reddevil Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Why is it a must? We have lived next to the ocean for a decade. My dogs swim in it almost every day of their lives. I never rinse, and other than sand on my floor, which I have learned to live with, it's never a problem either. ??? RDM I knew I should have phrased it better. This is just from my experience (you understand). I haven't read any studies nor anything like that. We've been going to the same beach for over 20 years. We did find (with our previous BC) that salt can build up in the coat. We've found over the years that not "rinsing the beach" off the dog contributed to drying of the skin ... the sea salt can do that. It's more of a precautionary thing. Sand will sometimes cause the coat to mat. Cass,(our previous BC) had a much thicker coat than Piper (our current - his mother was a smooth-coat, father long-coat), who has a medium coat. Cass loved the water ... she was without a doubt the loudest dog at the beach .... and she also loved to roll in the sand. It would sometimes take more than a day to get her coat back to normal. It's amazing how many grains of sand can hide in a dog's coat! There were times when we'd go to a lake (fresh water) and didn't feel it necessary to rinse off. Of course each dog is different. I always shower after I come from the beach. I figure if it makes me feel better, chances are it makes Piper feel better also. I will suggest, if you have an older dog, you may find it wise to monitor his/her skin when you come from the beach, just as a precaution. Cass was plagued with skin conditions her last few years. We tried all kinds of treatments, shampoos etc. Oddly enough, I think the salt water may have helped her skin once she had developed the condition. Just observations. Hope I've not been confusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadows Mom Posted June 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 We've always given the dogs a GOOD wash after a trip to the beach. a) gets rid of ichy sand and salt, and gets rid of any chemicals that have gotten in the water from farmers fields, which is unfortunately a bit of a problem here. Never had a dog get sick, but me being a botanist / environmental biologist I know what some of those chemicals CAN do and it scares the heck out of me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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