Baths!!!

[EmmittPylate]

Hey y'all! Ok so I have a question about bathing. Emmitt will pee in his kennel everyday while I am at work so when I get home I have to give him a bath.. Will his skin dry out? Is there a shampoo that won't dry his skin out? I know some people say not to give your puppy a bath everyday, but I don't want a stinky puppy lol!!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

good question!! I gave Jake a bath once a week when he was little. I'm thinking a bath every day could dry out his skin..but I wouldn't like that stinky smell either. I'd for sure use an oatmeal based shampoo. They have them with aloe in it. Stay away from Baby shampoo..it's very strong..people think because it doesn't burn eyes it's gone..but actually harsher than most shampoos! Hopefully soon..Emmitt won't be peeing in his crate and you can stop!

 

[cali~jenn]

No advice really but if you use a mild shampoo I would think it should be ok. Heck, when we first got Cutty I had to wash him I think 3 times a week with a medicated shampoo to try and help with his allergies. Thanks dr! Turned out the allergies were food related so that was dumb. Anyhow his coat was fine with that. Hopefully this isnt a long time phase tho, what a pain.

 

[Dalia55]

Great thread lol I was actually wondering this myself because I'm worried I'll over wash my dear Lola. So far I have been cleaning her all the time with baby wipes but I'm not sure how often its ok to full on bathe her as a puppy. I already bought her some puppy shampoo (oatmeal & aloe). I think tonight we'll test it on her.

 

[ChanelnBrutus]

I had this problem with Brutus! Somedays I would use sensitive skin baby wipes and dry him off if it wasn't bad! I mainly used an oatmeal based shampoo! His skin is fine and was never really dry! It gets annoying too but what can we do lol


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[JeannieCO]

I have the same problem with my little girl right now. She's 12 weeks old and in her crate for 10 hours. Luckily she only potties once during the day now and only two poops in the last 4 weeks in her crate. I've only had to stick her in the bathtub once so far. I usually get a warm cloth or a baby wipe and give her a hand bath. She's getting a full bath on Saturday.

 

[SDxBuLLiSHDoG]

great topic. definitely something i had been concerned with as well. i've been waking up super early to feed her and try to give her as much time as needed to pee it all out to no avail. she usually loves to soil her crate.. but lately not as much so i guess thats progress. lol.

 

[EmmittPylate]

Thx everyone! Yea I went and got the oatmeal shampoo and some wipes for when he isn't really bad.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

It's my opinion that you're setting these pups up for failure. Of course they're peeing/pooping in their crate; pups need to relieve themselves more frequently than adult dogs. (Someone will chime in with the age to bathroom ratio - by month - I forget what it is. [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION] - what's that number? I know you know! *muah*)

I suggest creating a small area - puppy gated - like the kitchen or a laundry room or something. There should be a bowl of water, soft bedding in the pup's crate on one end and a pee pad on the other so the dog can relieve himself/herself. Is someone serving a mid-day meal? I used the rolly polly Kong thing so getting lunch was also a boredom buster. Peanut butter in a baby Kong and then frozen is another brain stimulating experience.

Dogs do not like to soil their kennels and will hold it to prevent this from happening. Can you imagine your pup's inner struggle as she/he tries NOT to go potty in there and finally - when the only alternative is to pop - he/she lets go? This breaks my heart to think about!

Someone told me that shampooing your dog too much can be bad too. Something about the antibodies that they have on their skin. (I don't have anything more official than this - but it makes sense to me) I used to bathe these dogs once a week. Now we do it once a month - or "as needed" with all the mud here in Seattle. LOL

Your Emmitt is a doll boy. I love white bullies! I bet he has some lovely little spots on that tummy and those cute little ears! (Banks and Babygirl come to mind )

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

[MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]... It's 1 hour per month of age plus an hour! Sooo a 2 month old pup would be 3 to 4 hours! Sometimes more but don't count on it for housebreaking!

 

[Vicaroo1000]

[MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]... It's 1 hour per month of age plus an hour! Sooo a 2 month old pup would be 3 to 4 hours! Sometimes more but don't count on it for housebreaking!

Hooray! The devil's in the details, as you know.....thanks for helpin' Sister Friend.

 

[Blitzburggirl]

I like the idea of the "area" rather than the crate, no puppy wants to soil their bed. And you want that to expand to your space, as your puppy learns that your space, is his/her space. The more acceptable accidents, the more the dog blurs the line between ok to pee here/ not ok to pee here. It then makes potty training a nightmare.

A suggestion though, if an area is impractical.. even at 7, Paisley would chew the trim off the wall if she gets bored... She has to be locked up For her safety and my sanity. If you go on (I'm new here, and don't know all the rules regarding links etc....) an online place you go to buy all kinds of stuff, that starts with an e....... you can buy "wheelchair pads." They are very soft, like a blanket, and not plasticy like a sheet on a toddler's bed. They are very absorbant, and will make clean up sooooooo much better. IMO a bath every day is really too much for puppy skin. Especially, a bulldog.

Those wheelchair pads are fairly inexpensive, cozy, and easy to wash. I had an old incontinent French bulldog, and learned about them through their rescue.

 

[JeannieCO]

Emma can go 4-5 hours in her crate before she pees. She can nearly wait 10 hours before pooping. The reason I know this is because I added a home monitoring system last week so I can observe my boys and girl throughout the day when I'm gone. Wilson's been holding all day for months now and he just turned a year. Emma's getting really good at night now and is going more often than not without a piddle mishap. Wilson, Jack (non bully) are both just a year old and Emma is 12 weeks. We get up early too and they have 1.5 hours before we leave for work to disgest their food. They're also always let back out right before I leave.

Now about those baths, they all are getting a full bath Saturday morning.

 

[anatess]

That's one of the reasons it's not a good idea to purchase a dog from the pet store... They usually have the puppies there all day peeing and pooping in their kennels that they lose that instinct not to soil their surroundings. Makes it really difficult to potty train them babies.

But yes, it is not too good for a dog to lay in his own pee. It would be better to put him in some kind of a play-pen type thing where one side is his crate, then a pee pad or something on the other side. This is not ideal either - the dog learns that it's okay to pee inside the house... But at least it is better than rolling in his own pee. A dog's pee has a lot more meaning than just pee. It carries psychological signals through pheromones that is part of a dog's communication. A dog rolling in his own pee has a psychological impact on top of the unsanitary health concern, so a playpen would help.

As far as daily shampoos - they have "dry clean" shampoos. It's a powder that you apply then brush off. It can cause skin allergies though for those dogs sensitive to it. Also, I don't really recommend this for pee'd on dogs because it doesn't dis-infect the pee - it bonds to oils in the dog's hair that then lifts up the dirt that you can then brush off with a dog brush and then it deodorizes - or a more appropriate term, masks the odor like perfume would. The pee needs to be dis-infected. But, I use it for my bichon for touch-ups in between his salon appointments.

Okay, for a mild shampoo, I make my own (I had it for my bichon but it works for bullys too). The shampoos in the store are designed to be marketable - so it has things like "sudsy" and "nice smell" so people will buy it. These are added harsh chemicals designed for the people and are not really necessary to clean a dog. So, here's what I use:

22 oz. Ivory Liquid Dish Detergent (or any mild, hypoallergenic dish detergent)
2 oz. glycerine (you can buy this at the pharmacy in small 4 oz bottles. I like the pure vegetable glycerine ones. I buy mine by the gallon at the tack and feed store where I buy my dog food)
2 cups plain white vinegar
1 gallon water

That's it. It's not sudsy, so don't expect all those luxurious bubbles. But, it cleans very well and it has a lot less chemicals than your store-bought dog shampoo. And it's cheap too.

Hope this helps.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Those wheelchair pads are fairly inexpensive, cozy, and easy to wash. I had an old incontinent French bulldog, and learned about them through their rescue.

Great tip. I'd never thought of this - but it makes sense they'd be so easy to maintain.