Introduction
German Shepherd breeds are very active and love playing around, and sometimes they are covered in dirt and filth. The showering time is never a pleasant activity as they will splash all over you and start running away.
Therefore, these dogs’ owners are always concerned about “how often should I bathe my German Shepherd?”. The intensity of washing your pet can make a big difference between healthy, fragrant fur and dirty, stinky one. Here are some tips for you!
How Often Should I Bathe My German Shepherd?
German Shepherds do not require frequent showers. You should only get them clean once per four months. They own double layers of fur, which consists of an outer coat and an inner coat.
The outer coat shields them from sunlight, dirt, and other elements. At the same time, the inner one prevents them from rough cold weather in winter or even the blazing hot in summer.
These dual layers contain natural oils, which will wear out if they get showered too often. As a result, your dog skin will become itchy and inflamed. In regular conditions, they are relatively clean, so there’s no need to take them to the shower.
Source: Pxfuel
Unfortunately, you may need to clean your dog more frequently to keep any parasites out of sight in flea season. Furthermore, if they become strongly smelly when exercising during sunny days, you can consider taking your pet a shower every two months.
And if your dog spends a lot of time playing outside and becomes filthy or rolling on its favorite mud pond, you may want to clean the dog more regularly.
One element that may affect your decision to take them in a bath is brushing. The brushing will reduce shedding with anything that is stuck in their fur. This activity also helps the dog’s hair look much smoother and cleaner.
How To Bathe My German Shepherd?
Source: Pxfuel
You will need to prepare a few things before showering your pet, including:
- A tub where the dog jumping in
- Several towers
- A certain mat for feet drying
- Dog shampoo
- A sponge, if necessary
When you have everything ready, let’s get your dog a shower. Here’s how:
- Make a warm tub. Avoid using boiling water.
- Begin from the neck, then clean down along the spine to its tail, pouring the right amount of water to get through into the inner fur.
- Foam shampoo on the towel and begin to scrub from the ears, avoid dripping on your dog’s eyes, then work your way down to its body, legs, paws, and two sides.
- Next, use your finger and massage your dog in circular patterns to ensure the liquid reaches inside the thick fur. You may also do longer patterns to please your pet. Finally, apply shampoo to the head.
- Wash the dog carefully. You should continue this process to wash out foam completely from the inner layer. Get ready to get soaked as the dog will be shaking its fur to remove the remaining water.
- To speed up the drying process, gently wipe the dog using a towel, and you may need two of it. After that, give your dog a good comb. Blow-dry its hair in one way depending on your innovation, not both ways. Or else, the hair will be tangling.
- They don’t necessarily require hairstyles, but a short snip may benefit if the result is unlike anything you want.
- Get your dog used to showering from a young age! It helps you reassure your furry friend, and the dog will become familiar with the process and get more relaxed.
- Remember to purchase only a shampoo created specifically for dogs because the pH concentration is very opposite to products for humans. An organic one would be the best as other kinds might eliminate the essential oils and drain away from the skin.
Why It’s Important To Avoid Overbathing?
We sure have a solid answer to why showering your pet too often is not the best move. It should be restricted, including using shampoo, because it eliminates a specific quantity of vital oils. The longer the activity, the worse it is, until most of them are all removed.
Here are some problems that occur when the oils are gone from the coat:
- Peeling off skin
- Roughness due to itching
- Inflammation
- Oversensitive
- Poor health skin
- Mild fur
- Stinky smell
Source: Wikimedia
You might be asking how the fur becomes oily when it’s meant to be clean. When the natural oils disappear, the body hurries in making extra. The drawback of this is it makes oil regenerate too excessively.
The automatic response causes the skin to become extremely oily. After a short while, your dog will begin to stink real bad. At this point, it will convince you to shower your pet again, therefore restarting the harmful cycle.
What Shampoo To Use & Avoid For German Shepherds?
Plenty of these products are found almost anywhere near you, but you should buy those with organic ingredients.
Source: Pxfuel
It is advised to use dog shampoos that have a natural component in them. Even those pet shampoos, considered safe, comprise plenty of caustic chemicals, cleansers, parabens, alcohol, and other toxic ingredients that dog skin doesn’t require.
Those substances peel away countless amounts of essential oils, resulting in unhealthy coats and problems with them. It is best to bypass toxic substances and choose the organic ingredient for your dog’s shampoo.
Conclusion
Finally, for the question “how often should I bathe my German Shepherd?”. The response is you should avoid doing it too frequently, only take the dog a bath when they start becoming too smelly, and use the appropriate products to ensure your dog’s well-being and happiness.
We hope that you have already received the desired answer from our article. Thank you for reading! Have fun playing with your furry friend, and we will see you in our next post!
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