Re: Bathing!

In Reply to: Bathing!
Posted by:  Cheryl Darling
Posted on:  February 28, 2001 at 21:27:16

: Why shouldnt I give my puppy a bath? He smells ok, but after a couple of weeks he builds up a noticable odor! What should i do for his smell and cleanlyness?

------------------ Response Area -------------------

Hi, Cheryl,

You shouldnt bathe your terrier often because when you do, you strip the natural oils in his coat, along with his natural ability to keep himself clean. Washing all those oils off his coat repetitively will result in excessive shedding, dry skin, dry, breaking hair, itching and often redness and allergic reactions .

If you chill out on the washing a bit, you will find that your dog is able to keep clean on his own more easily. My dogs may get dirty, but within a couple hours they've worn the dirt off themselves. On my softer-haired terrier, I do a spot was with a warm face cloth, but I don't find it necessary to wash any of my dogs more than a couple times a year, sometimes 3 times a year.

For a smelly terrier, something that works for me is taking out a clean towel that has freshly gone through the wash, and wrapping my dry dog up in it for a few minutes. The other thing I've noticed is that I use linen spray on my sheets (a light, aromatherapy scent) and my dogs mostly smell like that stuff. I also think that vets have "dry washes" available for sale, and even a baby wipe on the fur (not the skin) would be a better occasional alternative than a full bath.