Dirty Dog!!

Phenix

hi,

I know you are not supposed to wash your dog more than every month or so as its not good for their coat and skin, however it would appear that our dog LOVES sitting in the dirt, and when its raining, he get muck on his legs and tummy. the thing his he hates being dirty and when the muck dries he pulls lumps out of himself trying to clean it all off. Ive tried to brush most of it out when its dried in but that dosnt realy work. Any other ideas? ive also used a wet cloth and just wipe his legs but againdosnt really work. The only thing is to stick him in the bath and wash him but i cant do that every other day!

peasant

Use old towels to towel him off as soon as he gets in. Most of the wet muck should come off with some rigorous towelling. Then when he's dry, brush off the rest.

bnagrrl

My dog has very long feathery hair on her tummy and legs and no matter where we go walking she always comes home filthy!
Before any of the dirt gets a chance to dry in I bring her to the bath and using the shower head and lukewarm water just rinse her tummy and legs.
The dirt washes right out.
I know you said you can't stick him in the bath every other day but for the sake of 10 mins I think this is your best option (I'm open to other suggestiong though!) and combing out dried in muck constantly can really make your dog's skin sore.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I'm with peasent.

There is no need to wash the dog every time it gets dirty!
My rough collie comes in from the fields, gets a toweling if particularly dirty and then cleans herself off. If I had a cent for everytime someone has commented on how clean she is, or asked how often she was washed because she is so clean and her coat shining, I'd not be a millionaire but I'd have a good few Euro at this stage

Beth

Yup, I'd agree with the towel and brush system.

There's no need to wash him each time he gets dirty. The towel and brush work. I've a dog that hates getting dirty also, but he hasnt had a bath in months. He's a small fluffy dog and picks up everything because of being so close to the ground. I just towel him dry, let him run around a while to dry completely and then brush the rest out. Most of it falls out between the time he runs around and the time of brushing anyway.

I always get comments about his coat and how clean he looks but he hasnt been bathed in months. I refuse to wreck his coat for the sake of a bit of dirt that will brush out!!

CrowdedHouse

Our Lucy is a muck magnet too

Towel and let fall off/brush too although sometimes bath are unavoidable because they find something 'nice' to roll in :pac:

She doesn't mind muck tho'.........

Phenix

Crowdedhouse, your dog is gorgeous .
yep got home yesterday and gave him the towelling of his life and got most of it off and he was happy out!

peasant

Does he "give paw" ?

If so, make sure to towel inbetween his toes as well. That's where muck and hair often combine to form nasty knots that hurt/irritate the dog.

These knots need to be cut out (carefully) with scissors every now and then.

Phenix

yep he does and he also knows 'other paw' and he swaps them round to clean the other one

havnt tried to get knots out from his paws now, but i did have to cut some knots off him before and he was ok abt it. But thanks ill keep an eye on that too

ncmc

I used to wash my dog at least once a week until my groomer told me it was very bad for her coat, she recommended 'topping and tailing' every day ie washing their paws and ears (I have a Cocker Spaniel) every day with luke warm water. That's what she does with her own Cocker. I wouldn't do this every day but would do so if her paws were dirty. Her coat is in great condition, so it doesn't seem to do her any harm.

Noopti

Giving a light wash with just water is fine as far as I know. The problem is when people wash their dogs with products too often.

LadyTBolt

Definitely towel and brush for me too.

When our little terrier goes out for his runs he comes back destryoed with mud splatters. When we got him first he used to hide and avoid been towelled down but a few weeks on he comes in, sits down to be towelled and then lays down so i can do his belly and in between his legs. It's routine now and it's great. He likes it and I have a clean house.