BATHING

[MCALVO]

HOW OFTEN SHOULD BOXER'S BE BATHED? IS ONCE EVERY WEEK EXCESSIVE? WHAT IF THE DOG HAS PLENTY OF EXCERSISE RUNNING IN THE WOODS, SWIMMING IN CREEKS, AND PLAYING WITH KIDS.

 

[JulieM]

Boxers by nature are very clean dogs, and keep themselves very clean. I have 5, three that I show and 2 that I don't. My Boxers get baths on the following occasions:

*The night before a show (3 of them)

*If they roll in mud/dirt/some other nasty substance

*Before a breeding

*Before whelping

*Puppies before going to their new homes.

(Actually, the puppies get the most baths of all, because they tend to step/sleep/play in their food and poop. But, I think it's good for them to get used to baths at an early age so the new parents don't have a difficult time with it.)

I can't think of any other time. My 3 1/2 year old, who I don't show, probably hasn't had a bath in 3 years. His coat is soft and gleaming, his feet are bright white (I just commented to him on that the other day, as a matter of fact), and he does not smell "doggy." A good diet and his natural cleanliness (and the ear-washing he gets from the alpha girl) keep him nice and clean

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

I have two boxers, one all white. I only bathe them about once a month. We go to the park every day for romping and wrestling around in the mud. Luckily, boxers are short haired and have little if any undercoat. So, many times, the dogs will look really muddy, but by the time we've walked home, they have shaken most of the dirt off themselves. What is left, I usually take a damp washcloth, and wipe them down. When their fur is dry (doesn't take long at all with short hair), I take a rubber brush, called a curry brush, and brush off the remaining dried dirt.

And like was said above, boxers are very clean dogs. Mine wash themselves a lot and wash each other as well.

Boxers tend to have dry skin so frequent bathing can cause some skin irritations and itching, and other skin problems. If you need to bathe your dog frequently due to rolling in poop (as mine seem to do every couple of weeks), I suggest a very mild, oatmeal enhanced soap. I use puppy shampoo on my dogs and it works very well, without drying their skin. I do use a special shampoo for Susie for white coats, which cuts the "yellow" tinge some white fur dogs can have.

 

[Eddie's mom]

This is what I do: Eddie hates being bathed!! So usually in the winter we just don't bath him, he stays pretty clean on his own. In the summer he gets dirty so we have to do this: we put his leash on him and hook it to the fence, then we get the hose! The hose part I'm not sure how he likes it, sometimes he tries to catch the water, sometimes he tries to get away. He loves the part where we lather him up with the shampoo. Then we hose him off!! No mess in the house!!

 

[Jan]

Markus only gets bathed when he is dirty or stinky. Which is rare. He is 7 years old and has had maybe 5 baths in his life. We do however live on the rainy west coast and he gets wet frequently and then gets toweled off and that helps keep him clean.

 

[JulieM]

I should have mentioned that when I groom the night before a show, I groom everyone (if it's not too late) - curry, brush, nails, trim whiskers and "shaggy" hairs. This is weekly during spring/summer and every 4-6 weeks during the fall/winter. Ideally, when I have a house with a dedicated "groom room" (and a grooming table up 24/7) I'll groom everyone weekly....right now it's hard to find room for the table, much less the time to do all 5 dogs!

 

[Alisha Mobley]

I would bathe mine about once a year. They would get the doggy smell often but I used pet deoderants to help. After switching to Innova I noticed the doggy smell wasn't near as strong. They ate this for about a month, now I'm feeding BARF (about 5 days). I'm hoping the BARF diet will get rid of the doggy smell once and for all (keeping my finger tightly crossed ).