to bath or not

[bamawife]

I bathe Raley every 5-7 days depending on his activity level and if he is stinky from lots of playing!

[LondonRee]

Once a week.

[jeane]

morgan gets a bath once a week

[gracielove]

Your friend doesn't bathe her dog? Wow. As many have said I bathe Gracie once a week. If you use a good mild shampoo free of sulfates it won't strip the skin and you will have a clean smelling shiny dog.

[luvlee]

Most breeds get bathed only when at the groomer - that can be every six weeks or longer. Because yorkie hair is different from most doggie fur, it tends to get greasy and stinky pretty fast.

I bathe Lucy every week. We're having a heat wave now, so I bathe her more frequently.

I think the bathing ritual for yorkies and other small breeds is a fairly recent phenomenon. When I had a yorkie in the late 1980s, he wasn't bathed nearly as much. After the movie "legally blond" and popularity of 'pocket book pets', people began to spruce up their little guys/gals more frequently.

Tracey

[Majax]

I bathe Bentley every 5-7days.

[LittleBits Mom]

7- 10 days is usually a good rule of thumb...depending on the weather and what your baby gets into..if its outside alot, you may have to go shorter timeframe. Just use a gentle shampoo and good conditoner.

[Teegy]

I bathe when they get smelly. If they have been rolling around in the dirt while we are out playing with their pals, I just take them home and give them a good brushing

[Teegy]

Originally Posted by Roxys Mom

Last time I just brought him in the shower with me. He was waiting around to lick my legs, so I just scooped him up and brought him in. Had his puppy shampoo waiting...it was fast and mess free. But you should have seen his eyes, when he was under the shower with me. haha

totally did that with Tufty on Saturday hahahahaha, it was so much easier because his last couple of baths I was soaked too

[R_Z]

Bailey gets bathed every other week. He's not much of an outdoor dog so he seems to hold his odor (or we've gotten used to it). When we hit the dog park on a weekend, then he gets a bath.

[Teresiana]

Yoshi gets a bath at least once a week...otherwise his face gets oily & smelly. I wash his paws & bum everyday though (rinse & conditioner only). And I clean his eyes, ears, teeth & mustache/beard daily. Poor little guy But he sleeps with me & is on all of our furniture...so I want him to be clean.

[Teresiana]

One more thing...

We also have a Lab & we only shampoo him about 3 times a year...unless he gets really dirty outside or is in salt water. We typically just rinse & condition him or rinse him off with the hose in the summer. He does get groomed daily though (brushed, eyes, ears, teeth, paws & bum).

Maybe your friend isn't familiar with how often Yorkies need to get bathed...which is definitely more often then most other breeds due to their coat/hair. I was actually surprised at how often I had to bathe Yoshi when I first got him. But I realized that his skin wouldn't dry out with a weekly bath & that he really NEEDS a weekly bath - sometimes even every 5 days.

[ironmike86]

Originally Posted by luvlee

Most breeds get bathed only when at the groomer - that can be every six weeks or longer. Because yorkie hair is different from most doggie fur, it tends to get greasy and stinky pretty fast.

I bathe Lucy every week. We're having a heat wave now, so I bathe her more frequently.

I think the bathing ritual for yorkies and other small breeds is a fairly recent phenomenon. When I had a yorkie in the late 1980s, he wasn't bathed nearly as much. After the movie "legally blond" and popularity of 'pocket book pets', people began to spruce up their little guys/gals more frequently.

Tracey

Yup Yorkies need baths more. Other dogs with fur not "hair" have undercoats ect can get dry skin becuase it's hard to rinse. Thats why ppl don't bath as much and depend on daily brushing more.
But they don't seem to get as dirty. My Poms fur would repel water. Her wouldn't get dirty. Yorkie one day and he's a mess. All dogs are different so different bathing requirement apply.

[fearby]

thanks everyone for the input my friend did have a yorkie but now has a schnauzer i do actually bath charlie every 7 to 10 days ,he isnt happy about it but im hoping he will get better. his ' hair' is getting quite long now and hes ok with brushing his body and face but doesnt like the back of his legs done so i think i will have to clip the hair there unless anyone has a solution to tangles on his back legs.

[luvlee]

Originally Posted by fearby

thanks everyone for the input my friend did have a yorkie but now has a schnauzer i do actually bath charlie every 7 to 10 days ,he isnt happy about it but im hoping he will get better. his ' hair' is getting quite long now and hes ok with brushing his body and face but doesnt like the back of his legs done so i think i will have to clip the hair there unless anyone has a solution to tangles on his back legs.

I use a good detangler on the back legs. If the matts are very bad, I cut them out with a round tipped scissor. I found that using a metal comb on the legs works better at getting at the tangles. Also, brush brush brush every day!!! I try to brush Lucy out before I put her buddy belt on for the day.

I love long hair on yorkies. I understand how difficult it can be to maintain. Unless it's completely shaved off, then the hair on the legs can still tangle and matt. The matts close to the skin are the worst.

Be sure to tell your groomer how short (or long) you want the hair on your babies legs. It's easy for a groomer to just take a clipper and shave the legs down to nothing.

Good luck.
Tracey