How Many Times Should I Wash my Puppy?

Once upon a time, washing a dog was a very rare occurrence. Until fairly recently, our canine companions were only bathed and cleaned when they were particularly dirty. However, today many owners much prefer the sight and scent of their furbaby when they are clean and pleasant-smelling. Thankfully, there are more options for bathing our dogs than ever before, and formulas for shampoos and other grooming products are much kinder to their fur and skin.

Bathing your puppy can be an interesting challenge, but the sooner you can introduce her to the process and enable her to feel calm and relaxed throughout, the quicker and easier bath time will be! Many puppies learn to thoroughly enjoy and look forward to bath time, and it provides a great bonding experience for you and your furbaby.

Why bathing is important for your dog

Bathing is an important part of your dog’s care, regardless of what age she is. Bathing her regularly will not only clear her fur and skin from any debris or bacteria that has accumulated, it can also help her avoid health problems such as fungal and bacterial infections. Any odors are washed away, and your pet can enjoy feeling clean and refreshed.

If your puppy suffers from a skin complaint of any description, bathing her may eliminate some of the discomfort she experiences. For example, dogs with allergies typically itch less when bathed slightly more frequently.

Many puppies and adult dogs also enjoy the bathing process and find it a fun and rewarding way to spend time with their owner.

The perils of overbathing

The main argument against bathing your pet too often stems from the fact that in the past, the shampoos used to clean your dog were quite harsh and would strip her fur from her natural oils. While we dislike having very oily hair, some natural oil can help keep it soft and shiny. The same can be said for your pet. Bathing your puppy every day could remove all the natural oils from her fur and leave it dry and lacklustre.

Thankfully, the shampoos and conditioners that are available today are much gentler on their skin and fur, making this less of a concern.

How often should I bathe my puppy?

Many people liken caring for a puppy to looking after a new baby or toddler, and although there are many similarities, there are clearly a few distinct differences! While we may choose to bathe a young child every day, there is no need to extend this courtesy to our new pups.

Exactly how often you should bathe your puppy depends on various factors including:

- Her coat. Harsh-textured coats repel dirt quite well, so they don’t tend to get as dirty as a soft-coated dog would. Longer haired breeds can find their coat becomes matted, so they will probably need to be groomed more often.

- Whether or not anyone in your home is allergic to dogs. If so, you will want to bathe your pup a little more frequently to remove the dander that can accumulate on her fur.

- Whether she has any skin conditions.

- How dirty she is! If she has been rolling around in something unpleasant or has been on a walk and has gotten particularly muddy, you almost certainly want to give her a bath.

Most veterinarians recommend that the average puppy is bathed once a week, unless any sort of irritation develops. Make sure that you use specialist pet shampoo and conditioner as this is formulated specifically to be kind to her skin and fur. If she seems to suffer from any sort of reaction or skin problem from bathing too frequently, contact us and consult with our veterinarian.