# Those Dirty Field Dogs



## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

Water levels low here which makes for really smelly mud and lot of it. Can't just rinse off the smell with a few fun bumpers.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

no, we don't do the dirty-clean-dirty cycle. We just stay dirty


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

I know exactly what you mean! Riley is always getting disgusting and he has so much fun but it is such a pain the butt later! Whenever he gets a bath (once a week basically) I always consider just not letting him get dirty again, but he loves to swim so much I can't not let him - I'm such a pushover!


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

The only time my guys get a bath is when they are going to a show, or are in a major shed that I am trying to expedite. Otherwise I just wait for them to get dry and give them a good brushing. That gets most of the sand etc to come out. I find that if the dogs are working and you bathe too often you actually take the oils out of the coat that make it self-maintaining.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

A booster tub might help your back, best thing I've ever purchased for bathing dogs.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

I'm lucky that Tayla has a pretty light coat with very little undercoat. Might be that at 9 months it hasn't come in or it might be how she is going to be (I hope), but she spent most of Monday in her kiddie pool, followed by rolling in dirt and sand and a repeat of the cycle 4 times. Once she was dry in her crate it was like she was clean again. Vacuumed up the crate and she was good to go.


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## luvbuzz (Oct 27, 2010)

:--sitnky:Lets add briers and plant stickys that don't want to come out easily. My guy loves jumping in the heavy brush.
Or what about a big muddy puddle and a dog that is hot. Buzz will lie out flat in any puddle he can find when he is hot.


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

luvbuzz said:


> Lets add briers and plant stickys that don't want to come out easily. My guy loves jumping in the heavy brush.


Fiona punches through stuff I consider impenetrable, constantly picking things out of her fluff, she lets me know. Bit of a mix between tomboy/diva. Tucker one the other hand could walk around with 12' of stuff hanging off behind him with not a care in the world, I just had to laugh, happiest carefree boy.

Rarely bath unless they stink to high heaven. Fiona got a bath a month ago after smelling like swamp thing.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Maybe I should bathe less then. Only you can't avoid a bath when the lower half of your dog looks black and not gold  Also I can just tell the difference between a clean coat and dirty one by feel and look although the smell would be the biggest problem if we've been doing a lot of water work. 

I've been thinking about booster baths for awhile only they won't help during the colder months since they hook up to a hose, right?


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I keep my booster bath in my laundry room. I run the drain hose into my floor drain, and have a diverter from the washer feed lines so that I can have warmer water for when I do bathe dogs. With six it makes even the infrequent baths a lot easier!


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## Discoverer (Feb 3, 2011)

What's the point to bath the dog if the next day he'll be same dirty? 
All we do is just rinse off to get approval from the wife to get inside


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Discoverer said:


> What's the point to bath the dog if the next day he'll be same dirty?
> All we do is just rinse off to get approval from the wife to get inside


It's not healthy for the dog to bathe it. You're washing the oils out of it's coat. Just let any mud dry and then brush out the dry stuff. You would be surprised at how easy it is to get the stuff out once it is really dry. In fact, a lot of it falls off. The most horrible looking black marsh mud can be brushed out when it is dry. Don't tell the wife anything, no need to.

Seeds are a PIA. I comb out the tick trefoil and cut out the burdock.


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## pandamonium (Apr 18, 2012)

Great question!... Although we are on the "puppy hunt" right now... We have always had goldens, persian kitty's, and horses! There are a line of products called "Cowboy Magic"...
They have shampoos etc. but the leave in detangler and finish product is the best!
We use it on manes and tails...I will sometimes mix some with water and spray on the he underside of the belly and feathers...this allows the debris to slide out of the feathers and undercoat. It seems to keep the coat cleaner also. It does not have a greasy or tacky feel to it at all. Occasionally when a horse picks up a burr in the fields. I completely saturate the burr and surrounding area and give it some time to really soak in...it wil just slide out, and you will not lose the long feathers or hair with it! Great stuff!... I just love that it does not leave a greasy residue... Maybe a high velocity dryer would also help shorten the time you have to spend bathing and grooming! Cowboy Magic has a great line of shampoos...we like the Rosewater one! hope that helps...a little detangler goes a long way!


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

I bathe Rose now more often just to get her used to the baths. When we had Troopie and Jack we bathed them less than once a month. When they got all dirty we simply used a towel to help them dry faster and then combed and brushed once dry. The dog towels are washed with their shampoo.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Discoverer said:


> What's the point to bath the dog if the next day he'll be same dirty?
> All we do is just rinse off to get approval from the wife to get inside


I don't know I used that same argument with my mother growing up when it came to cleaning the house. Never worked!


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> I don't know I used that same argument with my mother growing up when it came to cleaning the house. Never worked!


LOL, I usually wait until she gets a little too fragrant. I think stinky mud is the cause.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I too wait until they dry off and usually just comb it out. When they get smelly however, they get the full treatment (shampoo & conditioning).

I did try washing and conditioning every week, then every other week and finally once a month but I did not like the results so now I am back to 'as needed'.

The burrs and pricklies around here I can generally just comb out, even those big green ones. As long as they are combed out often and don't wrap themselves into the fur.


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## Discoverer (Feb 3, 2011)

gdgli said:


> It's not healthy for the dog to bathe it. You're washing the oils out of it's coat. Just let any mud dry and then brush out the dry stuff. You would be surprised at how easy it is to get the stuff out once it is really dry. In fact, a lot of it falls off. The most horrible looking black marsh mud can be brushed out when it is dry. Don't tell the wife anything, no need to.
> 
> Seeds are a PIA. I comb out the tick trefoil and cut out the burdock.


I would totally agree with you if dog lives outside, but unfortunately it doesn't work for the indoor dogs. Guess where all the dried mud will fall off? 
And before the dog will get dry he will leave the dirty marks everywhere, so now instead of cleaning just one dog we'll need to clean the whole house. And btw we never say anything to woman, she just kicks both us out to clean our self


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I second the Cowboy Magic mane and tail detangler. The burrs just slide right off!


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Discoverer said:


> I would totally agree with you if dog lives outside, but unfortunately it doesn't work for the indoor dogs. Guess where all the dried mud will fall off?
> And before the dog will get dry he will leave the dirty marks everywhere, so now instead of cleaning just one dog we'll need to clean the whole house. And btw we never say anything to woman, she just kicks both us out to clean our self


This is I think one of the bigger problems, smell aside--dirty dog=dirty house. Tracks all of it in.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Dirty dog = Dirty house in my book. A good rinsing with clean water is a must. If after towel drying dog still smells then a quick bath with dilate puppy shampoo is a must.

Buddy will tell you if he does not smell good he knows he is getting a smelly place bath. He would not come in this AM (Thurs) because he rolled in muck- I believe it was accidental on his part- He loves to roll in the grass first thing in the morning because it is cool and wet- First time he ever got covered in muck. He had just gotten a full bath (Mon.) after 4 days at Goldstock. He did not want another bath but knew he was going to get one. He had the slow "I'm a bad boy" walk and the "I'm sorry" face.

He will happily eat deer Raisinettes and come flying back in when called. He is not a kisser so he knows he will get a minty cookie which is just fine with him.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

How do you completely dry him off before letting him in so the floors and furniture aren't ruined? 

Dirt vacuums up much easier than repairing the damage to wood I think and since you need to vacuum every day anyway, no extra work is involved.



MikaTallulah said:


> Dirty dog = Dirty house in my book. A good rinsing with clean water is a must. If after towel drying dog still smells then a quick bath with dilate puppy shampoo is a must.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Sunrise said:


> since you need to vacuum every day anyway


is that what I've been doing wrong? :uhoh:


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Sunrise said:


> ... you need to vacuum every day anyway...


I wanted to put double thanks until that statement - OOPS :uhoh:. Can we revise that to every week??????


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Sunrise said:


> How do you completely dry him off before letting him in so the floors and furniture aren't ruined?
> 
> Dirt vacuums up much easier than repairing the damage to wood I think and since you need to vacuum every day anyway, no extra work is involved.


He does not go on the furniture ever. 

In my experience is wood floors are properly cared for they don't warp easily from a damp dog. Grit from dirt does not damage that a damp dog- Since it will scratch up the sealant. 

I don't need to vacuum daily. Maybe once a week. 

My laundry room is concrete- Right next to family room/tv room. The bathrooms are tile and the kitchen is linoleum. He can be baby gated into any of these areas and still be part of the group. He likes to lay on the cold laudryroom floor best anyway so baby gate needed 

I towel dry then force dry his legs and underbelly so he is not really wet. He actually likes to chill on his deck or front porch to dry off after a rinsing too.

There are many options to protect wood floors 

Buddy spends most of his week in various stages of wet since he is hot and he loves to play with my neighbors kids in the sprinkler.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Real wooden floors do need protection from water though, no matter how they are sealed. So does wood furniture, cabinets, vanities etc. I find it way easier to just vacuum and dust. And I don't need to worry about hot spots caused by damp undercoat so much as I would if I hosed them down several times a day.

Okay,okay ladies, if your dogs are not tromping through muddy trails every day, vacuuming once a week does it too   My backwoods never seem to really get dry so they do track in stuff that can scratch the floors if not vacuumed daily.


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## Radarsdad (Apr 18, 2011)

I just spray him off after I let him out of dog box on the tailgate. Blow him or just let him dry off. I give him baths fairly often but he's a mud puppy and heads straight for some good ol dirt.


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