How often can Pyr's get baths?

[chantaje]

Neo has one VERY major problem with drooling.  It's worse than any other large breed dog I have ever met.  Whenever I let him out he collects dust and dirt in the drool that has fallen on his face and neck.  Usually I am able to brush it out but when he lays in the dirt and slobbers at the same time it is like cement and I don't want to hurt him with agressive brushing.  I gave him his first bath 2 weeks ago, he wasn't really excited about it but he tolerated it.  I read that since they have "self cleaning" coats, they shouldn't be bathed too often.  I don't see that there would be too much need most of the year but during the summer he really collects dirt.  Is it okay to give him a bath every few weeks or should i just get out what I can by brushing?  He also collects a lot of dirt and debris on his hind quarters and is getting very matted.  His coat is almost like wool on his back end.  I brush it out as well as I can but it mats right back up again. After I shampooed and conditioned his butt the mats were much better for a while.

[Nina]

I'm not sure how often you can bathe them, What I do in between baths is I use natures miracle bath wipes, they work great, they get rid of odor and clean very well, I had to use them to clean my pyrs feet after a fund time of digging inthe yard, after rain if course, and after I had just cleaned my carpet! They worked wonders, DIlbert was white again as were his paws!

Nina

[tanimara]

You have several questions here I will try to answer, both stated and unstated.

I dont know how to put this gracefully so I'll just say it..

First of all, you can bath your Pyr weakly as long as you use a non-drying dog shampoo.  However if your dog has a correct coat, this should not be necessary. They should not require bathing any more often than your nose will tollerate...lo l  I have dogs that are indoors, that have been bathed only once per year and only then because I felt guilty.  If you have a correct coat on your dog then that is all that should be required unless you are showing or you are just inclined to get real wet frequently.... .The coat should be soft but not silky, course but not wirey.  In between.  Sounds like you have a course coated dog from what you are saying.

Drooling - Pyrs are not big droolers normally.  Two things will cause this.  Incorrect temperament, ie: shyness, or incorrect head.  Obviously there is nothing to do about that at this point but just so you will know for the future.

A Pyr that has a correct head... the standard says basically that when you look at your dog from profile, the top lip should just slightly overlap the bottom lip (slightly), and the bottom lip should be tight (note the picture below)

Hope this helps, get a drool rag and join the rest of us..lol

Jackie

[tanimara]

Oops, forgot the picture!  This is Tanimara's Napolian Brandi.  Not the shape of the mouth.

[chantaje]

Thanks for the info.  Neo is my super handsome boy but I don't think he has a correct coat or head for the breed standard.  Of course I don't think he came from a very reputable breeder as the lady at the rescue told me that his original owner tried to take him back to the breeder but she wouldn't take him so he ended up at the rescue.  I was really surprised when I learned that most pyr's aren't droolers.  This is the loosest lipped dog I have ever seen.  When we take him out he always wears his "ascott".

[tanimara]

I dont care what their conformation is, they are still the most lovable dog on the planet.  My first Pyr, due to my lack of education (pre - intenet) had the worst conformation of any Pyr I've seen to date.  I thought they all probably drooled like that too.  But once I got the hang of the standard and improved the quality of my breeding stock I found out different.  In my eyes your Lord Neo is a winner!

Jackie Wood

[chantaje]

I have to agree! I can't imagine life without him.  Yesterday he ran smack into a star gazer lily and got the pollen all over his head.  It wouldn't come off with soap and water so he had to walk around all day looking like someone had peed all over his head.  Luckily a friend that is a nanny suggested using baby wipes.  It's not completely gone but is sure lightened it up.  Never a dull moment!

[mastiffmommy]

You have already gotten great help from tanimara...... Just a couple of things I thought Id add. I dont know much about pyr's never owned one. But when Jackie said that they normally dont drool, one thing came to mind, and danes can sometimes get problems with their glands in throat and need to be on antibiotic or even have them removed (have had to do that myself before) I would think that can happen to other breeds aswell, and when that happens they drool way worse than they usually do.

About the bath, if you need, you can give baths basically as often as you need. when I worked with grooming, some people took their dogs in every or every other week just to get a bath. I think it may be a bit often if you dont need it (which most of them didnt lol..) they have a lot of real good shampoos that wont dry out coat or skin. Another thing that might help. is the coat shiner. a spray you can spray onto the coat, it makes it shiny and SLICK so dirt kinda falls off. I dont know if it would work on your guy, but may be worth a try.

Also when you give baths if you do it often, you probably want to use a good conditioner to help the coat and skin along a bit.

Good Luck with drool and all lol....

Marit

[Mark Dozier]

Good, you have heard about baby wipes They will be great for the drool issue. My Near would slobber a lot during summer as he lay in his pit outside and come in with dirt caked on the face. The baby wipes are great for a gentle spot cleaning like that. Use the unscented ones and they are faboulous for cleaning ears. That is how we kept his ears clean. In fact it was the only way he really let us do becuase it was so soft and gentle.

[PupDaddy]

There is nothing funnier then leaving a wet muddy pyr locked in the kitchen at bedtime, and coming in the next morning and finding a big clean white dog, and a pile of dirt in the middle of the floor!

[CalistogaPyr]

I bathe Bo about once per month.  Because she's a therapy dog, I have to make sure that she's clean enough to enter hospitals & not be so stinky that she offends the patients (I love her smell...even when she's stinky).  In between baths, I have a trick that helps to cut down on some of the grime...get an empty spray bottle & put 1 tablespoon of gentle dog shampoo in it.  Fill with warm water & spritz the dog down.  Towel off with moist/dry towels.  Sometimes in the winter & zap some wet towels in the microwave to make them toasty so as not to offend Bo's delicate sensibilities! =)  Hope that helps!!
Jenn & Bo

[GeegLuvMyDogs]

I learned about bathing big coated dogs like GP's and Newfs when we left the world of double coated terriers (who don't need bathing unless in show) and swung our legs over the fence into the world of coated dogs.  What I learned from my obedience teacher/groomer was that dogs with coats (chows, collies, newfs, GP's, etc....) need air circulating at their skin and bathing is a part of that process.  I think Jackie spoke really well to the optimum conditions for the GP breed.  I had to learn how-to-groom-a-coated-dog to keep Sadie's coat clean and her skin healthy.  We only bathed her a couple of times a year.  Could she have used more bathing?  Probably, but I spent hours every week combing, brushing, raking and fawning over her and she never had any breakouts or skin problems as a result of lack of brushing.

I love the baby-wipes idea.  I'm going to use them with Ebony our Newf and her ears.

[Lendy]

I have found a wonderful product. It is Called CowBoy Majic and it works wonders on large matted dogs.  Combs right out. I couldn't believe how great it works. Best thing on the market. It is not a shampoo or conditioner you use it after you bath your pet. Put a quarter size on you hand and run through hair. My Malamute was so bad with tangles that I tried getting her clipped but she was so ashamed would never do that again. A lady told me about this product. I found it at Tracter Supply.  Trust me it works!
Lendy

[Kiahpyr]

I bathe my pry twice a month. She likes to roll in the grass and gets grass stained. She also gets stinky from rolling. I use colloidal oatmeal shampoo which is good for the skin.

[CindiJ]

I usually bathe Eowyn about once every 2 months... as for the drooling, I just consider it the "shoestrings of love"  We have a special bib for her when company is coming over, but other than that; the corgi usually helps keep them in check, because for some reason, when she sees Eowyn drooling, she feels the need to attac the "shoestring" Hence---- I don't have to clean it up! Problem solved