Can I wash my dog too much?

longwalks1

found a new walk to do with the cav king charles spaniel but we get covered in mud the last few days, so yesterday and today we've put her in the bath and showered her. She seems to enjoy it, just sits there and lets us shower and soap her then dry her with hairdryer

Can you wash your dog too often? in the summer she only gets showered at the groomers (once every 7 weeks), just wondering if we shouldnt shower her in this weather 3 or 4 times a week?

elsien

If you're bathing her that often you need to be careful about the amount and type of shampoo that you're using so it doesn't strip all the oils from his coat or cause problems with sensitive skin. 3 or 4 times a week with shampoo sounds too much to me on an ongoing basis.
I'm the other end of the scale - Gitdog only gets shampooed about every 6 months when he gets particularly whiffy, the rest of the time I just rinse the mud off his legs and undercarriage with warm water.

teddysmum

Too much bathing will remove the protective oil in the coat. ( A lady I once new was told by a hairdresser friend that daily washing by humans is too much and that shampoo should be diluted for frequent use).


My cavaliers, one of whom is 70% white,are only bathed a few times a year. I don't walk them in mud, but dirt is easily brushed off when dry. They don't smell,as they aren'tone of the breeds wh have a natural strong aroma.


Have you considered a good brushing (or slicker combing),perhaps with a dry shampoo? (Liquid not powder, as the latter can cause itching)

Katiehound

Answer to your question is: Yes, especially if you are using shampoo, even a dog shampoo. As others have said wait until the mud dries and then brush it out. Not only can you strip the coat of protective oils but you could set up something like an allergic reaction with scratching and itchy feet.
My dogs probably only get a bath a couple of times a year when they come home from a few weeks in kennels smelling very doggy!

HappyMJ

You could rinse the dog with a hose or shower without using any shampoo or soap reasonably often.

With the shampoo or soap I wouldn't do it more than twice a week.

Lioness_Twinkletoes

It really depends on the dog - my female suffers with allergies that can lead to 'hot spots' on her skin and rashes. She has a prescription only shampoo and is bathed every two weeks - once a week in summer when the allergies are at their peak.

arbrighton

My little poodle gets very muddy at the moment- mostly we let it dry and brush it out. She gets bathed every month or two. If she is incredibly sticky muddy, I do just rinse her legs off

sheramber

A washed coat has no oils in it to protect it so gets dirty even quicker.

Feral_Moon

My GSD gets a daily hose down in the shower to remove mud from his belly and legs but I never use any soap or shampoo as this would strip out natural oils. It's very important to wash off mud because of the increased incidence of the Alabama Rot disease recently.

catkins

Show dogs get bathed every week usually but any more than that is probably too much. The people I know with show dogs usually use conditioner either the wash off type or the leave in type. A lot of them now use spray in argon oil which helps the dog's coat.

unforeseen

Of course you can.

Each time you wash it it shrinks. You probably started out with a dog the size of a Bernese Mountain dog. After repeated washing you now have one the size of a Cav King Charles.

Be careful! The next step is chihuahua!