# How often to bathe?



## CharismaticMillie

Alika said:


> How often do you bathe your poodles? I've always been told dogs shouldn't be bathed too often, but I feel like I read somewhere that poodles can and should be bathed more frequently than most dogs because if their hair coat. I'm brushing (coat and teeth) daily and I was thinking of doing a more complete groom (bath, ears, nails) once per week with a trim as needed... but I wonder if that's too much or too little?


Well, show dogs are bathed weekly, so certainly that is fine!


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## Tiny Poodles

Alika said:


> How often do you bathe your poodles? I've always been told dogs shouldn't be bathed too often, but I feel like I read somewhere that poodles can and should be bathed more frequently than most dogs because if their hair coat. I'm brushing (coat and teeth) daily and I was thinking of doing a more complete groom (bath, ears, nails) once per week with a trim as needed... but I wonder if that's too much or too little?



The Vet dermatologist that we used to go to said that was an old wives tale - bath them as often as needed, every day is fine with a gentle shampoo!
I am of the belief that because they have hair, not fur, poodles skin care needs are more similar to humans than dogs. If you don't bathe them often enough they will get bacterial skin infections, cysts, etc. the more often you can do it the better. Also, the cleaner their hair, the pouffier, and less likely to mat it will be. The time that I need to brush my girls gets longer the further away they are from their last bath!


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## FireStorm

We did every 3 days for a while when Hans was having some skin issues. Now, anywhere from every 3 to 7 days. I try for once a week but if I know I'm not gong to have time on the normal bath day I bathe him sooner rather than let him go longer than 7 days.


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## Alika

Thank you! She's been getting kind of dirty from our outdoors outings and I was hoping I wouldn't have to wait too long between baths. I might hold off for another day or so, though. My sister is sending me her extra dog dryer and I might wait to see if it arrives soon.


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## Click-N-Treat

I wash Noelle weekly. I'd wash her every day if I could, because I love how her coat feels after a bath and blow dry. I use Plum Silky shampoo and a touch of Plumtastic conditioner. Wow, is that nice. It makes her beautiful and fluffy, and smell amazing. And now I need a poodle hug. C'mere Noelle, let's snuggle.


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## MollyMuiMa

I too am in the weekly bath crowd! I'm with Tiny in believing their skin and coats are far healthier with frequent grooming! Nothing more cuddly than a soft, clean, fluffy poodle!!!


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## King Louie

I groom weekly also. Every Friday is our full groom day I use GNC products. I use their whitening shampoo for his white areas and the gentle puppy shampoo for his whole body and face. Then I use my Andis quiet dryer and comb and brush him out if he needs a trim I'll also do that I love his fluffy look. I do comb him everyday though since I'm growing out his hair plus it gives us our quiet bonding time and puts him to sleep for the night. If I can't groom Friday I'll do it Thursday I prefer to do it earlier rather than later. I love grooming Fridays though because he's ready for all our weekend adventures and shopping and looks great. We get constant complements and people wondering how I keep him so groomed and smelling amazing.


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## BeckyM

Whew, I wouldn't have time for weekly baths. It takes me at least 20 minutes per spoo to bathe them. I bathe them every 2-3 weeks and that coincides with me doing their FFT areas, cleaning up their topknots, etc.


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## Sanic

We usually bathe Flynn every 2 weeks but sometimes we do weekly if he gets dirty or I want him to look extra nice for something .


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## mom2Zoe

Every two weeks


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## CT Girl

Every week usually. If I had a spoo it would not be that often. It is so easy to pop Swizzle in the sink and give him a quick scrub.


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## glorybeecosta

Every 2other week and trim face, feet and private areas. I brush topknow and pompoms everyother day, and when first trimmed, I do not need to brush body until about the 3rd week. If I let the body get longer, then brush every other day


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## Myleen

Click n Treat,
Your comment made me chuckle, 
_"C'mere Noelle, let's snuggle."_ :laugh2:

I can relate!
"C'mere Toby, let's snuggle." :laugh:
Love the smell of Toby after his bath!!  Every 2 weeks here.

I'm glad to hear I can bath him when ever! Today we played in the back yard and he ran all over in my garden area...eatting grass, sticks, mulch, mud...
and of course treats everytime I called him and he came running!! (homework from puppy class) 

Bath time tonight, :bathbaby: lavender shampoo and conditioner.


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## oshagcj914

Holy moly! Asaah (Dane) gets a bath every few months if she's lucky. Guess my new place better have a good space to wash a dog!


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## Alika

I went ahead and gave her a bath this morning even though I still had no dryer. She's been playing in a seasonal pond this week and she'd gotten pretty gritty. Not having a dryer turned out to not be a big deal: I dried her really good with a towel then just back combed with a pin brush until she was fluffy again. It was so nice to have her fresh again that I think I'll have to do it at least once a week. Thanks for all the comments!


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## Myleen

Does one HAVE to use the dryer to dry them :questionmark: 

I squeeze and pat after I'm done. I then let him run and air dry.


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## twyla

poodle hair can mat easily if towel dried when longer and not thoroughly combed/brushed out, I towel dry my girls short coats from late spring to early fall.


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## FireStorm

The biggest reason I wanted the dryer is that I want to put Hans in a longer HCC this fall/winter. If he's air dried his coat gets really curly especially if it's long. Then it's harder to brush, and harder to scissor. If I dry him with the force dryer, it ends up straight and pretty much tangle free so easy to brush.


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## Myleen

Thank you FireStorm! Learned something new once again!!!!

I did notice every time I bath Toby his hair is curlier!


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## Alika

Yes, I wanted to wait for the dryer because I was concerned about matting and I wanted to get that blown out look. I'm sure I only got away with it because if the texture of the puppy coat. I'm definitely planning on using a dryer in the future!


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## DukeCharlie

I let my dogs take a bath thrice a week.


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## billt

Cody gets bathed weekly. He sleeps in our bed at night, and no one wants to sleep with a stinky dog. Here in Arizona we get a lot of dust, and very little rain to wash everything off. So I make it a habit to hose down the cool decking around the pool once a week, (generally right before we bath him), because when it's not too hot, he enjoys laying out in the warm Sun.


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## Alika

I think I might have to do more than once per week. We spend a lot of time around horses and I'm finding that Karma gets pretty stinky pretty fast from being around the horse dust. It also negates some of the pros of having a hypoallergenic dog when she's always covered in horse dust. It's good to know that other people bathe pretty frequently with no ill effects.

Can you use a mild human shampoo on them? I've got a big bottle of Burts Bees puppy shampoo that I'm using now I'm wondering how necessary dog shampoo is. I know there is a risk of allergic reactions... is that the biggest risk or are there other reasons to avoid it?


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## Viking Queen

Alika said:


> I think I might have to do more than once per week. We spend a lot of time around horses and I'm finding that Karma gets pretty stinky pretty fast from being around the horse dust. It also negates some of the pros of having a hypoallergenic dog when she's always covered in horse dust. It's good to know that other people bathe pretty frequently with no ill effects.
> 
> Can you use a mild human shampoo on them? I've got a big bottle of Burts Bees puppy shampoo that I'm using now I'm wondering how necessary dog shampoo is. I know there is a risk of allergic reactions... is that the biggest risk or are there other reasons to avoid it?


I am not sure about using human shampoo on a dog that frequently. On my groomer's recommendation I use what she uses in her shop. Some of her clients are bathed weekly and they often bathe 25-30 dogs per day. I use Nature's Specialties Almond Crisp Shampoo. It is higly concentrated, you use 1 oz shampoo to 32 oz water to dilute it. It has a very very mild fragrance, barely almond scent and leaves my kid looking so very shiny and not overly perfumed. Marie said their hands never get dry and raw from bathing that many dogs either. You can google the shampoo and order it on line. I have used it for 25 years. They also make conditioners and other specialty formulas for other needs. Poppy has had as many as 3 baths in a week as she kept rolling in icky stuff. 

Good luck.

Cathy


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## MollyMuiMa

Human Shampoo is fine ....the PH 'myth' has been disproved but when using human shampoo make sure you dilute or you 'll be rinsing forever!


Google 'The PH of Pet & Human Shampoos' BBirdsGroomBlog


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## Tiny Poodles

MollyMuiMa said:


> Human Shampoo is fine ....the PH 'myth' has been disproved but when using human shampoo make sure you dilute or you 'll be rinsing forever!
> 
> 
> Google 'The PH of Pet & Human Shampoos' BBirdsGroomBlog



Yes, Timi has used Nizoral a human dandruff shampoo exclusively since she was a puppy, and her skin and coat are perfect with it!


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## Alika

Good to know, thank you!


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