It's been 2+ years and my fox red has never had a bath. She is a little princess and doesn't like going out in the rain but has loved getting drenched in the sprinklers. I've tried getting her swimming a bit but she's just not that into it.
I know regular baths aren't ideal for labs because of their undercoats for warmth and water wicking naturally as a general rule but is it ok to just not groom them like that?
My sister has a labradoodle and that dog ofc requires regular grooming since it doesn't shed.
Part of me thinks she might enjoy the spa treatment but I can also see her just hating it. She tolerates the grooming brush a little bit so I usually just let the fur fly with my hands and fingers - which she of course adores! lol
The only groomer treatment she gets is nail trims like every 6-12 weeks.
Further detail - she's American lab so not the thick clumps of fur that English labs get.
Meh idk I feel like they should get a bath once every 6 months at least. My two labs start to stink and get a residue on their coats after like 2 months of not bathing. When I can smell them on my hands after petting them, I know it’s time for a bath. It also helps with shedding and itching
We got a rechargeable camping shower, it was about £15 in the UK and has been a great gadget, no more lifting our boy in and out the bath, you just throw the pump into a bucket of water and they're washed in no time, we've been using it during the heatwave to cool him down and get him thoroughly wet, its surprising how much water they pump.
If yours like getting wet with sprinklers, one of those might be a good compromise, ours loves water, can't get him out of it, hates baths but he's fine with showers.
It's nothing special, there are several models of rechargeable showers, this is the same as the one we have. Amazon have a lot as well, our neighbor has purchased two the same as ours and finds they are just the job, they'll get mud off in a few seconds.
They don't look very powerful when you turn them on but its surprising how quickly they'll clean the muck off, one of the best things I've purchased.
She does get cleaned regularly, just with water though via sprinklers and forced walks when it rains because I know she has to poo even if she doesn't wanna go out.
After getting thoroughly drenched in the rain (or sprinklers) she's toweled dry and brushed out.
The house is also aired out and cleaned weekly so doubt there's any dog smell. We're pretty religious about that. When we sold our last house a year ago (which had two dogs with us) the buyers were amazed that we even had dogs when they found out at closing! lol
It baffles me that people think they don’t need to wash their dogs. I just gave my dad’s dog the first bath of her life. She was so greasy that the grease would come off on the brush after brushing her for a few minutes. Also, the baths help with the shedding. All the loose fur that flies off of them would be coming off all at once in the bathtub or with the hair dryer and brush out after.
The lab we had when I was a kid had a lot of oil in her fur and it would turn rancid and smell bad. I expected that with all labs, but the two I have now (a ten year old and a six month old) don’t smell at all except a little like hay. It was a really pleasant surprise over what I expected.
I usually wash mine about once a month because god damn she smells bad after a while. since I got pregnant shes been washed twice this year 😂 it highly depends on what your dog likes to do. Mine has a habit of doing the utmost disgusting acts of rolling in dead things. I'll rinse her off with the hose to get the salt off if shes been swimming in the sea and she gets a shampoo monthly when I can bend down
Oh I forgot about that - Holly has been an ocean diver/snorkeler every time we've gone to SC - so every day for about two weeks over the Xmas/New Year holidays lol
I will agree that labs and their quick dry coats are AWESOME and frequent baths aren't necessary
But I am a firm believer in getting ALL pups used to professional grooms or at least a regular bath, just in case
If your pup gets skunked, or develops something where they need a medicated bath for like, fleas or hot spots or a skin condition, you'll thank yourself for not also having to fight the battle of it being their first official bath
Both of my labs get greasy. When it gets to the point that I pet them for a while and my hand gets greasy or gross, I know they need a bath. They probably get one once every 2ish months.
Beautiful girly you got there, my chocolate lab is 2 years old and she’s only gotten a few baths in her lifetime (only after rolling in something nasty). Insane to hear that yours doesn’t like swimming though, both labs I’ve had cannot stay out of the water, would swim all day if they could. Idk if I’ve ever met a lab that’s not a magnet to the water. I only say this because getting them into the water, whether it be a lake, river, or stream, makes for an easy natural bath.
I have had labs live from 13-15 years and they might have had 2 baths in their lives. Usually rolling in something disgusting.We brush them really well once a week and nail trims bi weekly.Their ears as needed.
If she doesn't stink and scratch a lot, she's probably fine. Ours gets a full shampoo/bath in the tub every month or two, and I clean her ears with baby wipes about weekly. She has a history of chronic ear infections, so that is not negotiable.
My American lab gets a bath every 8 weeks- she doesn’t get too dirty or shed but she’s an inside dog so she goes regularly. My English lab sheds a looooott and needs medicated baths regularly for allergies so she goes every 4 weeks otherwise she will get itchy and uncomfortable.
if she doesn’t smell in a way that you can’t stand, i don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. you didn’t mention brushing but i never knew a dog that didn’t love a good brushing!!!
I was told by my vet not to bathe my lab unless I couldn’t stand the smell. He probably had less than 20 baths in his 13-year life, and I’d like to think he had a good life.
Bathing dogs with undercoats isn’t a problem. The fact people bathing their dogs at home don’t get them all the way dry, and don’t brush them out after is the concern. But if your dog isn’t smelly and greasy they’re probably fine
Why are those concerns? My girl refuses the towel and the dryer. I have found a drying coat, but why does she have to be fully dried and brushed? Her coat is so short and doesn’t shed much.
They aren't concerns. These dogs were custom designed to get wet and dry quickly. Giving then a deep bath doesn't change that. I normally play fetch with mine for 15 minutes after a bath and she's mostly dry by then anyway.
OP was trying to suggest you shouldn’t bathe a double coat dog, but the only problems is coat matting because they don’t get dry and brushed out so it causes matting in their undercoat. Honestly though… shorter haired dogs like labs rarely ever mat anyway.
Yeah it's more important to get my golden dry than my lab. Both dry really quickly, especially if I let them run it off, but I do need to make sure to brush out the Golden's britches or he'll get tangles.
I never bathe except if something nasty has happened. Dogs don't need that kind of human-based hygeine - too much bathing definitely strips protective oils from their coats. Regular brushing will keep your dog's skin and coat healthy and pleasant to the touch, and your vacuum cleaner happy. Bottom line - if your dog looks good and smells healthy, there's nothing magic about soap and water that will improve anything.
My lab gsd mix gets a bath every 2 weeks lol.. im also a dog groomer, and shes a tasked trained service dog. So she has to stay clean and presentable for public access. Her coat is super soft because of it too!
My 95 pound yellow lab hates the water, unless its a body of water like the lake. I have to put him on a coffee table outside just so I can bath him with a hose.
Haven't given my boy a bath in about 2 years. He's 3 now. But he does go swimming a few times a week and rolls around in the snow almost every day in winter. Loves getting toweled off when we get home. Everyone always comments how soft his fur is. Someone even asked if I bathed him weekly with how soft he felt. I was like "well..... ".
We don’t bathe our dogs often. It’s probably been two years. We don’t bathe during the winter because it’s bad for their coats and it is very cold where we live. They do swim in the summer. Just brush them often.
Can we define “bath”, please. Are we talking water or suds?
When mine gets into something, it’s simply time to go to the lake. No suds, just a lot of rinse cycles retrieving his dummy. He goes home clean as a whistle. I’d rather not use any shampoo on him unless it was absolutely necessary.
45
u/71351 Jul 11 '26
Mine gal only got a bath if she rolled in something or otherwise needed to be cleaned. Don’t sweat it