I know you're not supposed to bathe your dog that often because it can dry them out, but how do you give your dog a bath when you don't have an "official" grooming shop? Usually I've just run the hose down into the basement through the window so she can have warm water outside, but what a pain! Then there's the "doggie shake" and I end up wetter than she is. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Well, there's always the bathtub....but be prepared for LOTS of hair to clean up!! If I go that route I figure I'm gonna get wet too, and dress appropriately. I also make sure to close the shower curtain to keep the fur from flying out of the tub area( as much as possible) when the shake out occurs.

I have also done the "warm water in buckets hauled out to the driveway and used to wash and rinse" route and it is probably more of a pain than your running a hose for warm water!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Honestly though, I usually don't put an adult dog in the bath. I also don't wash my dogs much. I can count on one hand how many baths my 2 dogs have gotten in their lifetimes. ( one dog is 3 and one is 15 months)

The other option is to just go to a groomer and pay the fee.

BTW, I do have a friend who is a professional groomer in WPB, Florida, and she has a GSD. She owns her own shop and bathes her dog at least once a week. She says he has never had any problems from this regimen and always smells great <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

So, how often SHOULD you bathe them? I've always thought that too much would just dry them out something awful.

You give your dog a bath when he starts to smell something awful!! I end up bathing my work dog once a week or if I'm lucky once every other week..... just due to the junk he gets into at work. I try to use shampoos with conditioners and have yet to see any signs of dry skin.

As far as how I do it..... I grab a pair of boxers, head into the shower with him and shut the door. I find it allot easier than the bath tub.

I bath my dogs at least once every couple of weeks, more if they decide to take a dip in the Gulf. I use Fresh and Clean Shampoo and lightly spray them afterword with Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) Hylyt bath oil. No problem with dry skin.

I also installed a water heater in the garage so that it hooks up to the outside hose. It is a about a 1000 bucks (installed) but it is worth it when you figure the number of baths you will give.

My house dogs (terriers) only get bathed when I come back from earthwork. My GSD is a kennel dog and at 15 months, has never had a bath. I do a lot of SAR demos with him and have neverdone anything more than daily brushing. I always get compliments on his nice coat. Now if bathing would slow down that sheading, I'd soak-n-soap him down a couple of times a day.

I put hot and cold water tap outside. I used landscaping timbers and creek bed rock inside the timber frame like you would make for a garden. I bought a kiddie pool from walmart and a stool. I put the stool in the middle of the pool and put the swim trunks on and gave up on trying to stay dry <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Oh the joy of bathing the dog! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I know what you mean. For me in the winter time (or cooler months) I have to pay the groomer. Im not allowed to put Kane in the tub and for summer time... Its all about the hose outside! And yes Im a mess after. I get old clothes on and even still end up with black hairs all over me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> After Kanes bath... I take a shower.

As far as how often I guess it depends on yours and the dogs needs. If the dog is in the house alot and smells... bathe more often. No smell or outside most of the time... less often. Right now Kane gets a bath about every two weeks. I also had flaky skin problems (before I went to RAW) and I bought an oatmeal shampoo from Earthbest (I think) and it helped alot with the skin.

So really theres no way around a messy bath, unless you pay a groomer.

Although our cat Misha did more damage than my GSD when she got a bath! She was pretty pissed off after her bath! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I never thought about a stool, great idea! I just figured I was stuck with perpetual back ache.

Does anyone use a blower to dry their dogs? I bought one about 5 years ago and it was definately worth it. I bathe, towel dry and blow the water off along with a good amount of loose hair. Helps cut down on the vacuum. (well kinda...they are gsd's after all)