[Debbieg]

Theo and Millie both stunk and needed baths after our romps in the rain the past few weeks. Last month I bathed them each in our shower and it worked ok but the bathroom looked like a water park afterward . Today the sun was out and it was 50% so I hooked to hose to the water heater and had towels in the dryer to warm them and bathed them outside.
Millie really enjoyed it.
Theo enjoyed it too much and kept biting the water from the hose so much I could not rinse the soap off him. I had to fill buckets with the warm water and dump
It on him. Theo makes me laugh so much . They both smell good now! But I needed a shower after!

I know I have it easy in Central California but how does everyone else walk their dogs in the winter?

 

[drparker151]

Mine only get one or two official baths with soap a year. The rest of the time it's either a long walk in the rain or rinsed off with hose.

When wet they smell like wet dog, but after they dry off they do not stink.

 

[selzer]

If they are really bad, I will use the bathtub. But yeah, for the most part, GSDs and soap are like oil and water, they repel. As for it being cold out, I have swimming pools in most of the kennel areas, and if it isn't frozen solid, Tiny is jumping in it every day, laying down, and getting wet all over. The rest of them take a dip in warm weather and drink out of it when it's cold.

 

[Jenny720]

The dogs are washed outside with either a warm water hose hook up or i have this giant water can and fill it with warm water 2-3 times and it’s it just is easier. They don’t get baths really in the winter although Luna needed one and it was on a pretty warm day right before Christmas she did get one. They have those tubs in some pet smart you can use for $20.00 or so but I have not ever needed to as of yet.

 

[banzai555]

I'm in Montana. My hose is hooked to an irrigation well that is drained for the winter, so I usually don't bathe her at all in the winter. If she does get into something stinky I go to a friend's house to use their hose. It's cold but we just do it because there's no way I'm putting Willow in my one and only bathtub with all that hair.

In the warmer months I'll bathe her with soap once or twice, depending. I also let her swim in the river frequently which seems to keep her pretty clean.

Probably depends on their coat type but Willow is double-coated, soft, very much like a husky. She keeps pretty clean without any help from me and doesn't stink.

 

[WNGD]

The dogs get bathed just once or twice a year. If they get dirty in the Winter, there's a dry bath product available.

 

[banzai555]

I'll also add that I keep a towel near the door to dry her off. In the winter, when things are getting a bit melty, she kicks up a pretty good layer of dirt on her belly and inside her legs during our walks. So I dry her off when we get home, only because I don't want the dirt in my house. Cuz when that stuff dries, it just kinda falls off her...

 

[Springbrz]

Ziva gets a bath a couple times a year in the tub. I put a non-slip matt in the tub. I have a short garden hose that I use. I have an adapter to fit it on the sink faucet and use a 8 way sprayer nozzle (don't have handheld shower heads). I put on my bathing suit, get her in and I sit on the edge of the tub so she can't jump out. When we are done I pull the shower curtain and tell her to shake as I towel dry her in the tub. Bathroom gets a bit wet and needs a good wipe down when we're done. I have a dozen or so of older bath towels that are dedicated "dog" towels.
I tried the pet store bath rental once. It was a disaster for us. Dog wouldn't walk up the ramp into the tub and is too heavy for me to lift. Staff helped me get her in. She jumped out soaking wet. Fortunately it was a wet room with a big floor drain. So I showered her in the middle of the room chasing her in circles. I got soaked and hurt me back in the process. Not for us unfortunately because it is a great deal. $15-20 for their facility, they offered shampoo, towels and the forced air dryer.

 

[Distaff]

My dogs only get a bath if they get skunked.

They will NOT go into the shower, so outside with the hose it is. I am always surprised at how well they tolerate the cold outside tap. I always make a big fuss over them - something "bad" happened, and the sudsy wash will make it all better. The still somewhat stinky toweled dry pup will then be treated as a hero for defending us from the damned skunks.

I keep chickens, so at least one skunking a year, is a fact of life. The stand-off usually occurs at around 1am.

 

[dogfaeries]

If I never bathed my dogs, they’d look like roadside coyotes. I know I’m probably just used to a fluffy polished show dog look, but I like it! Russell has been blowing coat forever, and I’ve brushed him many many times, and taken him outside with the force dryer. He still looked bad. A couple of days ago, my son said Russ looked like one of the “undead”, lol. I took him up to the shop yesterday afternoon, and gave him the full show dog treatment. He looks and smells fresh and clean, and we all love him again.

 

[Fodder]

I use the dog wash station at pet food express. 2-6 tubs, water proof collar, apron for me, 4 shampoo options, dryer, towels and they clean up the mess. $14. Keystone gets bathed roughly twice a year… i usually take him once he wraps up blowing his coat - forced hair dryer gets all the remaining hair out and i’m able to really cleanse/penetrate his skin since he’s absent his undercoat.

he’s a clean dog in general, can’t think of a time he’s been extra smelly or gotten into anything gross.

 

[LuvShepherds]

I attach them to something solid so they can’t run off when they get soapy and turn on the hose. My older one hates it and hasn’t been bathed in a while. The young one stands quietly and behaves. It maybe takes 15 minutes. Then we run around to get most of the water off and when he comes in I dry him more with a big towel.

 

[Sabis mom]

I don't bath dogs much. Sabi had two or three in her whole life, Bud had about one a year because he was a gross boy, Lex had two in the years I had her, Shadow has had three or four and I have no plans for more.
If she gets into something dirty, which would be rare, I would brush cornstarch through her coat and them use the spray on coat and skin conditioner.

 

[peachygeorgia]

i use the tub for all my dogs, but they don't get bathed much, usually one right before winter sets in since they stay inside more, and then maybe one or two more the whole year, depends on what we do or what they get into.

 

[Hopps]

Fern gets bathed in the small walk in shower every 4 weeks. We squeeze water out of the coat, towel dry thoroughly without roughing up the coat and use a force dryer outside (flying pig brand dryer).

Spot cleaning: Spray on cleaner, lather, and wipe. Chris Christensen Show Off is nice. Fern sometimes gets a bit of urine on herself, steps on dog poop or even worse: steps on human poop.

Face: I get a microfiber towel soaked in hot water, squeeze all of it out and kind of "steam" Fern's face. It's easier to wipe the dirt off and Fern seems to weirdly like it. Fern is kind of a messy eater anyways.

The monthly bathing helps with reducing the amount of dander/dust/pollen/pollutants. It also seriously helped with the amount of dog hair/dander etc compared to brushing alone. When I started using higher quality products thanks to @dogfaeries recommendation, it was a night and day difference. I also started really liking grooming as a separate topic so it's been fun.

 

[David Winners]

If I never bathed my dogs, they’d look like roadside coyotes. I know I’m probably just used to a fluffy polished show dog look, but I like it! Russell has been blowing coat forever, and I’ve brushed him many many times, and taken him outside with the force dryer. He still looked bad. A couple of days ago, my son said Russ looked like one of the “undead”, lol. I took him up to the shop yesterday afternoon, and gave him the full show dog treatment. He looks and smells fresh and clean, and we all love him again.

My roadside coyote 😂

He's going on 3 and never had a bath with soap. He regularly swims in clean ponds and swimming pools and gets blown out very regularly.

Maybe I should treat him to a spa day

 

[Zeppy]

Fern gets bathed in the small walk in shower every 4 weeks. We squeeze water out of the coat, towel dry thoroughly without roughing up the coat and use a force dryer outside (flying pig brand dryer).

Spot cleaning: Spray on cleaner, lather, and wipe. Chris Christensen Show Off is nice. Fern sometimes gets a bit of urine on herself, steps on dog poop or even worse: steps on human poop.

Face: I get a microfiber towel soaked in hot water, squeeze all of it out and kind of "steam" Fern's face. It's easier to wipe the dirt off and Fern seems to weirdly like it. Fern is kind of a messy eater anyways.

The monthly bathing helps with reducing the amount of dander/dust/pollen/pollutants. It also seriously helped with the amount of dog hair/dander etc compared to brushing alone. When I started using higher quality products thanks to @dogfaeries recommendation, it was a night and day difference. I also started really liking grooming as a separate topic so it's been fun.

@Hopps, we recently bought 2 Honeywell air purifiers and OMG I cannot believe how much it has taken down the dust and dander in our house. I used to have to dust every 2-3 days, now I don’t start noticing dust on surfaces until a week or longer. The air also “feels” cleaner. I bought the tall one for our main level and the small one for our bedroom https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ho...er-air-purifier-tower-energy-star-/1000733815
This might be useful if you have a hard time with allergies/dander!

 

[Hopps]

@Hopps, we recently bought 2 Honeywell air purifiers and OMG I cannot believe how much it has taken down the dust and dander in our house. I used to have to dust every 2-3 days, now I don’t start noticing dust on surfaces until a week or longer. The air also “feels” cleaner. I bought the tall one for our main level and the small one for our bedroom https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ho...er-air-purifier-tower-energy-star-/1000733815
This might be useful if you have a hard time with allergies/dander!

Ooo I'm looking at it right now and it looks pretty good. The area I live in is really dry so there's always so many particulates, the rain really helped with that. My laptop is ingesting a lot of dog hair in general which annoys me as well. And Fern seems to produce a lot of dander, super fine dander which sucks! I'm hoping her new food brings it down a little. I'll look into getting the smaller one for my room, my makeup, art supplies and sewing machine are currently in danger because of her lol

 

[wolfy dog]

Deja (9) has only been bathed (medicated shampoo) to clear up a bacterial skin thing. Bo (3) had never been bathed. If they are muddy,v they go in their outdoor kennel or crates inside. It just falls off

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

I use the dog wash station at pet food express.

I'm so envious that your PFE has a dog wash station. Ours is tiny, and does not. We bathe in the bathtub.