How Often Should You Wash Your Dog?

When it comes to tasks to do with our dogs, washing them can be one of the most awkward and harder things to do. Because of this, you can end up dreading your pet’s bath time. We’re here to help you through it and to even enjoy it. Certain breeds of dogs will need washing a lot more frequently than others. Itching to learn more? Read on and found out all there is to know about how often to wash your dog.

Table of Contents

• How Often Should I Give My Dog A Full Wash?
  • How Often Should I Clean My Dog In General?
• Marking Down the Date of Their Last Wash
• Why Avoid Overwashing Your Dog?
• Final Thoughts
• FAQs

How Often Should I Give My Dog A Full Wash?

Dogs love to get dirty. That’s the bottom line. They just love rolling in the dirt and enjoying themselves.

This can make things difficult for us during bathtime and can often lead to us having to give our dogs frequent washes.

However, you need to be careful that you don’t overclean your pooch. This will damage their fur and their skin.

With regards to standard washes, you should be looking to keep these fairly infrequent and uncommon.

We recommend that you give your dog a deep clean every three months or so. Avoid over washing and allow their fur to build up natural oils and protection from debris and other external factors like dirt and muddy water.

Every three months or so it could be a good idea to give your dog a trip to the groomers to give make sure every area is attended to. Don’t forget to check out our tips for calming your do down at the groomer’s!

How Often Should I Clean My Dog In General?

Because our hounds have the potential to get dirty whenever we take them for exercise, it’s easy to say that we should be washing them daily. However, this doesn’t have to be as full-on as the washes that we give to our dogs every three months.

When things like leaves and small twigs get stuck in their fur, it can be useful to just give them a quick brush with a comb. This’ll make sure that these unwanted visitors in your dog’s hair are expelled, leaving your pooch relatively clean.

When other things like mud and dirty water find their way onto your dog’s skin, it may require a bit more attention.

Sometimes all we need to do is give them a hose down with some water. This’ll make sure that small stains and messes are cleaned off as quickly as possible to avoid drying. If they dry, we need to use some gentle shampoo to make sure that these germs and bacteria don’t keep your dog from being clean.

If you’re going to wash your dog lightly once a week then it’s important to keep the use of chemicals to a minimum so that their fur doesn’t get damaged or broken down by shampoo and other things we use to keep them clean.

This is known as over washing and can be easy to do. Unless you make a note of when you washed them last and when you should target their next clean-down.

Marking Down the Date of Their Last Wash

One easy way to avoid overwashing is to make sure that you keep a note of the date and time of day that you last gave your dog a bath or a wash.

With smartphones being such a large part of people’s lives nowadays, it’s never been easier to access a calendar and add comments.

For example, you could note down if you used conditioner, shampoo, or even hot and cold water. This way you can keep a track of not overwashing your pooch.

This can also help with booking appointments at the groomers. You can look to plan your next visit in advance.

On top of this, you can also add notes on when to buy extra shampoo, conditioner, and other useful tools.

Why Avoid Overwashing Your Dog?

Overwashing your dog can cause a few problems for them, especially when it comes to their skin and their fur.

With regards to their fur, you can damage and thin their hair out by washing them too frequently with chemicals in shampoo and conditioner.

By doing this, you can also cause their hair to fall out and even become knotted and tangled. On top of this, you can also deprive the fur of the essential oils that keep the fur healthy.

By using these chemicals too often you can also damage your pooch’s skin by drying it out too much. This can cause sensitive skin to occur, which can result in flaking and peeling, as well as itching.

If this causes itching then your dog can find it very uncomfortable and will likely start biting it to try and relieve them of the frustration.

A lot of dogs will have to wear a cone over their head to prevent them from doing this.

However, you can rinse your dog with water as much as you want.

Because there are no chemicals, this is perfectly natural. It will keep them from having small bits of debris in their hair. It’ll wash off any excess dirt that may be present.

A lot of dogs actually enjoy this, especially when done with a garden hose. Because of their playful nature, they will likely have fun with you during this process, which makes it a lot easier for you.

Definitely better than dragging them up the stairs to the bath, anyway!

A lot of dogs are actually a lot more hygienic than you might first think.

Lots of breeds will clean themselves with their tongues to keep out any dirt and debris. This is always helpful when owners feel the need to get involved.

With regards to how often they clean themselves, it can vary from dog to dog and depends on when they feel like it.

Final Thoughts

Washing your dog is an important part of taking care of them, solidifying the bond between owner and pet.

With regards to how frequently you rinse them off, it’s down to personal preference and when you see fit. However, it’s important not to overwash them so you don’t damage their fur and skin.

Keeping them clean is a great way to make sure your dog is healthy and living its best life. Stick to a routine and you’ll be fine!

FAQs