too!


Ahh that is good to know. I was thinking you had some sort of whole house RO system. The whole water filtering topic is such a mass of confusion. I have read articles that stated that if you need to choose between a shower filter and a drinking water filter, choose the shower filter because in one 10 minute shower your pores soak up more than drinking several gallons of water!!! Now who knows if that is true or not, just like many other things. I know people that drink plain old tap water and appear healthy. I assume some tap and well water is better or worse than others.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

We washed Ricky's Teddy Cow yesterday. Teddy Cow was not happy about the experience. We threw him in the washing machine with lots of detergent.. Then we put him in the dryer on tumble dry. He came out of the dryer a little dizzy but with that same permanent smile on his face. But he was nice and clean. I explained to Ricky that if he didn't cooperate with hand washing/drying, we would have no alternative but to wash/dry him like we do Teddy Cow! We got the "raised eyebrow" look from Ricky. 🤨

It's been 24 hours since Teddy Cow's cleaning. What with Ricky and JoJo playing "tug-a-Cow" with Teddy Cow during that period, he needs another bath!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Nino gets bathed less than I'd like. He's got a very low maintenance coat, hardly mats up, and doesn't typically get too dirty. His baths get displaced by Brisket's more important baths, so while I would prefer every other week (which is what I do when I'm being "good"), he is typically bathed every 4 weeks.

Brisket is corded, and I'm obsessive about keeping those cords clean. Lots of progress to lose if he were to get gross and need to be cut down. He is fully bathed weekly to every 10 days. I would do it more, but he needs to be cage dried for quite awhile after his baths, and I don't feel it is fair to do that to him more than once a week.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> Ahh that is good to know. I was thinking you had some sort of whole house RO system. The whole water filtering topic is such a mass of confusion. I have read articles that stated that if you need to choose between a shower filter and a drinking water filter, choose the shower filter because in one 10 minute shower your pores soak up more than drinking several gallons of water!!! Now who knows if that is true or not, just like many other things. I know people that drink plain old tap water and appear healthy. I assume some tap and well water is better or worse than others.


Well first, a 10 minute shower is eating a lotta watts! LOL!

Second, I do NOT believe that you soak up that much water! If you did, you would bloat! With the quality of our water, you have NO IDEA how much waste water an RO system would reject if we tried to process enough for whole house use. As it is, there are days that I cannot even process water for drinking water purposes, because the reject rate is so high I have to turn it off and just wait for a "cleaner" day... And THIS isn't really the "harmful" stuff... this is just gross sediment. You can't SEE the harmful stuff. This sight has town by town information on what is in various municipal water supplies and how to treat them: Environmental Working Group – Know your choices | Environmental Working Group


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

DogFather said:


> We washed Ricky's Teddy Cow yesterday. Teddy Cow was not happy about the experience. We threw him in the washing machine with lots of detergent.. Then we put him in the dryer on tumble dry. He came out of the dryer a little dizzy but with that same permanent smile on his face. But he was nice and clean. I explained to Ricky that if he didn't cooperate with hand washing/drying, we would have no alternative but to wash/dry him like we do Teddy Cow! We got the "raised eyebrow" look from Ricky. 🤨
> 
> It's been 24 hours since Teddy Cow's cleaning. What with Ricky and JoJo playing "tug-a-Cow" with Teddy Cow during that period, he needs another bath!


LOL!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> Nino gets bathed less than I'd like. He's got a very low maintenance coat, hardly mats up, and doesn't typically get too dirty. His baths get displaced by Brisket's more important baths, so while I would prefer every other week (which is what I do when I'm being "good"), he is typically bathed every 4 weeks.
> 
> Brisket is corded, and I'm obsessive about keeping those cords clean. Lots of progress to lose if he were to get gross and need to be cut down. He is fully bathed weekly to every 10 days. I would do it more, but he needs to be cage dried for quite awhile after his baths, and I don't feel it is fair to do that to him more than once a week.


I would love to hear more about what you have to do/how you wash/dry him. How do you get all the shampoo out of the cords, and how long does he have to be in the cage dryer. What is your home cage dryer set-up? I have a groomer fiend who has one, but I've never seen a home one, and I've only seen them used on dogs in puppy cuts.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> Well first, a 10 minute shower is eating a lotta watts! LOL!
> 
> Second, I do NOT believe that you soak up that much water! If you did, you would bloat! With the quality of our water, you have NO IDEA how much waste water an RO system would reject if we tried to process enough for whole house use. As it is, there are days that I cannot even process water for drinking water purposes, because the reject rate is so high I have to turn it off and just wait for a "cleaner" day... And THIS isn't really the "harmful" stuff... this is just gross sediment. You can't SEE the harmful stuff. This sight has town by town information on what is in various municipal water supplies and how to treat them: Environmental Working Group – Know your choices | Environmental Working Group
> 
> View attachment 175101


As I said I am not sure who to believe regarding how many chemicals are absorbed through the skin via showering. I guess the main thing with me is that I see no need to bathe Mia more often than I am. Her coat looks beautiful and is easy to manage. However, I may change my mind about that as she gets longer. I also may bathe her more during August or September when there are more allergens around here. She doesn’t have allergies but I may want to keep them off her coat. I will definitely do more foot baths during that time of year. It sounds like frequent baths are working successfully for many dogs but I still don’t want to give a bath just to be giving a bath.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> As I said I am not sure who to believe regarding how many chemicals are absorbed through the skin via showering. I guess the main thing with me is that I see no need to bathe Mia more often than I am. Her coat looks beautiful and is easy to manage. However, I may change my mind about that as she gets longer. I also may bathe her more during August or September when there are more allergens around here. She doesn’t have allergies but I may want to keep them off her coat. I will definitely do more foot baths during that time of year. It sounds like frequent baths are working successfully for many dogs but I still don’t want to give a bath just to be giving a bath.


I would NEVER suggest bathing "just for the sake of bathing"! LOL! That's a lot of work and aggravation for nothing!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> I would NEVER suggest bathing "just for the sake of bathing"! LOL! That's a lot of work and aggravation for nothing!


Exactly. This is why I cannot get myself to give Mia a bath if I don’t think she needs it. I have to see some benefit and that she looks different after the bath. Otherwise, I am not motivated and would rather give her a good brush and comb session.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> Exactly. This is why I cannot get myself to give Mia a bath if I don’t think she needs it. I have to see some benefit and that she looks different after the bath. Otherwise, I am not motivated and would rather give her a good brush and comb session.



That's what I'd do!

I know that during the last "Covid year" my dogs have gotten less bathing because we haven't GONE places as much. Less shows and trials, so no need to primp for those. Less hiking in the woods... Not sure why... maybe the wind just out of our sails? Then, of course, this spring, too busy for ANYTHING other than raising puppies! They were lucky if they got their nails trimmed!!!


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## LeleRF (Feb 18, 2021)

I also gave Chase a bath yesterday, and I’m not entirely sure who had more of a bath him or me! 😂 🧼 🛁 💦 He was clinging to me for dear life! I had bathed him in the kitchen sink in a dish basin similar to Karen’s video with a towel on the bottom for a bit of traction.

I already knew this was to be expected because about a week after he was home with us, I gave him just a quick rinse -Karen gave him a bath on our pick up date so he was still ’fresh’ but I noticed some pollen and bits of the outdoors in his coat & he seemed a little itchy. It did seem to help! So that may be the in-between thing to do at least during the major outdoor play seasons. 

I may look to get a stand for the dryer because it’s MUCH easier having 2 hands available. We we’re on the floor so no risk of injury from falling off a table but it still would be a big help. My last dog was bathed in the bathtub and while I know she didn’t love it she just became stiff like a statue LOL! Chase is still too little for a big ol’tub!


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## NotAMuggle (Dec 4, 2020)

Piper gets professionally groomed (including bath) every 6 to 8 weeks. My SO was a bit skeptical about us needing to pay for a professional until the time we had to work together to give poor Pipes an emergency butt bath lol. After THAT little adventure he is the one who is like “Groomer’s next date is on the calendar right? Right? You didn’t forget to book her right?” 😆


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

NotAMuggle said:


> Piper gets professionally groomed (including bath) every 6 to 8 weeks. My SO was a bit skeptical about us needing to pay for a professional until the time we had to work together to give poor Pipes an emergency butt bath lol. After THAT little adventure he is the one who is like “Groomer’s next date is on the calendar right? Right? You didn’t forget to book her right?” 😆


When it comes to fun tasks like butt baths, there is no WE at our house!


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## NotAMuggle (Dec 4, 2020)

mudpuppymama said:


> When it comes to fun tasks like butt baths, there is no WE at our house!


Lol! He acts traumatized but best believe I did 90% of the unpleasant work while he held her still and distracted her with blueberries 🙄😝


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## LeleRF (Feb 18, 2021)

mudpuppymama said:


> When it comes to fun tasks like butt baths, there is no WE at our house!


Ahhh, yes, I realized long ago when DD was a baby that anything that may have DH appear anything less than hero status translates to me being on my own and that would include baths, most routine Dr visits, minor first aid (he did do diapers though!). I get a holler from the other end of the house ’you need anythingggg?’ He may as well be saying, ‘I don’t really want to help with this so I am intentionally putting as much distance between us as possibleeee!’ 😒


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## LeleRF (Feb 18, 2021)

LeleRF said:


> I already knew this was to be expected because about a week after he was home with us, I gave him just a quick rinse -Karen gave him a bath on our pick up date so he was still ’fresh’ but I noticed some pollen and bits of the outdoors in his coat & he seemed a little itchy. It did seem to help! So that may be the in-between thing to do at least during the major outdoor play seasons.


Let me clarify that the need for the rinse was due to his ’sniff and strolls’ outside my home where he loves to roll around in the grass and the ground! He was pristine upon pick up from Karen!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

LeleRF said:


> Ahhh, yes, I realized long ago when DD was a baby that anything that may have DH appear anything less than hero status translates to me being on my own and that would include baths, most routine Dr visits, minor first aid (he did do diapers though!). I get a holler from the other end of the house ’you need anythingggg?’ He may as well be saying, ‘I don’t really want to help with this so I am intentionally putting as much distance between us as possibleeee!’ 😒


I should give credit to the hubby for occasionally performing the role of “dog holder”, however mom always does the dirty work! Recently Mia had a tick smack dab on her butt hole!!! Yikes! So dad was called upon to hold her while I yanked it out. Luckily it had just started to dig in so not too hard to remove. Ticks are another reason I groom every day.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Poor baby! I’d need someone to hold me too!!!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I definitely think mom is the one that needed holding! I was more psychologically traumatized than she was just looking at it!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

LOL!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> LOL!


Mia is great for all aspects of grooming EXCEPT tick removal! She becomes a Mexican jumping bean! Not sure how to train that out of her!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> Mia is great for all aspects of grooming EXCEPT tick removal! She becomes a Mexican jumping bean! Not sure how to train that out of her!


Sometimes you've just got to giter'done.  Pixel has FINALLY gotten better about her nails (THANK YOU Dremel!!!) But for YEARS when I was still clipping, it didn't matter how much time I took, how many treats of what value I tried (she wouldn't take them) in the end, to keep Pixel's nails in shape, it ALWAYS came down to Dave pinning her after I swaddled her in a towel, and I pulled out one foot at a time and did her nails. I was SOOOO careful not to quick her. That little minx would bounce out of the towel at the end with her tail wagging. I truly do NOT think she was all the scared. She just HATED it! But nails are not optional. And I am a REAL believer in SHORT nails, so nails get done pretty frequently here.

Thank HEAVENS, she is MUCH better about the Dremel, and I can do her myself, just in a grooming loop. You'd think that the sound and vibration might be "scarier", but nope! He still has to hold her down for dew claws, but they don't touch the ground, so there is more leeway there. They do not affect gait or soundness.

Neither Panda or Kodi (who over all is a HUGE baby about anything that MIGHT hurt) even need a grooming loop for nails with the Dremel.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

This year has been particularly bad for ticks. Normally the dogs are not too bad for tick removals but I think they are fed up. I cannot say I blame them! Typically ticks are not too bad once mid June comes but this year we had an insane amount of rain in June which got the little buggers all riled up again! And of course how bad the dogs are for tick removal is dependent on how sensitive the area is where the tick happens to be!!! I think the butt hole tick pushed Mia over the edge!!! Armpit ticks are the absolute worse!

Mine have gotten better for their nails. Mia prefers the dremel however my yorkie prefers clippers!!!! I am more nervous with the clippers though. However, I use the zen clipper on him which seems to work very well. He also walks an insane amount and digs a lot so his nails don’t seem to grow as fast as Mia’s. I wish the dogs were like my cat though…he practically falls asleep while trimming his nails!!!!! He lets me vacuum him too, however I now realize why…I believe he is deaf!


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

my cat sleeps through his nail trims too!! I just go to wherever he is lounging, grab a paw and snip away. Bazinga doesn't move. Fezzik on the other hand - WWF wrestling.

I gave Fezzik a bath every 7-10 days when he gets stinky. Sooner if he romps through poison ivy. The hubby and kids react badly to it. Fezzik does get face washes every other day to combat the eye boogers. The eye boogers are winning.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

morriscsps said:


> The hubby and kids react badly to it.


to the poison ivy or Fezzik’s bath?  My son always feels a little too bad for Sundance when he gets a bath, like we really are torturing him.


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## MJB (Jun 1, 2020)

krandall said:


> I found that during blowing coat, I needed to reduce the length of time between baths down to every 4 days with Kodi, and condition HEAVILY, or he matted TERRIBLY. But I suspect that if I were less committed to maintaining his coat, he would have ended up in a puppy cut with most people. 😉 he needed to be fully combed out twice a day or he was matted to the skin. Panda was not nearly as bad. Pixel was not as bad as far as the terrible BIG mats, but she got covered with these tiny nit mats that would slide right between the teeth of even the smallest comb, and had to be pulled out with your fingers… very tediously. I DID give up and cut her down!
> 
> With both Kodi and Panda being white in all the parts that matter, (the parts that contact the ground… and Ducky follows in their footsteps) the determining factor as adults is not matting, but just that my dogs “do stuff”. Whether it is walks on the edge of the street or on woodland paths, or obedience and agility on black rubber mats. They get dirty. I don’t want my white dogs looking grey. So they get bathed. You can comb and brush as much as you want, but you can’t get that off without soap and water. 🤷‍♀️
> 
> ...


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## MJB (Jun 1, 2020)

Thank you for sharing your grooming expertise. Chérie is a Havanes/Bichon Poodle mix and I have tried many grooming products on her but none have worked very well. I like CC products and I will try the All in One ProLine product. I am also looking to buy a pair of scissors to trim her between grooming appointments, I don’t know whether to purchase straight or curved. Which would you recommend?


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

MJB said:


> Thank you for sharing your grooming expertise. Chérie is a Havanes/Bichon Poodle mix and I have tried many grooming products on her but none have worked very well. I like CC products and I will try the All in One ProLine product. I am also looking to buy a pair of scissors to trim her between grooming appointments, I don’t know whether to purchase straight or curved. Which would you recommend?


I got a kit that had both and when I am truly grooming I tend to use the curved more than the straight, but for quick touch-ups I have a smaller pair of straight (with the rounded safety tip) in his day-to-day grooming bag that I use. So I'd say it's whatever you're more comfortable with . I like the curved because I can keep the pointy end further away from his body when I'm snipping away


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I have both straight and curved, both with rounded tips. I prefer the straight for things like paw pads and butt area. The curved are nice if I trim other areas of the body or try to round the feet. It is amazing how many curvy areas there are!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MJB said:


> Thank you for sharing your grooming expertise. Chérie is a Havanes/Bichon Poodle mix and I have tried many grooming products on her but none have worked very well. I like CC products and I will try the All in One ProLine product. I am also looking to buy a pair of scissors to trim her between grooming appointments, I don’t know whether to purchase straight or curved. Which would you recommend?


I use both for different things. I wouldn't be without curved shears for feet on a dog in coat! HOWEVER, if you are going to buy curved shears, buy good quality ones, or don't bother to buy them at all. poor quality ones are TERRIBLE!!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Oh, I also have a very SMALL, very sharp pair that I use specifically for snipping out top knots!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

MJB said:


> Thank you for sharing your grooming expertise. Chérie is a Havanes/Bichon Poodle mix and I have tried many grooming products on her but none have worked very well. I like CC products and I will try the All in One ProLine product. I am also looking to buy a pair of scissors to trim her between grooming appointments, I don’t know whether to purchase straight or curved. Which would you recommend?


Your climate might play a role in what products work well for her coat, too. I have noticed that some of the products people on the east coast really love do not work well for Sundance, and some that work really well in our dry climate aren’t liked as well by others in different climates. Also I find there are some trade offs with almost everything so maybe consider what is most important to you and start there. As an example, some of the products that make Sundance’s coat look smooth and less frizzy make his coat dirty faster. Right now he also has more breakage so it’s not worth fighting the frizz, and I’m using lighter products geared more towards detangling.


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## GoWithTheFlo (Oct 11, 2018)

MJB said:


> Thank you for sharing your grooming expertise. Chérie is a Havanes/Bichon Poodle mix and I have tried many grooming products on her but none have worked very well. I like CC products and I will try the All in One ProLine product. I am also looking to buy a pair of scissors to trim her between grooming appointments, I don’t know whether to purchase straight or curved. Which would you recommend?


I love my curved scissors✂. They are *very *sharp but I wouldn’t be without then. As others have said the are great at cutting around feet, I also like them for shaping up any bits after using the clippers, although I have also scissored Flo with them alone. My groomer was very impressed when I took Flo to see her after my first attempt🌟to me😀 although tbh I was just following her original cut shape so wasn’t working from scratch. She showed me how to use them, plus recommended I use the curve side out whilst I was gaining confidence. I am scared stiff of them as they are so sharp, but Flo is very good at keeping still and so far I have only cut myself! And that was only because I worried I had caught her so I quickly pulled back and sliced my other hand (I was using it as a guard between Flo and the scissor) with the blades…while Flo didn’t flinch and just looked at me being the idiot I was🙄


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

For feet and scissoring the body I think curved scissors are a must! I like my straight shears for paw pads and butts though.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

GoWithTheFlo said:


> I am scared stiff of them as they are so sharp, but Flo is very good at keeping still and so far I have only cut myself! And that was only because I worried I had caught her so I quickly pulled back and sliced my other hand (I was using it as a guard between Flo and the scissor) with the blades…while Flo didn’t flinch and just looked at me being the idiot I was🙄


LOL! I can't tell you the number of times I've seen blood on white dog hair, panicked, thinking I'd cut the dog, only to see I'd sliced MYSELF!!! The problem is, if they are GOOD shears, they are SO sharp that you don't even FEEL it when you cut yourself!!!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

mudpuppymama said:


> For feet and scissoring the body I think curved scissors are a must! I like my straight shears for paw pads and butts though.


I am waaaaay to afraid to try to cut paw pads with scissors - I always use the tiny clippers


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## GoWithTheFlo (Oct 11, 2018)

krandall said:


> LOL! I can't tell you the number of times I've seen blood on white dog hair, panicked, thinking I'd cut the dog, only to see I'd sliced MYSELF!!! The problem is, if they are GOOD shears, they are SO sharp that you don't even FEEL it when you cut yourself!!!


Ooh I felt it😭😭😭😭😭😭. But it was one of those sliced clean cuts, that doesn’t bleed straight away…and then doesn’t stop🙄. Fortunately because they’re so sharp it created a flap of skin so healed back down pretty well...and now I tend to use the clippers🤣😘


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Melissa Brill said:


> I am waaaaay to afraid to try to cut paw pads with scissors - I always use the tiny clippers


I can understand why you would feel this way. Mia stands perfectly still for me to do her paw pads with scissors and I make sure not to go to deep between the pads. However, when I try to use clippers she becomes a bucking bronco. I am actually more fearful of her hurting a joint or muscle when using clippers vs. the scissors. Mia is so amazingly good for paw pad trimming with scissors I am giving in to her on this one. I also prefer not to shave them because I believe a little bit of hair acts as protection for digging dogs which I have. I am not sure why she is so good for paw pad trimming because she is not as good for nail trimming. It may be because I am obsessed about paw pads and so I do them really often.


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

For those with white dogs, which whitening shampoo do you use? There’s a good chance that our future puppy will have a lot of white (mostly parti, plus three mostly black puppies, but I think they all still have white feet!), and I’ve never had a white dog! Charlie’s coat with its many many shades of gold/grey/red hides dirt incredibly well so I’m nervous about keeping the white white, especially around the face and feet!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> I am waaaaay to afraid to try to cut paw pads with scissors - I always use the tiny clippers


I am with you there! (And I’m pretty confident when it comes to grooming!)


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> I am with you there! (And I’m pretty confident when it comes to grooming!)


I use a long scissors with a rounded tip and sort of lay the scissors flat in between the pads. No pointing of scissors down into the pad area. However, Mia stands like a statue. Otherwise, I would not do it. I have never cut her in all these years.


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