Bathing an OES
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| I think it really depends on how dirty they get and how tollerant of dirt you are.
Two dogs play and live differently and get dirty at different paces. Izzie can go months with out a bath in the fall and winter, but in the spring she at least needs foot/leg touch ups from the dirt and mud. If you let their fur grow out they will require grooming and brushing quite often, but not necessarily a bath. |
| It also depends on how picky/anal you are.....Panda gets a bath once a month whether she thinks she needs it or not....I like her to be sparkley white and smelling good!
I wouldnt do it more than once a month though, even though I may want to, because I dont want to dry her skin out ..... |
| I agree with those who are bathing totally dependent on ...well, do they stink or not? The second I can smell mine or smell an area they have been sleeping in... she gets a bath.
I hate when even if you brush them out... which seems to get rid of/hide some dirt and make them nice and fluffy... they sometimes still have a very icky feel to them soon after. Its best not to wash them too much because it dries out their skin. Many people just wash the whites and feet/face. |
| Also when you brush them out in their long fur you are actually brushing a lot of dirt and stuff out too. If you use a conditioner you are freshening the coat and so they don't smell. |
| Bathing your sheepies is really by choice. I bath Violet OES and China Aussie every week. Both long haired. Their hair nor skin is dry. They smell great and even though they are never thrilled when it is time for the bath, I can tell they feel so much better after they are nice and clean again.
.......yes I am Darcy. lol  |
| I basically bathe when necessary.
Twice a year is sufficient for most dogs, with sometimes a touch up of the whites in between full body baths. Puppies get into more and may need a rinse after a dive into a mud pit, or a slide through a puddle they just made on the kitchen floor, but I just use the mildest baby shampoo possible. |
| I know many people who rarely bathe the entire dog - maybe two times a year?! But they do bath the whites more often. Before Bingley's hair began to matt I bathed him a few times. Since it has begun matting I have only bathed him once. BUT he gets completely brushed out every other day, and as others have said, it really does take out a lot of nasties! |
| I completely line brush every Monday, and partial brush as I have time during the rest of the week. This has become more involved since Chewie started his coat transition.
On Mondays I bathe him in the tub in a few inches of water, do head/face, neck, chest, belly and legs. I find I can't go any longer than that because of the face/chin smell and dirt, and also the urine smell of a male dog peeing in full coat.  (and this is after a trim job down there too) 
Chewie loves bathing and grooming, so I think he would miss the attention if we didn't do this. It certainly makes it easier for me having a dog who happily gets in the tub, and loves his grooming table. |
| Adult dogs require a bath fairly infrequently. We plan on twice per year - spring and fall. With a full coat it will be an all day affair... or we'll pay someone else to do it.
Since you have a brand new puppy, it's a whole different story. Up until Barkley was about 5-6 months old we gave him a bath once a week - every weekend. It's much like any other sort of grooming at that age. Do it 10 times more often than required while your puppy is so young so that he will become accustomed to it. Getting him accustomed to the bath routine now while it's still very easy and relatively quick is so important, because it means you will have a much more co-operative bathtime when he is full-grown. Make sure to dry him thoroughly and brush him out afterwards. This is much easier and quicker with a puppy coat so it will only take you a few hours total. If you plan to use a dryer when he is older, now is also a good time to get him used to it by using the dryer for short durations. Same with all other grooming. Brush him a little every day (even if he doesn't need it) just to get him used to it. Touch his feet, between his toes, his nails, his rear end, EVERY DAY. Touch the nail clippers to his feet without using them. Look inside his ears and touch inside his ears every day. Look inside his mouth. All this will help him be much more co-operative (and less ticklish) with grooming and vet exams as he gets older. Hope that helps! |
| Every sheepie is different, and every person's tolerance for "eau de sheepie" is different. SheepieHeaven is right on with the puppy recommendations. Your pup needs to learn to accept the grooming requirements that he/she will will have to endure his/her entire life.
I have a low tolerance for "eau de sheepie", so Oscar gets frequent partial baths. Twice a week, I put him in the tub and wash his face, butt, paws and "undercarriage".  He goes to the groomer's every two weeks for a full bath, as he has a fairly oily coat. With this regimen, we've never had a problem with dry skin.
Laurie |
| I have to agree with mop lover as I bathed Obe at least once a month (full bath) when he was small. Since he is going throug the coat change (8 1/2 months). I only bath the whites when necessary. I had not bathed him in at least 2 months and he got a bath yesterday as he decided to play in the dirt + rain = mud while I was at work. I came home to a wet muddy sheepie. I do brush everyday with a line brush once a week. |
| Our vet tech told us that it's actually good to bath them more often because they are sloughing toxins and dead skin from their bodies so it is good for their health to bath them as soon as every three weeks. I had actually thought the opposite before that it would strip away oils and not be good for them.
So I will probably start to bath them more frequently, although I doubt every three weeks. Up to this point we have bathed them 2-4 times per year just depending on their condition. Definitely have to start grooming them young as a puppy though so they learn to like it and are used to being handled as they get larger. |
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