[Cosette]

We just adopted our little abandoned toy poodle and she was shaved by the rescue league because of all the mats and fleas. It isn't terribly attractive, but when it grows longer, we can get her groomed correctly. As for now, I am wondering about bathing her. I don't (well, very seldom) bath my three other dogs (golden, aussie and chi), but I know she will need more baths as she doesn't shed. Could you recommend a schedule for bathing and also a good, gentle shampoo? I don't want to hurt her skin, and frankly, the dog shampoos I see are sort of scary looking. We have used a little of my kid's shampoos until now.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Birdie]

I prefer weekly baths to keep poodles looking (and smelling!) fresh, clean, and fluffy, but they can go 3 weeks or so without a bath. If you're worried about hurting her skin, you could use a gentle puppy shampoo. You can find those at Petco and such, they're really simple and cheap.

 

[Olie]

I have read on here some people go months, some do it weekly or monthly. I am on a schedule of stretching it to every 2 weeks, they need it by then IMO.

 

[Cosette]

Well, I am glad to see it can be often. She was very, very stinky when we got her (off the road!) and we have given her quite a few baths. I was thinking of doing it weekly, actually, which made me wonder about a good shampoo for that often. My other dogs really don't smell unless they tangle with a skunk! My Chihuahua, of course, has practically NO hair, but she is really excited about the poodle's daily brushing...she LOVES to be brushed and gets in line. I guess it's a nice back-scratcher for her! LOL!

 

[Searcher]

Can we bath more than once a week? Our pup is getting pretty muddy with all the rain we've had this spring (making up for our moderate winter I guess). Any particular shampoo to use if we have to bathe her a lot?

 

[faerie]

my cairns get bathed very seldom, maybe 2-3 times a year. they do get infrequent brushing. they don't stink, their coats are self cleaning (seriously!)
my lab x gets bathed about the same time (we'll see if she gets a stinky lab coat, or picks up the adult coat of another breed that isn't stinky). she does get brushed.

poof gets a bath every 2-3 weeks. she needs it.

 

[JE-UK]

Hmmm

Very interested in this thread!

My mini is my first poodle; we got a poodle because my partner is allergic. He is absolutely fine with the dog for the most part, except saliva (from the love licks ) and he gets a bit sniffy in week four or five before Vasco goes to the groomer for a bath & trim.

I thought we could eliminate even this mild reaction by bathing every 2-3 weeks, with a mild shampoo, but my vet read me the riot act early on ... "dogs don't ever need bathing, just a good brushing, you'll strip the natural oils, etc. etc.". So much so that I felt guilty about his groomer baths (but not guilty enough to ask the groomer to trim a dirty dog!).

Is 2-3 weeks ok for bathing frequency?

I've managed so far with plain water rinses unless he's utterly filthy, but he is half pig and we do a lot of hiking and he does get pretty dirty. Which makes him difficult to brush. If I absolutely have to bathe him, I use puppy shampoo (even though he's a year old now).

One of the things I adore about the mini is that I can bathe and towel-dry him AND clean up the bathroom in about 20 minutes flat. That was NEVER possible with the Goldens I used to have!

 

[neVar]

think it depends on the time of year. Bernie when we got him (FIthy dirty rescue) got bathed, and was good even when we adopted him out. 2 months?

BUT it ws winter--50C most of that time and hrd to get dirty in cold frozen snow

 

[highhorse]

I bath Inca and Coco every 2 weeks. We go all over the meadow and other muddy places - for these occasions I just swill off with water.

I use a soapless shampoo or baby shampoo. After 2 weeks it's difficult to brush their leg hair as it starts to clump together. They certainly couldn't go 3/4 months between baths. The main thing to remember with poodles is to rinse, rinse and more rinsing. It's the stuff left in their coats that make them itch and have flaky skin.