# Bathing How often do you guys bathe your pups?  I do it every 3 weeks or so. Usually I give them a bath a week before I have to give them their monthly flea protection.  I just dropped them off at petsmart to get groomed, its so quiet . ## Thread In Health · started by Romi · 12 replies - **Category:** [Health](https://nihonken.org/community/c/health) - **Forum:** [Nihon Ken Forum](https://nihonken.org/community/) ## Romi (admin) · 2008-02-16T20:32:38.000Z How often do you guys bathe your pups?  I do it every 3 weeks or so. Usually I give them a bath a week before I have to give them their monthly flea protection.  I just dropped them off at petsmart to get groomed, its so quiet . ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-02-16T20:49:34.000Z We rarely bath our dogs. We do it when they need it, but our dogs are pretty clean and don't smell much. Hilo is probably the stinkier one - but I think that is just due to how much of him there is. ## JessicaRabbit (admin) · 2008-02-16T20:55:33.000Z I bathe Moto about 3 times a year. Piggy every 6 weeks. Everything I have read says that too much bathing is hard on their skin. ## Romi (admin) · 2008-02-16T22:08:51.000Z Hmm...ic ic.  I knew that if you bathed too often it could dry out the skin.   So do you think I bathe my dogs to often?  We take them out a lot now and sometimes they play and run in the dirt so they get dirty pretty quickly.  Usually I'll just get a wet towel and wipe their paws and legs.  But a lot of times they nip at eachother when playing and Portia drools a lot when she gets excited, so it makes Ninja's fur stick together in clumps.  I haven't noticed their skin getting irritated or dry yet. ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-02-16T22:35:23.000Z Generally speaking I think its better to bathe a dog less often than more often. We have the same type of issue with our dogs, Hilo tends to drool on the other pups so we have to clean them off too - we use a spray-on product that works to clean them off w/o having to bathe them... We just spray it on and then wipe it odd w/ a towel. This is the stuff: http://www.earthbath.com/between.html - we use the "Puppy Spritz" We also use the wipes too: http://www.earthbath.com/grooming_wipes.html They all work well, and are "green" and gentle on the dogs. ## brandon_w (admin) · 2008-02-16T22:59:38.000Z Nemo hasn't had a bath in almost a year.  Doesn't stink at all, gotta love that about Shibas.  Shibas really do not need to be washed much. ## Romi (admin) · 2008-02-16T23:32:33.000Z Thanks for the link Brad, the Petco down the street actually carries that product, according to the website.  So ill probably pick it up tomorrow and try it out. ## hondru (moderator) · 2008-02-16T23:34:16.000Z Tojo only gets bathed when he's blowing his coat to help speed the process up, but sometimes, not even then. As long as he's groomed properly, he has almost no odour and keeps himself very clean. Even when he gets really dirty, he will wash himself off like a cat and then all I do is brush him when he' dry and he's back to being a clean little plush dog. This last summer, he fell into a mud pit and was literally covered head to toe and within an hour, he was clean again. The dirt doesn't even seem to stick to him and what dirt does, he licks off. He washes his paws after each walk as well. Rakka is quite similar. She's not as fastidious about cleaning herself, but he also has virtually no odour and will clean herself when he's very dirty, just not as thoroughly as Tojo. We haven't had occassion to bathe her yet. In my opinion, they don't really ever need to be bathed unless they get something really awful on them like oil or get sprayed by a skunk.   Loki is a little different, though. Since he's half chow and half GSD, he's not as naturally clean as my lovely nihon ken. He has a definite odour about him which is distinctly different from the other two. We bathe him every other month or so, I'd say. We also spend more time grooming him. I'm just glad that he doesn't go running in the water and mud like Rakka and Tojo because he'd need to be wiped down after every single walk if that were the case! I also wanted to add that when I bathe them, I use plain glycerin soap, which is extremely gentle.  I also use apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle for conditioner. ## MommyofNiko · 2008-02-17T00:00:00.000Z Sasha needs a bath about once a month.  She gets very stinky and her fur feels icky.  I have been looking for something like what Brad put up.  Niko gets a bath anywhere from every few months to more than that.  Depends on how she is doing.  She gets very very stinky from daycare so sometimes she needs it. Romi-Portia may need to be bathed more due to her type of fur.  Shiba's virturaly never need to be bathed.  We do take Niko in for the low shed sometimes when she is blowing bad. ## JessicaRabbit (admin) · 2008-02-17T00:04:59.000Z Both my dogs naturally smell good. That is not just proud mama talk. I have had friends over who have commented on how nice my dogs smell. And sure aint anything I'm doing. ## brandon_w (admin) · 2008-02-17T00:22:38.000Z I'll tell you this, if I had a lab, I'd be giving a lot more doggy baths.  Those dogs stink. ## sujewel · 2008-02-17T01:01:41.000Z I bathe the dogs whenever they need it, probably about 4xs a year. In between, I use Bounce drier sheets to keep them from smelling too much in between baths. Mika loves it! My father retired from Colgate, specializing in detergents. He gave me the idea. Apparently, so many other people have used Bounce to make their pets smell better, that it showed up on market analysis reports! FYI, don't use the Bounce on their faces. ## sujewel · 2008-02-17T01:04:34.000Z I also use Baby wipes when I need to clean their paws or if they get a little dirt on them. Works great and is less expensive and smell better than the pet wipes. --- **Navigate:** [Forum home](https://nihonken.org/community/?format=md) · [Sitemap](https://nihonken.org/community/sitemap.xml)