New to breed. (basic ?'s)

[SashasMom]

I have had my GSD since Oct 14th. She is 6mo. old on the 27th of this month. She is starting to smell and I read that they shouldn't get bathed to frequently. So, how often, and what to use? We think she probably hasn't had many baths and we are ready!!!! Also, she is losing teeth left and right! She seems soooo uncomfortable. Is there anything I can do for her? She makes these sad noises as she bites her chew toys. And lastly, I plan to spay her. I have never owned a female companion before, and I am afraid that she is still sooo active (puppyish) that she will hurt herself after surgery. Is this something I should worry about? Should I wai until she settles down a bit?

[Harley0312]

what are you feeding her because the smell could be because of something that you are feeding her. mine was teething 2 months ago and it will pass I never did anything with it just let it pass. mine is a male but we are going to neuter him at 2 years old so thats some time away. someone with a female may be able to help.

[Harley0312]

we give harley a bath everything 3 months and he really doesnt smell bad ever unless he rolls in something.

[sashadog]

Everyone has their own opinions about when to spay and the reasons behind it (I would have a serious talk with your vet about that subject and do some other research) but I do know that if you wait for her to settle down, you're going to be waiting a long time Also, we bath all our dogs whenever they start to feel greasy or when they smell. This all depends on the dog, my cattle dog mix gets bathed about once every 2 months but my lab mix and my GSD get bathed every 2-3 WEEKS because they're a little more greasy and love to roll in the dirt :roll eyes: For teething, my dogs all loved frozen Kong's. Put a pencil in the small end, and we filled them with chicken broth, bits of canned green beans and little bits of chicken and then popped it in the freezer. They adored this on their teeth plus it keeps them busy, which is always a plus Good luck with your new puppy!!

[sashadog]

Oh, and when you bath them use dog specific shampoo and i like to stick with an oatmeal and shea butter shampoo because it helps with their itchiness from our dry Colorado weather.

[Freestep]

You can bathe your dog as often as she needs it, as long as you use a dog shampoo (not a human shampoo) that is mild and non-stripping. There are some great products out there for dog owners, I really like Earthbath hypoallergenic.

Don't worry about her teething--it's something all puppies go through, just make sure she has plenty of good things to chew on. They make puppy chew toys you can put in the freezer, supposed to help numb the gums during the teething phase.

As far as the spay, it's amazing how quickly they bounce back from the surgery and yes they can hurt themselves being too active afterward. Some vets will automatically give painkillers nowadays, which they never used to do for spay/neuter, and I believe that it's better in most cases NOT to. If the dog feels TOO good, she's more likely to overdo it and bust a suture. Just my opinion, I've never had a dog that needed painkillers after a spay. In fact, I had one female who was so hyperactive that she busted a couple of sutures even without painkillers. I almost wanted to put her on tranquilizers for a week or so just to calm her down!