Grooming

[blarney2]

Hello evryone, I have a question about grooming. How often should you give your Bc a bath ? I have heard its not a good idea to give a dog a bath to often because it will dry out their skin. I also just heard that when you give your dog a bath they have a glan that needs to be squeezed so the fluid is released. Please let me know if this is a myth. If it is not can someone tell me how to do it.

This is my last question. I have a short hair BC. She is alyways shedding. Other than brushing her almost daily should I be doing something special to prevent this. I use a circular comb with teeth that seems to pull out the dead hair. Is their a better brush or comb that I should be using? Thanks for reading my letter.

[Kat's Dogs]

Have you tried a sheeding blade? That might help. Or maybe just more often with the brush that you have?

 

If you are using a harsh shampoo (like people shampoo) you should only do 1-2 baths a month at most - but if you are mostly washing the fur with plain water (like after they play in the mud ) then you can do it as often as 5-6 times in a month!

 

The glads (on the dog's butt) DO need to be released of fluid - BUT, because you could hurt your dog in the process, it is best to let a vet or groomer do that. If it is NEVER done, your dog will usually end up with some kind of medical issues so have you vet do that every now and then (every 6 months is good).

[Shetlander]

Since my dogs sleep on my bed, I bathe them about once a month but some people bathe their dogs much less frequently. I think it's a personal preference. I haven't had any problem with dry skin bathing once a month. I read somewhere that it takes a few days for the skin's natural oil to come back fully after a bath, but that's not a problem just a process.

 

As Kat's Dogs mentioned, you may be thinking of the anal glands. That is something you may want to be shown how to do. My dogs have ranged from needing them to be expressed almost monthly to almost never. Small dogs seem to have more trouble than larger dogs.

 

Without knowing exactly what brush you're using it's hard to say if it's the right one. Maybe you could check out some websites on grooming or talk to a groomer about what would work best. I've found that the monthly baths go a very long way to keeping shedding to a minimum with my dogs.

[Allie Oop]

I bathe Allie whenever it is absolutely necessary (sometimes, that is once a week). She is a magnet for big dogs at the dog park to slime up --which necessitates a bath. Actually, we have been averaging about once every three to four weeks (I do tolerate a certain amount of slime) .

 

I use a high quality dog shampoo with moisturizers and shine enhancers, etc. The shampoo is not cheap, but you really don't use that much during each bath. Allie is a semi-rough coat, and I use two different time of brushes/combs - a rake type comb and a brush.

[Miztiki]

I've had Boyden since January 25th of last year and he's never had a bath. He's squeaky clean and has no odor. He gets dirty and wet like any other dog but it dries and falls right off.

 

His diet plays a big, HUGE part in that. The better the diet, the healthier the dog will be, and that includes the skin and coat. Give your dog the highest quality food you can and you'll find the need to bathe will lessen considerably. When you do bathe her, be sure to use a gentle shampoo and RINSE THOROUGHLY. Then RINSE AGAIN. Any soap left on the skin can be irritating.

 

Diet can affect shedding too, but only to an extent. It's something to keep in mind though. You can give her a finger massage daily while you're petting her. Just run your fingers over her skin and through her coat.

 

Anal glands should be expressed by your vet or groomer, or until they have shown you how to properly do it.

 

That's another area that a high quality diet can come into play. Hard poops naturally express the anal glands so it becomes unnecessary to do it manually.

 

What do you feed her?

 

p.s. Fynne eats what Boy eats and doesn't get baths either. She's just as clean too.

[Dixie_Girl]

Jackson is 15mos old and has only had 1 bath! And that was because when he was around 4 mos. old my brother brought his crazed boxer over and she left a gift that Jackson apparently thought would be great to roll in!! I hated both dogs that day! :mad: I got over it with Jackson! He pretty much just gets hosed! I figure water is easier to deal with than Carolina red clay!

 

He just seems to "shed" dirt! In fact, it was sorta embarasing when I took him to his first herding clinic. Everyone kept commenting on how clean and white his fur was! Everyone there had "real" ranch dogs! But I swear, he didn't go to the beauty shop before hand! LOL

[J.E.S]

I rarely bath my Border Collies. Especially my smooth coat. They don't need it unless they get into something or they smell of something.

As for the anal glands,usually you don't need to express them on dogs like Border Collies unless they have a problem with them. Its usually only small dogs that are regularly done. And then it should be done by a vet or groomer that knows how to do it properly.

I use a shedding blade on my smooth coat as it pulls out the dead hair a normal brush usually doesn't. I use a single bladed one. Then I might run a hound mitt over him when I'm done just to bring the shine out in his coat.

[yogie]

Hi everyone

Jesse was a 2 year old male when I got him from the human society. I bathed him frequently when he came home as fleas were a problem. I added garlic to the kibble I was feeding him, fleas hate garlic, and I brushed him everyday.

 

Now, he's just past 3 years old, on a raw diet and totally healthy. I don't have to supplement his diet, clean his teeth, and I don't have to bathe him. If he's muddy or dirty and it's warm out, he gets the hose. If it's cold out, than it's into the tub with him and I rinse him off with just water. The cool thing is, if I ask him to get into the tub he just jumps in, he knows that he'll be clean and he wont have to worry about smelling like 'head and shoulders'.

Cheers

[Miztiki]

Now that you're doing a raw diet, do you still add garlic? If so, in what form and how much?

 

I don't have a problem with fleas but I did pull a tick off Boy's head the other day, so I frontlined him for the first time since last fall. I don't know if ticks hate garlic or not but I'd like to find an alternative. I HATE ticks.

[yogie]

Hi Miz

 

I sometimes rub garlic on what jesse is going to eat. I think it is a good thing to add to a dogs diet occasionally. The fleas are gone so I don't give it to him everyday now.

I don't think that ticks are afraid of garlic. They will chew through anything to get blood, but remember, if you are able to get the tick out of your puppy, antiseptic is never a bad idea.

Cheers

[Miztiki]

Garlic, or garlic powder? Just wondering in case fleas ever do become a problem.

 

I don't think ticks are afraid of anything except my lighter, which causes them to explode with a satisfying popping noise.

[yogie]

Hi Mitz

I always used real garlic.

[blarney2]

Thanks everyone for all the advice on grooming. The anal thing I was not to keen on doing anyway. I will contact my vet about that situation.

[RaisingRiver]

I bathe my dogs about once a month because they end up smelling like dead fish (my organic wet soil in the winter).

 

But I also blow them dry. Between the vigirous shampooing and the hand massaging as I blow dry, it takes a lot of loose fur out. They also love the massage