How often can we wash the dog?

We often wonder how many times we can wash our dog in a year. There are those who say that the dog should never be washed and who would wash it every day. Like everything, the truth lies somewhere in between.

When the dog is a puppy , it should not be washed until 4-5 months of age because it does not yet have the developed immune defenses so it could be exposed to some health problems.

If the bath is necessary because the dog may have been taken in the kennel or is too dirty, we can give him a quick bath with warm water. But the key thing to do then is to dry it perfectly!

The first bath is still a traumatic moment for the puppy, so the longer we can wait before giving it to him, the better. Sometimes a quick bath with dry shampoo for dogs is enough so as not to excessively traumatize him.

Even if the dog is an adult and you bring it home for the first time, the bathroom should definitely be postponed. The dog must have time to get used to the new home, new people and new smells. The only thing that remains of his past life is its smell, if we take away that too as soon as we bring it home it could destabilize.

So these are the indications when I bring the dog home for the first time, but for those who already have a dog what is the right frequency for bathing?

There is no single answer, it depends on whether the dog lives in an apartment or is out in the garden for many hours. If a dog is always at home we can wait months before washing it. If the dog is in the garden, especially when it rains, we can wash it more often but never more than once a month . For those lucky enough to live near the sea and have a dog who loves swimming, it will be sufficient to rinse it with fresh water to remove the saltiness.

Our dogs' skin is covered with lipids that are produced by the sebaceous glands, so if we wash it too often the skin will tend to dry out and be more sensitive to external agents such as bacteria and parasites.

So keep your dog clean, but in moderation!