Harper is 13 weeks tomorrow. How often should she be bathed. I seem to be getting varying suggestions. I have a gentle cleanse groomers shampoo for puppies, I just don't want to dry out her skin. She is a Dachshund Cocker Spaniel mix.

In my professional opinion... as needed. If the dog stinks a bath will hurt nothing if done correctly with the right products. Not all dog shampoos are created equal, most pet grade ones sold in the stores are outright crap product with a scent people like and tend to leave residue and often have toxic ingredients. You will do much better to buy a small professional groomer bottle of shampoo and conditioner and a couple $2 mixing bottles from a groomer supply shop or online.

A normal non stinky dog kept in clean conditions usually weekly brushing and a quarterly quick bath work fine. I usually suggest every 6-8 weeks on puppies to get them acclimated to accepting being washed and the associated handling and drying.

My dogs kept in show condition are bathed at least weekly. My other dogs are bathed at least monthly. I use conditioner on everyone to prevent skin dry outs, prevent coat breaks, and correct coat textures until the natural oils are returned.

As a final hint wash and rinse the dog twice. Then apply conditioner and rinse until the water runs clear off the dog. You'll see hugely better results.

Ditto to Melissa's advice. I'll also add that ALL grooming routines need to start early and often--even if they are only "pretend" grooming (handling toes, touching teeth, finger in ears, holding tail, stroking every inch of body).

Puppies will put up with a lot if you start early in life, make it positive, and do it often. Far too many people find out too late--when they have a 10-month-old puppy that won't allow it's ears to be cleaned...or a dog that has to be put under to have it's teeth cleaned...or a dog that is so unused to body touching that vets can't get a temperature or draw blood without a major scene.

I recommend at least a weekly grooming session that includes a full-body brushing, toenail grinding, ear check and tooth brushing. This doesn't have to take very long--with a small pup like yours, this whole routine might be 15 minutes. The point is to get the pup to calmly allow you to touch/examine/groom/brush/swab/wash/bandage any part of his body without fuss.

BTW, he's adorable.

We do the weekly grooming with no bath. She has had 2 but I didn't think to condition her , not sure why. I condition my own hair. loss of brain mass I guess. Thank you both for the all the advice.

I agree with what both Melissa and Tracy said.

My Rotts don't need much to stay in "show condition" (sorry Melissa, Paps need SO much more work :eekBut hree of my family are allergic to dogs. So regular removal of doggie “germs” (as the kids call them) is required to have the dogs as part of our family. I am also neat freak. I don’t like doggie odor, and I don’t like grime from a coat dirtying the carpet or the (white suede!!)couches when they lay against them.

I bathe weekly, but not with shampoo. I typically use plain tap water or a soapless shampoo called WEN (Incredible stuff! Worth every penny!). I will also take baby wipes to the dogs every other day or so to remove the allergens and surface dust. My dogs have never had dry skin or flakiness, have very shiny coats and smell fresh and clean. I truly believe that most of their coat health comes from within. I feed raw and give Fish Oil and Vit E every day.

Crappy shampoo dries out the dogs coat and skin. It is full of detergents, surfactants and sodium laurel sulfate that all strip oil.

Try looking at the waterless shampoos. They are in spray bottles and you spray the coat and rub them down with a towel. They usually have a ton of moisturizers in them too. I use this while staying in hotels where it would be rude to bathe a dog in the tub (usually no shower hose either) and access to an outdoor hose is limited.