bathing only once a month?

[laurenhorne]

I had no idea you could use people shampoo on dogs?! You learn something new every day!!

[izzy816]

Originally Posted by Erin

I know and the smell lasts for days. I looked at the ingredients of that stuff and it is so pure. It's really high-quality stuff and the $8 bottle I bought a year ago is only 1/2 empty!

I didnt even buy the large bottle yet because the sample bottle I bought 1month and a 1/2 ago is 1/2 full! I bought a sample pack from World Marked just to try it out.

[vainchick5]

Originally Posted by laurenhorne

I had no idea you could use people shampoo on dogs?! You learn something new every day!!

Well every dog is different but human shampoo has a different PH balance than dog shampoo so my vet was really against it, due to long term scalp damage. Plus when I used it on Coco a few different times (Johnson and Johnson, Pantene) she was itching like crazy.

[Jaxon's mom]

When we first got Jaxon, I was using a baby shampoo and it really dried out his skin. I bought Chris Christensen shampoo and conditioner for him - it seemed expensive at the time but it made a HUGE difference. We bath him every week and still have over half a bottle of both the shampoo and conditioner.

I can't imagine going 2 weeks or more for a bath. He starts looking bad by day 5 or 6 and if he's been outside a lot or around other dogs, he can start really smelling like a dog!!

I also have the Chris Christensen detangler/leave in conditioner which is great for day to day brushing and also after a bath.

http://www.chrissystems.com/

[izzy816]

I know what you mean. Once a week is good but by day 4 or 5 he starts smelling like Fritos. So I use the bathing wipes in between washes.

[genie]

Has anyone ever used earth bath? I use that on my baby and she seems to itch alot.

[Yorkie Momma]

This is kind of off the subject but has anyone heard to use bottled water in our babies water dish. I heard this helps with the tears stains.

[Lorraine]

Originally Posted by jen8203

We had Thumper's nails trimmed while we were at Pet Smart today. The groomers up there told us that bathing him once a week is way too much because their skin is not like ours and it will make it dry. I have noticed some flakes but i just thought it was the type of shampoo and plan on changing it. They said we should only give him a bath once a month! I can see him *maybe* going every other week but i can't imagine what he would look like after a month! He gets pretty oily especially on the top of his head. It seems like from what i've read, everyone on here bathes their dogs every week or every other week so that's what came to my mind while they were telling me that. So i just said "oh okay" and thought "i'll just ask them on the message board" lol

Also, i read somewhere on here that you should only brush your dog's hair when it's wet. I thought you're supposed to brush it every day though. Does it hurt to brush it when it's dry?

If you can, find a local owner/operator pet grooming shop that knows yorkies. I do not ever recommend Petsmart. The people alleged to be groomers are especially uninformed about specific breeds.
Trust me, any groomer worth their salt has their own business most of the time. Good groomers, if they have to work in a shop, will work in ones that are owner operated.
I have seen the odd good groomer do short stints in places like PetSmart, most don't stay long.
You cannot bath a Yorkie only once a month. I recommend anywhere from weekly for those that get greasier and dirtier to 10- 14 days is fine for some.
Dilute your Shampoo, don't use it straight.
Dryness or flakes can be from insufficient rinsing of shampoo which is more a problem if you use shampoos without diluting a bit.
I don't normally recommend human or baby shampoos. SOme have used the Pantene products and they work pretty good or can but not all shampoos are the same for all Yorkies.

[genie]

Originally Posted by Yorkie Momma

This is kind of off the subject but has anyone heard to use bottled water in our babies water dish. I heard this helps with the tears stains.

I started using aquafina in my babys water bowl and I have noticed in the past week a huge difference in her eyes tearing. I used to have to cleanher eyes twice a day and now I just clean them once and even then they are not that bad. I don't know if it is the bottled water or swiching her food from iams and science diet to wellness

[stinky]

I bathe my girl every Friday and wish I could more often. She smells like work by Wednesday.

In anticipation of the cold weather and dry skin, this year I made sure to get my vet's input early. He recommended flax seed oil over her food. I mix it with some cottage cheese for her though, because it gets all over her beard if it's on her dry food. Her coat is supper shiny and I have yet to see flakes this winter.