My Dog Has Never Had a Bath

Answered by Stuart Simons and taken, with permission from Dogs Monthly.

Q: I have a short-haired dog who is coming up for four years old and I must confess that I have never bathed her. Mud just seems to dry and drop off and I've only ever wiped her muddy paws. Should I be bathing her? If so, how often?

A: Interesting one. Well, if your dog is happy and healthy then there is no reason you couldn’t just carry on as you have been. Washing your dog can flag up anomalies that you may not have noticed in the past. As a groomer, I have noticed all sorts of things on short-coated dogs that owners hadn’t noticed for themselves. It's also really good for your dogs' skin and coat provided good products are used. You never know, after her bath, you may realise that she might have been a little smellier than you at first thought. Professional groomers have their hands on dogs all day every day and anomalies in anatomy are very obvious to them and are easily flagged up, so even short-coated dogs can benefit from a professional groom. Obviously, no groomer would diagnose but to flag up a problem has been known to save lives. Find your local professional groomer by using our 'search'