How often should I bathe my yorkie?! Skin and hair problems... Sooo... I know there are some more threads about this problem and I have read all of them, but still.... I talked to Max's doc today and he told me I should bathe him once in 3 months. I think it's not so good for Max's hair, because he has HAIR!! Max also has some problems with his skin (he scratches a lot and I've seen some wounds on his skin plus his hair is so brittle). I think that's why he told me not to bathe him so frequently. I used to feed him with Royal then I changed it with Acana and now I give him Petkult. I also bought salmon oil with omega 3 for his skin and hair and still no change... What else can I do? |
I bathe my two every 1-2 months (longest would be 3 months) but I wipe them down at least twice a day and every time we've come back from outside. I also spritz them with conditioner/moisturizer. The only time I see either of them scratching is from allergies (pollen, dry air, etc) and I just give them the recommended dosage of benadryl. I haven't seen/notice anything negative on not bathing them frequently. Maybe you can try it once to see if Max does better? |
I honestly think most yorkies need a bath every other week if they have good hair and also each yorkie is different, I had two that would be greasy, oily and smelly after one week, two could go two weeks, three weeks max. Lola is mixed with pom and she can go even four weeks but I would never wait longer than that. there are lots of serums you can put on the hair to make it softer also I here adding coconut oil to their food does wonders for their coat. |
Max has silky hair so I have to bathe him once a week or in two weeks (especially in the summer). The other problem is his skin... he's scratching and biting his skin. Maybe there is a special cream or something for his problem. Most of veterinarians don't know about yorkies and their special needs. It's so frustrating, I don't know how could I help my little friend :( |
My Max sleeps with us so he gets a bathe every week ..When he as a play day with other dogs he goes right home and wash agin..So far so good |
Hmm, this sounds similar to a case a coworker of mine had with her yorkie (which had a viral infection in a spot on his skin. Went bald and bled on the spot). I used to have a male yorkie that every spring/summer would have flea/grass allergy and it only took one flea to drive him crazy or being exposed to freshly cut grass, had to put him on allergy/antibiotics around the times is gets bad. The female I've had at the time did not have this issue. I work as a hairdresser so granted, my advise is kind of based on human hair/skin, but from what I've understood they have similar textures to us so it may not hurt to try ^^. If the fur is a bit brittle and skin is ichy/dry, it might not be a bad idea to go with something more moisturizing and definitely fragrance/additive free as you'll want to go with something that is best for the most sensitive skin. Massaging some organic coconut oil on the skin/hair (maybe doing it as a deep conditioning treatment like you would your own hair) and adding it to foods may also help some, but be sure to keep some kind of healing ointment on the open wounds and not aggravate it with anything else. Cleaning it with purified water and a natural astringent can also minimize the sore over time. A saline rinse isn't a bad idea either to help with the current sores as it'll provide a more balanced ph and could help speed healing process. If you have to, you may need to put a cone on them to keep them from biting themselves (unless that's not the case). There's several factor in a nutshell that I can think of that may be a probable causes. As mentioned, an allergy or infection (could be allergic to the products or something else, try the elimination process), the other may be not rinsing the shampoo enough (residues can cause bacterial infections or skin irritations) or not leaving in enough conditioner (taking out too much can leave the skin/hair just as drying as if you didn't put any on). Another factor is sensitivity, which can mean that they are not necessarily allergic, but perhaps the ph of the shampoo/conditioner isn't optimal for this yorkie or perhaps even the water used itself is culprit (I've seen clients who moved to where I live, from another state, comment on how their hair has changed and sometimes it's the change in ph/hard/softness of the water). Or the skin is not producing enough oil on it's own, thus the dryness and since you seem to be doing things pretty decently by adding supplements the only thing I can suggest is what the vet says is not bathing them too frequently. The average bathing we've done for our previous yorkies was no more than 1-2 a month, give or take if they get stinky/dirty faster ^^ Hopefully some of this helps or gives you some ideas. |
Gracie's dermatologist wanted her bathed 2x per week alternating between Duox chlorhexadine shampoo and Neutrogena TGel XStrength shampoo. However, Gracie has a bath once per week and we alternate the shampoos. She has terrible environmental allergies. She also takes zyrtec and allergy injections. |
Are you sure that there isn't more going on health wise with Max? Mine can only go tops about 2 weeks without a bath. Pebbles need to be bathed weekly. I'm more concerned regarding scratching, itching and brittle hair. |
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Going 3 months without a bath would give Yorkies skin issues, even if they are in short coat. I'm surprised how many vets do not know about Yorkie coats. My boys usually need a bath once a week. We push it a little longer in the winter. |
I'm kinda shocked any vet would say THREE months on a healthy dog, let alone one w/ skin issues. Vet Dermatologists tell you to bathe skin issue dogs twice a WEEK. If your dog is breaking skin and their are wounds - there is most def something going on. Remember, skin issues are *always* secondary to something else...either allergies, or some other disease. What do these wounds look like? Where is he itching? Is he chewing or licking his paws? WHen did this start? |
I wash Ripley every other week. I do wash her backside about every 5 days...She gets so much pee on her hair and she likes to sleep on my head. I don't like pee on my head. |
LOL @ Foxy. Sorry, carry on. |
Wow, 3 months is so long. I agree with you that since yorkies have hair.. 3 months is way too long. By 3 months he will get so greasy and dirty that it'll probably add on to the itching. I know someone who has a dog with itchy skin (to the point that patches of hair fall off). The dog is a bulldog but the condition improved after weekly baths with medicated shampoo. The vet actually said to wash more often vs washing less often. Oatmeal shampoo is also good for sensitive dogs. I give my girl a bath every Sunday.. sometimes she'll go a few days more than that but her hair gets dirty by this time. I really can't imagine waiting 3 months. I agree with Wylies Mom that your yorkie is most likely having an allergy to something. I would get a second opinion with a different vet. |
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I bathe ZoE weekly. Sometimes I've pushed it to two weeks at the most. She sleeps in my bed at night and I don't want a stinky dog on my sheets. |
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