# How often to bathe a GR pup / stinky



## xooxlinds

I have been told from 2 groomers that it is important not to bathe a golden pup 'too often' as their natural oils keep their skin and coat healthy. This is understandable, however, we have been getting rain almost every day (welcome to Florida!) and Eli has been getting quite stinky. I have a few pet colognes, but they only cover up his stinky smell and I am afraid to bathe him too often in fear of drying out his skin and coat. I have only given him a bath maybe 2x a month, so far. What are your suggestions? I give him fish oil on top of his food (1 capsule 2x a day) and 1 tsp. of organic coconut oil 1x day on his food. Are there any other remedies to control a stinky pup that you can recommend? Thanks in advance!


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## The life of Piper

xooxlinds said:


> I have been told from 2 groomers that it is important not to bathe a golden pup 'too often' as their natural oils keep their skin and coat healthy. This is understandable, however, we have been getting rain almost every day (welcome to Florida!) and Eli has been getting quite stinky. I have a few pet colognes, but they only cover up his stinky smell and I am afraid to bathe him too often in fear of drying out his skin and coat. I have only given him a bath maybe 2x a month, so far. What are your suggestions? I give him fish oil on top of his food (1 capsule 2x a day) and 1 tsp. of organic coconut oil 1x day on his food. Are there any other remedies to control a stinky pup that you can recommend? Thanks in advance!


I wash Piper usually once a month. Or whenever she's been snacking out of the dishwasher and has food all over her fur. Every dog is different though, so maybe one every 2 weeks?


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## Claudia M

Bathe the girls once or twice a year. I use the Crown Royale 2 for the goldens and 3 for the flat coat. Also use the finishing spray couple times a year after they go in the pond. 

I used the spray with the puppy. It is too cold to give her a bath yet. 

No stinky pups in the house!


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb

We bathe our Goldens every 7-10 days with Foster & Smith's hypo-allergenic shampoo. We only see signs of a coat low in oil when it is necessary to make it a very thorough bath for some reason.


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## Megora

I think that putting colognes and other stuff on the coat will do more damage than a good healthy bath on a regular basis. Even the different grooming products (Magic Touch, Finishing spays, etc) will build up in the coat and could cause skin issues or coat issues. Or at the very least, it could dull the coat. Similar to people when they spray stuff in their hair every day and only bathe once a week. I've been told by people I respect not to use a lot of stuff in the coats if I'm not going to follow up with a rinse/bath afterwards. 

It's something to kinda keep in mind if the dog's skin and coat health are your primary concern. 

A regular bath won't hurt anything. 

A lot of people don't do it because it's a pain to deal with if you don't have a pet dryer and/or your dog has one of those coats that does not dry very well. 

Spayed or neutered dogs and seniors have different texture and it can be a real pain dealing with - the dogs just don't dry very quickly. They also probably need baths the most, because they are more likely to have excess oils caking in their coats and causing smelly spots. 

I'm rambling, but quick and easy answer is you are not going to hurt anything with a healthy dog by giving frequent or as needed baths. 

The dogs can go a year without a bath - if they aren't swimming in muck or exposed to other stuff which could irritate their skin. Prior to my "current generation" of goldens, our dogs did not have more than 1-2 baths a year. They had healthy coats and they always smelled good. But they weren't outside dogs or exposed to a lot of stuff that would make them smelly. Probably only issues we had were when they got old and had both the "texture change" thing happen with their coats and also they probably had various changes in their body causing excess oils, etc. 

My guys right now get baths every week. Jacks is 7 years old and while he's had weekly baths all his life, he has never had any skin problems that you see a lot of golden retrievers having. The baths are primarily because as long as water isn't iced over at the lakes, he's swimming every week. And I can't stand the smell of lake water. It's smells like bacteria to me.  He is borderline getting an older dog coat - it still dries fairly quickly, but not the same as a young dog. It may take him a couple hours just to air dry while the younger dog is completely dry like in 40 minutes just running around. As he gets older and his coat changes... it probably will be impossible to let him air dry. It would 4-5+ hours for him to dry on his own and he would still have ooky smells under the top coat. 

So I probably understand why people don't bathe their dogs regularly if they don't have dryers. If you have dryers and have a handy nozzle thing in your bathtub at the house and a cage thingy to catch dog hair, you can easily bathe the dogs year round and their coats and skin will be beyond healthy. And of course, healthy coat grows. 

Bertie's breeder told me to bathe Bertie every day of a show because the coats look best when clean. So for example last month I showed Thursday through Sunday, and Bertie was bathed every day (as were most other show dogs). I kinda think bathing every day on a regular basis would strip oils from the coat and even cause some build up from the shampoo you are using, but that is an example "as needed" baths not hurting anything. 

So if your dog smells bad - and YOU ACTUALLY SMELL IT! - bathe her. Odds are your dog smells more strongly to other people and/or her coat feels gross to other people who are not "used" to her like you are. This was something that drove me and my sister nuts about a person and her husky who went to the same classes as us. The husky would swim every day and just get hosed off, I think. She smelled gosh-awful and her coat felt terrible - we couldn't stand sitting next to her and the owner (something we didn't make a big deal about, but it was something rattling through our heads in class!) - the owner was used to her dog and just didn't smell anything out of the of the ordinary. 

Other thing too and this is just sort of same topic but it's something I've been really focused on with my Jacks who is at THAT age - I'm really determined to keep the hair growing on his tail and his elbows. And these are two spots where you either get the calluses (like the elbows) or stud tail (caused by excess oil clogging the pores and stopping hair growth). I really want his coat to stay healthy - especially in those spots where a lot of middle age dogs start getting some thinning or skin changes. <- I think keeping them clean and groomed seems to help.


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## Harleysmum

This has been posted on here before by other people and me(!) but it really works and that is a 50/50 mix of quality apple cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle. It really does get rid of the stink if you haven't the time to wash your dog. Makes the coat soft too.


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## xooxlinds

Thank you for all of your feedback! Very helpful. Eli is getting a nice bath tonight. He doesn't smell foul..but friends have commented that he has a stinky puppy smell.


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## Claudia M

Megora said:


> .......
> A regular bath won't hurt anything.
> 
> .......So I probably understand why people don't bathe their dogs regularly if they don't have dryers. If you have dryers and have a handy nozzle thing in your bathtub at the house and a cage thingy to catch dog hair, you can easily bathe the dogs year round and their coats and skin will be beyond healthy. *And of course, healthy coat grows.*
> 
> ........


A healthy coat grows because the dog is healthy not because of how often you wash a dog. 

Weekly brushing to eliminate the dead coat is good enough.


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## cubbysan

Show people bathe their dogs weekly.

My dogs probably only get bathed a few times a year, except my show puppy. I try to do her two to three times a month. When my dogs were young puppies, there were weeks when they got bathed multiple times in the week, depending on what they got into. Bathing too much will not hurt your puppy, as long as you are not using strong products.


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## Lilliam

Max gets bathed every month except the dead of winter. His last bath was in December right the weekend before Christmas. His next one will be March. 

My border collie's first bath EVER was a couple of years ago. Before that he just jumped in a tub of water after herding and just air dried. But that time we'd gone to the beach and he'd found horseshoe crab shells with Max and he'd rolled on them. First time Billy ever smelled. So when I had Max groomed the next day I had Billy bathed and his nails and ear fluff done for the very first time EVER. He thought he was HOT STUFF. So now he gets baths and light grooming every change in season. I make an appointment for him too. That's all he needs. 

A lot depends on what they get into, the food they get, and what you do with them. Billy has never been one to get on the bed with me where MaxyMax always sleeps with me. If Billy had been the bed sharing type he would have been bathed regularly.


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## syonker

Murphy gets a bath once a month with an oatmeal shampoo, but fresh water rinsed after every swimming/retrieving session in our backyard creek.

She is a garage/outside kenneled golden & I put cedar shavings in the inside area of her kennel changing the shavings every week. The cedar does a great job of eliminating dog oder.


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## Cpc1972

Chloe has had four baths since we brought her home. So about once a month.


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## Daisy123

About once a month unless she goes swimming or rolls in something stinky. I use Earth bath Oatmeal and Aloe shampoo.


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## bixx

the longest without a bath is 2 weeks. I love Amber's stinky dog smell...but eventually it just gets too much.


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## Golden Pond

A healthy dog is a clean dog! When I send puppies to their new homes I ask the owners to bathe the pup weekly with baby shampoo...tearless...and use a hair dryer to dry. Puppy learns a bath is routine and hair dryers are not scary. When they leave at eight weeks they have had many baths and are getting used to grooming. If you pup smells give him a bath! Thorough rinsing and good quality gentle shampoo are all important. Teach him to love his grooming session...nails, ears and trimming are all part of the experience. Any part of his body is yours to brush!
Good diet and the oils you give him will produce a glowing coat...in between a diluted spritz of a leave in conditioner spray will freshen him up! Don't worry about giving him a good cleaning often!


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## Allie

Bailey absolutely loves her bath! She will step into the shower when she thinks she is "stinky" - plus she sleeps in our king size bed.. I know I know she is the princess of the household and of course we put a blanket on the bed for her to sleep on.
She happens to know when she is a little more stinky than usual and will walk to the bathroom and walk into the shower - or whichever bathroom is closest.
She loves it!
I live in the PacNW and she gets really stinky when we go to the local off-lease parks and get super muddy - and just rinsing her off isn't enough.
I usually bathe her 2X a month.


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## Avinaftali

Megora said:


> I think that putting colognes and other stuff on the coat will do more damage than a good healthy bath on a regular basis. Even the different grooming products (Magic Touch, Finishing spays, etc) will build up in the coat and could cause skin issues or coat issues. Or at the very least, it could dull the coat. Similar to people when they spray stuff in their hair every day and only bathe once a week. I've been told by people I respect not to use a lot of stuff in the coats if I'm not going to follow up with a rinse/bath afterwards.
> 
> It's something to kinda keep in mind if the dog's skin and coat health are your primary concern.
> 
> A regular bath won't hurt anything.
> 
> A lot of people don't do it because it's a pain to deal with if you don't have a pet dryer and/or your dog has one of those coats that does not dry very well.
> 
> Spayed or neutered dogs and seniors have different texture and it can be a real pain dealing with - the dogs just don't dry very quickly. They also probably need baths the most, because they are more likely to have excess oils caking in their coats and causing smelly spots.
> 
> I'm rambling, but quick and easy answer is you are not going to hurt anything with a healthy dog by giving frequent or as needed baths.
> 
> The dogs can go a year without a bath - if they aren't swimming in muck or exposed to other stuff which could irritate their skin. Prior to my "current generation" of goldens, our dogs did not have more than 1-2 baths a year. They had healthy coats and they always smelled good. But they weren't outside dogs or exposed to a lot of stuff that would make them smelly. Probably only issues we had were when they got old and had both the "texture change" thing happen with their coats and also they probably had various changes in their body causing excess oils, etc.
> 
> My guys right now get baths every week. Jacks is 7 years old and while he's had weekly baths all his life, he has never had any skin problems that you see a lot of golden retrievers having. The baths are primarily because as long as water isn't iced over at the lakes, he's swimming every week. And I can't stand the smell of lake water. It's smells like bacteria to me.  He is borderline getting an older dog coat - it still dries fairly quickly, but not the same as a young dog. It may take him a couple hours just to air dry while the younger dog is completely dry like in 40 minutes just running around. As he gets older and his coat changes... it probably will be impossible to let him air dry. It would 4-5+ hours for him to dry on his own and he would still have ooky smells under the top coat.
> 
> So I probably understand why people don't bathe their dogs regularly if they don't have dryers. If you have dryers and have a handy nozzle thing in your bathtub at the house and a cage thingy to catch dog hair, you can easily bathe the dogs year round and their coats and skin will be beyond healthy. And of course, healthy coat grows.
> 
> Bertie's breeder told me to bathe Bertie every day of a show because the coats look best when clean. So for example last month I showed Thursday through Sunday, and Bertie was bathed every day (as were most other show dogs). I kinda think bathing every day on a regular basis would strip oils from the coat and even cause some build up from the shampoo you are using, but that is an example "as needed" baths not hurting anything.
> 
> So if your dog smells bad - and YOU ACTUALLY SMELL IT! - bathe her. Odds are your dog smells more strongly to other people and/or her coat feels gross to other people who are not "used" to her like you are. This was something that drove me and my sister nuts about a person and her husky who went to the same classes as us. The husky would swim every day and just get hosed off, I think. She smelled gosh-awful and her coat felt terrible - we couldn't stand sitting next to her and the owner (something we didn't make a big deal about, but it was something rattling through our heads in class!) - the owner was used to her dog and just didn't smell anything out of the of the ordinary.
> 
> Other thing too and this is just sort of same topic but it's something I've been really focused on with my Jacks who is at THAT age - I'm really determined to keep the hair growing on his tail and his elbows. And these are two spots where you either get the calluses (like the elbows) or stud tail (caused by excess oil clogging the pores and stopping hair growth). I really want his coat to stay healthy - especially in those spots where a lot of middle age dogs start getting some thinning or skin changes. <- I think keeping them clean and groomed seems to help.


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