How Often Should I Wash My Dog?

Learn how often to wash your dog based on 3 criteria

Bathing at home is an essential part of ‘at-home dog grooming’. In fact, it’s critical to your dog’s overall health and happiness. Done correctly, bath time can be one of your dog’s favourite activities. If you can make the washing process fun when bathing as a puppy, your dog will learn to appreciate bath time and water in general as he matures.

It’s important to establish, and stick to, a bath time frequency that works for your dog. If you bathe your pooch too frequently, you can compromise their hair quality, upset the skin, and increase their risk for various infections. On the other hand, dogs who aren’t bathed enough can develop a dry coat, irritated skin, and fleas.

If your dog has started to smell it’s an indication, they’re overdue for a wash! You can avoid this from happening again by washing your dog on a regular basis, but how do you know how regularly you should wash your pooch?
Well-read on because this article will explain how often your dog needs to be washed based on breed hair type, lifestyle factors and age.

Breed’s fur type

Before delving into the different dog coat types, you would have noticed I interchanged the words ‘hair’ and ‘fur’.
To be technically correct (the only kind of correct), ‘hair’ and ‘fur’ are the same thing under a microscope or analysed chemically.

However, there is a difference based on how it grows, the length and the coat life cycle, which you can read more about with our article on dog coat types.

Furry friends with ‘smooth’ or ‘short hair’ coats such as Beagles, Doberman Pischer’s, Labrador Retriever’s and Greyhound’s typically don’t require baths as often as dogs with medium hair including German Shepherd’s, Golden retriever’s and Border Collie’s or dogs with long hair including Pekingese, Maltese, Yorkshire Terrier and Shetland Sheepdog with hair that reaches the floor.

Dogs with oily coats, such as Basset Hounds, should be washed every week. On the other hand, breeds with water repellent coats, that have double coats such as Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds and Australian Shepherds can be washed every fortnight to once a month.
The same can be said for breeds with very thick or triple coats like Malamutes have, who will benefit more from being frequently brushed instead of being bathed.

A general rule of thumb is to wash your dog when you notice a change in their coat’s condition, including smell.
All other factor’s being the same, you will have worked out how frequently you need to wash your dog!

Lifestyle factors

If your dog spends most of the time indoors, or outdoors in a clean, dirt-free garden area, the frequency of washes shouldn’t change. However, if your pooch spends all day locked outside while you’re at work and has plenty of dirt to run around on, lay on and dig up, you’ll want to wash him/her more frequently.

Many owners take their dog, especially larger, more active breeds that require more exercise on walks before or after work and depending on your proximity to parks or wet areas, you will find your fur baby has no qualms getting into long grass, mud or indeed the river or pond.

If this is you, washing your dog comes down to as required, rather than on a scheduled basis.

Age – puppy V adult dog

You should introduce your puppy to baths from when you first bring them home, which can be as young as 8 weeks old. Introduction to water at an early age is useful not only for hassle free bathing, but so they can become used to water in general.

As a general guide, regardless of breed hair type, try not to bath puppies more than once a month, as bathing, despite using non-soap-based shampoo removes natural oils that are produced in their coats. A good brush between monthly washes will help keep your puppy’s coat clean, without causing any potential side-effects.

Like some human’s, some dogs will suffer from skin allergies. If you notice skin sores, a trip to the local vet may result in the recommendation of a different shampoo, even a medicated shampoo treatment.
If your dog does have sensitive or itchy skin, it’s important for your dog’s health and wellbeing to consult your veterinarian as soon as possible because washing your dog with the wrong shampoo can cause further irritation to their skin.

Never use household cleaning products such as body wash or human shampoo on your dog. These products are not suited to the condition of a dog’s fur and skin. A dog shampoo is one of the least expensive products you’ll need to purchase as part of your dog’s care, health and wellbeing goes, so no need to skimp here!

Summary of how often you should wash your dog

Remember dogs, like children, are dependent on you looking after them. They can’t take a bath by themselves, so knowing what age, breed hair type and lifestyle factors exist will determine how often you need to bath your pooch!

Oliver (Senior Dog Reporter)

Hi to all my fellow canines, I’m Oliver, the Senior Dog News Reporter here at PetsBook.
I will endeavour to bring to dog owners’ informative and educational articles to help make the bond between you and them even stronger.