Frequently Muddy

We have a bit of a problem with Kaylee. She is an active dog who loves her daycare. I know because when I drop her off it takes 10 minutes to get her from the car to the door, due to her pulling and my stopping to object to that behavior. The problem lies with her fluffy coat and her mud magnet nature. If there is mud, she will find it. If there isn't, she will make it. Staff members say she tries to make the big dogs knock over the water buckets. So needless to say, we love that she gets exercise and time to socialize with other dogs, but we often take home a very muddy puppy.

So what I'd like to know is, am I bathing her too frequently? I rinse her off and try to dilute our dog shampoo to ~1/10x with water and use it on the parts of her that are the worst. Do any of you have a suggestion for shampoo type/brand/recipe for this type of bath?

Thanks for any suggestions.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on September 27, 2012 at 6:28pm

Have you tried just rinsing with clean water? I'm not sure how it would work with her coat. I know it works with my dogs, but they have harder coats.

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Permalink Reply by Priss, Charlie & Kaylee (PK) on September 27, 2012 at 7:22pm

I did try water at first, but her white paws stay a brown/orange tint if I don't use some sort of soap. Her coat is very soft though.

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Permalink Reply by Beca and Mishka on September 28, 2012 at 11:42am

How often does she go to daycare? We rinse Mishka's paws with water whenever we come in from a walk (city dust makes them stubbornly grey) and once a week we wash with diluted shampoo (tropiclean's spa oatmeal shampoo). The dermatologist has us bathing Mishka every week to lessen the allergen load and soothe his skin, and her main concern was making sure the shampoo was diluted well and rinsed really well. She said if he goes and rolls around in a patch of something he's allergic to, don't hesitate to just bathe him again.....

If you let the mud dry and then comb her, does any of it come out? Mishka can be dripping with mud, but as soon as he's dry it all combs out. He has a normal coat, though.

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Permalink Reply by Priss, Charlie & Kaylee (PK) on September 28, 2012 at 2:21pm

Thanks for the brand of shampoo recommendation! Kaylee goes to daycare once or twice a week. And with her coat (think limp caucasian hair consistency) just forms tangles and matts when the mud dries.

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on September 28, 2012 at 4:45pm

I bathe our dogs twice a year, whether they need it or not. Mud? No problem. It magically falls off them while they're snoozing on top of the love seat, and I suck it up from under the cushions every 3 months when I vacuum. Simple.