Do you wash your dogs at home?

[D'Elle]

I only bathe my dogs on an as-needed basis. Usually that works out to a few times a year. Foster dogs usually get bathed as soon as they arrive because they are almost always dirty and I also have to check them over for parasites or anomalies. My dogs don't like it but have learned to tolerate it well; just stand there while I do my thing either with hose or in the tub.

 

I trim nails myself and they are all good about it except Kit, who starts screaming when she sees me coming with the clippers. I took her to a groomer one time for a nail trim and told them to muzzle her before they clipped her nails because she has tried to bite me when I have done it, although she did not really try seriously. As it turned out she was completely complacent with the groomer; I saw it with my own eyes. Now she goes to them to have her nails trimmed. It annoys me to spend $10 for a nail trim I am fully able to do at home, but it saves Kit and me both from the trauma and the struggle, so it is worth it. Silly dog.

[waffles]

I trim nails myself and they are all good about it except Kit, who starts screaming when she sees me coming with the clippers. I took her to a groomer one time for a nail trim and told them to muzzle her before they clipped her nails because she has tried to bite me when I have done it, although she did not really try seriously. As it turned out she was completely complacent with the groomer; I saw it with my own eyes. :rolleyes:/>/> Now she goes to them to have her nails trimmed. It annoys me to spend $10 for a nail trim I am fully able to do at home, but it saves Kit and me both from the trauma and the struggle, so it is worth it. Silly dog.

 

I have seen this several times as well at my work. I just did nails on a large lab mix whose owner said he was awful, bites, and flips out for his nails. Their vet won't even do them unless he is sedated! We put him on a grooming table and was a perfect client with no fuss or anything. His owners were shocked.

 

 

As for my dog, I trim his nails every so often if they need it, brush him a couple times a month (maybe), hose him down outside when he is muddy and bath him with shampoo maybe 4 times a year. He does go swimming a lot when it is not winter and I have to cut some mats out of his back end from getting wet and when he gets burrs- I loath those things.

 

Levi willing jumps into the tub at home and even the high tub at work. He stands without being restrained and waits to be released out of the tub. He used to squirm, run, jump out of the tub and hide but with some time and yummy treats he has no issue with bath time (but still does not like the hose very much, mostly I think because of how cold the water is).

[mum24dog]

I have seen this several times as well at my work. I just did nails on a large lab mix whose owner said he was awful, bites, and flips out for his nails. Their vet won't even do them unless he is sedated! We put him on a grooming table and was a perfect client with no fuss or anything. His owners were shocked.

 

I used to take Hazel to have her nails clipped because they are reddish brown so I couldn't see where the quick was and she was a terrible fidget. I resented paying but it was only £3.

 

All the others that have needed clipping have been fine and I can do Hazel's myself nopw as well.

[Root Beer]

When we got our first dog, Sammie, he went to a groomer once a month or so for a bath and to have his nails trimmed. It was $10.00 - we lived in a very low-cost area, and everything was less expensive back then.

 

When we got our second, Speedy, the two of them went to the groomer once every two months or so for a bath and to have their nails trimmed.

 

When we got our third, Maddie, my husband got one of those shower attachments so it would be hand held and I got a set of nail clippers and we have taken care of baths and nails ever since. $30 seemed excessive at the time (now, it seems the cost for one would likely be more than that!!) We don't bathe them nearly as often anymore, either. They don't need it unless they roll in something or there is some special occasion for which we want them extra clean.

 

So, yes, we wash our own dogs.

 

It does take a bit of creativity to bathe Tessa, who still doesn't go into the shower compartment in the bathroom (although she loves to be bathed), but that's another subject altogether!! That's actually on my training agenda for this coming summer . . .

[rushdoggie]

Re: dogs and letting the groomer but no one else - sometimes its because they don't like how we bend their legs to get to the nails or being held down as we struggle with them. Because at the groomers they are up on an elevated table the dogs often stand still because they are a little nervous, then the groomer doesn't have to contort them or hold them too tight, so voila, they don't mind it there. Try having your dog lay on his side on a sofa with his back to the back and his 4 feet pointed at you while you sit on the floor, or fake a grooming table with a non skid bath mat on the top of the washer or picnic table. Sometimes that works.

 

Also, if you have an under 40 lb dog without too much coat as I do, I have taught him to stand quietly in the kitchen sink for me, two feet in each sink bowl. I live in a climate that's wet half the year and so we have loads of mud, and I like a clean house, so my dogs often suffer the indignity of an "under carriage rinse" in the sink to rinse off the mud. Once he learned how to let me lift him up and set him in the sink and rinse his legs and underside, I found can actually do a full shampoo there if I am careful with the sprayer hose and dilute the shampoo so its easy to rinse out. I do get some water on the counters but cleaning that up is a damn sight easier on my back than bending over him in the tub!

[MrSnappy]

We have a hose, a post and a leash. That's where VERY DIRTY dogs who maybe rolled in something gross get bathed maybe once in the summer. In the winter, they get the mud toweled off when they come inside, which is kind of a PITA, but preferable to muddy floors. Super muddy feet get dipped in containers of water so I can wipe the wet mud off more easily. I cannot imagine grooming 8 dogs routinely, so I don't

 

RDM

[geonni banner]

I am lucky enough to have a "teflon-coated" Border Collie. She will be 5 in June and has had 4 or 5 baths in all that time, twice in a bathtub inside, and the rest with a hose in the yard. The only time she ever smells is if she rolls in something. Usually toweling it and then waiting a couple hours for it to dry thoroughly then brushing it will remove all traces of smell. (Except for one memorable time she found a nice big puddle of raw sewage near our water-treatment plant. That required a shampoo-rinse-repeat treatment. I just use whatever shampoo I'm using if shampoo is needed.

[teganandjessmom23]

I wish some of you lived by me. I own my own grooming business and I only charge 40 for a full groom and give out loyalty cards. I bathe mine every week and they get a full groom once a month. If you don't want a stinky border but don't want to pay a groomer I recommend a slicker brush, comb, show sheen and some dog cologne from nature specialties. Few minutes later the dog looks better and smells great. Groomers will trim the feet and shave the pads so you get a better deal but even with me being a professional I don't always have the time to give them a good groom or bath. A stinky border is a happy border!

[brady's mom]

In the two years I've had Brady, I've bathed him maybe 10 times? He rarely smells and in the summer he spends 80% of his time swimming so that probably helps. A good brushing and he's usually pretty set for the week. After getting tired of paying the groomer 9 bucks to trim his nails once a month, I just started doing it myself despite his tantrums. You'd never know he didn't get bathed very often, his white parts are always super white and his fur is incredibly soft and clean to the touch. Sometimes he has a faint "doggy" smell, but I've never minded it. We usually get compliments on his physical appearance, which, personally, I think goes straight to his head.

[Star]

I've always bathed the dogs, but don't do it a lot--a few times a year. I don't think it improves the smell any (well, Star really doesn't smell very doggy but Seven is the doggiest smelling dog ever!)--just makes it more of a shampoo, damp dog, doggy parfum. I do it outside on the patio when the weather is nice enough. We trim their nails ourselves, which we all hate. I brush Star fairly regularly and Seven too (although with her short coarse coat she doesn't need it, she just likes it). My favorite trick to getting out stickers and mats--kids detangling spray. Works like a charm and won't leave the floor slippery like Show Sheen. When it's rainy or muddy, I spread a couple of towels by the back door. The dogs know to come in and sit while I dry them and wipe their feet. In the summer, I bring my horse clippers home and buzz Star so she doesn't roast to death. The first attempt was....interesting. I can do a good job body clipping a horse, but a dog is a different matter! I do sort of a modified blanket clip--start right behind her ears,leave her feathers front and back, and leave her tail. Takes a little styling to blend the tail and butt fluff, but I personally like it better than a total buzz.

[beachdogz]

It is amazing to me how dirty my dogs look one day, and how sparkly their coats (especially the white) look the next. I don't see an excessive amount of licking/preening, so I can only conclude that it ends up on my carpet. A roll in deer poop usually results with being hosed.

 

Re toenails, two of my dogs have their feet trimmed regularly at home (nails and hair between pads). The third came with major toe nail clipping problems. I owned 12 GSDs in lifetime and clipped or dremelled nails with no problem what so ever. This dog must have had some number done on her at a groomer (I was able to talk to the owner before I got her, so I know they sent her to a groomer.) It took me a year to brush her without her growling. If I try to pick through her hair, she startles. Picking up a pair of scissors or a toe nail clipper makes her run. And nail clipping was impossible - even with two of us. So I took her to the vet and they tried everything. My vet feared that she would convulse the way she got all worked up (that's how bad it was.) So...they sedated her. She fought through the sedation to a point where they had to put her totally out. Then I was mad when I saw that they didn't even cut them short; hardly cut them at all and did not trim hair. So I had the same problem a month down the road. I finally decided to manage the problem by teaching her to scratch on a board with sandpaper attached to it. I'm thinking that when we get the driveway cemented, she will probably wear them down naturally.

[JimB]

He's a house pet, so it's bath time every couple of weeks. He'll hop in the tub and turn around on command. Doesn't mean that he is a fan of the whole process, but he tolerates it rather well. The nails never need trimmed (other than dew claws) so we don't do that very often.

 

Never have professionally groomed him, but I have been thinking about it. I saw his sister recently, after she had been to the groomer, and she really did look nice.

[Pam Wolf]

If they stink like the dead stuff they rolled in or are just too muddy they get a bath. and usually before I travel with them. I have a bathtub in the garage built up high just for bathing. When we built we plumbed in for the tub and I got a freebie tub and we fixed it up as a nice bath tub-gets lots of uses too

[BatBear13]

We bathe our pup Bear probably twice a month? he doesn't really smell that much and can't get into too much mischief while it's the dry season lol.