Does he HAVE to have a bath?

[sarah]

Our 2.5 year old lab hasnt had a bath in a very long time. He's not visibly dirty, he doesn't smell and he has no skin issues. Every so often i'll find some mud stuck in his fur and just spot clean it with water. I also try to brush him often.

Should we be bathing him every 6 months or so even if we don't think he needs it? I don't want to neglect him if theres a valid reason to do it.

[Berna]

I give a bath every 6 months. You can't imagine how much dirt comes off of him. I know some people don't bath their Labs at all, they just brush them.

[soberbyker]

I give a bath every 6 months. You can't imagine how much dirt comes off of him. I know some people don't bath their Labs at all, they just brush them.

I can't remember where I read it but you have to be careful about washing a Lab as they have a natural oil that repels/insulates them in the cold and cold water that can be washed off with too much shampooing. If you do use shampoo use a mild one similar to a baby shampoo.

[SunDance]

Our dogs, regardless of breed, have always gotten 3 - 4 baths over the course of the warm weather (we wash outside, hose hooked up to basement faucet). We use wet wipes a couple of times over the winter.

Washing gets rid of loose hair...more important during shedding times which usually coincide with warmer weather...and freshens up the coat that may have, oh, say, saliva from other dogs from bouts of bitey-face or drooling, dust, pollen, etc. Only two of my dogs have ever "needed" baths because of their own smell: Hershey (chocolate boy) had a slight doggy odor and Sunnie has a slight feral odor (not dog-like). My other Labs and my Akitas had no odor at all. Danny has no odor in general but parts of him have a faint odor of brown sugar.

Baths are also given if someone gets unusually muddy (normally with only water) or rolls in something undesirable...Dan's had a few of those types of scrubbings.

I also brush every day...just a gentle going-over. I've found that butt furs (where the dog sits) tend to clump a bit if they aren't maintained. Brushing every day also allows you to check easily for growths, etc.

[Meeps83]

Maverick is also 2 1/2 and he hasn't had a bath in probably 1 1/2 years. Our pup is 4 months and had 1 as he rolled in his poopy.


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[Tanya]

i only give baths if they are stinky (or sticky) and spot cleaning won't work. rocky doesn't get a bath yearly and I may have given my last dog 1 bath in the 2.5 years I had her (she wasn't a lab either).

You can rinse with water (even scrub) and brush regularly to get much of the dirt and sand out without use of soap. If you do use soap, ensure it is soap made for dogs.

[labsnewfy]

I don't give baths unless they roll in something - Sarah hasn't had a bath in several years, Ginger on the other hand loves to roll in rabbit poo and gets a bath at least once a year.

[Annette47]

Mine only get baths with actual shampoo if they are stinky, usually. They do swim a lot so the dirt etc tends to get rinsed out frequently. Chloe did need a series of medicated baths over the summer because she had some sort of skin problem (skin looked fine but there was a stinky patch on her), but the pups have had maybe one actual bath in their lifetimes?

[MightyThor]

Thor's fur has a remarkable talent at cleaning itself. He hasn't had a path since he rolled in alkali mud that dried on him like concrete about a year and a half ago. Whenever he gets dirty enough that I think he'll need it, he seems clean by the time we get home. I can't explain it. Well, maybe I can - it ends up in the back of my Subaru.

[TT120]

Milo seems to be a self cleaning dog. He's only had 1 bath when he was a little puppy when he rolled around in his poo in the kennel. Other than that one time, he's never had a bath. He never smells and the dirt just seems to flake off him. I read somewhere about the natural oils on a dogs fur that shouldn't be disturbed.