How often to bathe?

[Aliqu]

Hi!

My Yorkie’s hair gets oily very quickly, about a day after I bathed him. I try to bathe him once a week, which is not always possible. I use a good dog shampoo but have even tried normal human shampoo and conditioner (I know! Not advisable). But I had better results with the human shampoo than with the dog shampoo! His hair stayed shinier for longer. How often should I bathe him and can I continue using human shampoo? Also, I have been thinking about getting his hair cut in a puppy cut. Only thing is, it is getting winter where I live, will it be okay if I cut it now? He gets dirty so quickly with his long hair, frolicking outside all day!

[erdog3]

If my memory serves me correct, you have the larger Yorkie?
Are you sure this dog has not been on cortisone or seriod medication, that can affect coat, size etc.
Yorkies do have a tendency to oilyness, expecially on the back, I would not wash this off to often, expecially with winter comming, it is their natural waterproofing.
You could get a groomer to do a half clip, I used to do that in the winter, just trim up the bottom of the coat, the feet, bottom and face.
The shampoo, I use a natural spa bath foam, or kids bubble bath, it doesn't foam up as much, so it doesn't get right to the skin, and rinses off easier. I have tried all other vet products, but found this quite ok on my dogs, less irritating and kinder on the eyes, (which I try to avoid anyway), without any adverse affects, the oldest nearly 7.

[Aliqu]

Hi Ellierat,

Yes, I have the “BIG York”! I have no idea if he could have been on any medication before I brought him home. His hair is very course, not as silky as the smaller Yorkies. This lady I bought him from also breeds with Scottish Terriers and more than once I had my suspicions about my “yorkie”! Because of his big bone structure and longer back…

I measured him and he stands about 9 inches tall, his legs are very short but like I said, he has a really solid bone structure and the longer back. And his ears never stood up, the lady even told me, his ears have been standing up now and then but he is teething and it will go up and down for a while. He is registered though with the full ancestral details but like I said, I have my doubts! And how difficult is it really to register a dog, the people who do the registration never sees the dog anyway! I love my dog dearly but I am still sad that this lady was not honest with me. We really wanted a little Yorkie and I stressed that to her, so she had no excuse really to lie to me!

But I’m getting of the topic here, sorry! [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img] I will try the kids bubble foam, thanks. The oiliness I’m speaking about is more on his head and it’s almost dripping with oil so bad is it!

[erdog3]

Yes there are many unscrupulous breeders out there, who do many things with their breeding, as you say if she has other males present, the likely hood of mis mating is very high, depending on her dog housing arrangements. I would suggest a visit to your vets if you possibly can to see what is causing this oiliness, if you can't then whatever good diet you can give and the occasional washing, (once a week is quite acceptable) and time to see if it goes away.

[Aliqu]

I tried the kids foam bath this weekend. What an excellent solution! His hair is soft and silky, it has been two days and no oiliness, and the tangles also minimized a bit (his hair gets tangled very easily).