bathing

what kind of gentle shampoo does everyone use? and that isnt harmful to the eyes

My gang rarely gets a bath, it seems to dry out their skin and cause more itchiness. We do a bath maybe 3 times a year, but when we do bathe them, I like Buddy Wash and their conditioning rinse. I've seen it at Target and Petsmart, I think (we normally go to a doggy wash and use it there). It's pretty gentle, and none of mine seem to have had any adverse reactions to it.

http://www.cloudstar.com/8B85D0640D2843F5A8CD806F241058A0.asp?sc_id=A00EBEBDA3F647BA9E5F29B7D89D1629&pcs_key=444C8CBDE9C0483AA8D7FFA24E96A866

Here is the link to where you can get it in your area:
http://www.cloudstar.com/page.asp?p_key=B2283E31B0BE48A092A4459C5A4C0C07&ie_key=C2AFCB5A47F14B23B3C71F20F7DDE13C

thanks for your input i appriciate it

honey612 wrote:thanks for your input i appriciate it

It smells good too!!

Buddy Wash is a good, gentle shampoo. We take the pugs to the vet for their baths, but they don't get bathed very often, probably 4 times a year at best. Pugs can have sensitive skin and frequent baths can sometimes irritate their skin by stripping the natural oils from their skin and coats, even with a good, gentle shampoo. Every 8 weeks or so is good for bathing, but personally I like to wait 3 or 4 months between baths.

My pugs all have really thick double coats, so they go to the groomers about once every 3-4 months (my bostons go once a year). The groomer strips the under coat out for me. She baths them in an Oatmeal shampoo. When I was showing dogs all the time and had to bath them, I used dawn dish soap to get the oils out (makes the coats fluffy). HOWEVER, if you have a dog with skin, coat, or other issues, dont listen to me! LOL

honey612 wrote:that isnt harmful to the eyes

When my pugs get a bath, I do not lather their heads. I only go up to the neck. Their heads get wiped down regularly with baby wipes & I'd rather not risk getting soap into their eyes, ears, etc. We've used Buddy Wash shampoo before but right now we've got a coconut scented shampoo/conditioner that I picked up at Target (can't recall the name).

PugLady3 wrote:

honey612 wrote:that isnt harmful to the eyes

When my pugs get a bath, I do not lather their heads.

Same here. I wash with shampoo, up to their neck, then wash their face with a washcloth. I also use Buddy Wash.

It's best to discuss bath frequency with your vet. Generally pugs don't need baths very often but if there are any underlying skin or allergy issues, you may need to bathe on a different schedule or with a special shampoo.

I've been using Duoxo Calm shampoo on Penny. Smells great, and she loves it. She gets a baf every 2-3 months, and we go to the groomer's for it. When I bathe her myself, I don't go past the neck, either, and use a washcloth on her face. I also put cotton balls in her ears when I bathe her so that water doesn't get into her ears. Ms. Thang is the queen of ear infections, and we do everything we can to avoid them.

I used to give Louise a bath every 2 weeks on the dot. I used bath gels, baby wash, baby shampoo, people shampoo, Aveno soap, designer doggie shampoo loaded with perfume, and pretty much things that I shouldn't have been using. She was my first pug and I "learned" on her! LOL! Now, Lola's fur is so thin and Baby Girl has sensitive skin. I will wipe down BG's hoo-hoo just about everyday with a dry cloth and will use a damp cloth to wipe her hiney. But for a full blown bath they seem to just get one about every 2-3 months. I wait until they get really stinky, then the stink goes away, and then if you wait long enough, it will come back-that is when I know it is time to bathe them! I have my groomer come to the house. She will cut their nails for me and gets their face good and clean. We use medicated shampoo on BG and Cloud Star on Lola. This just reminded me that there was a girl in our pug meet up group who came with her pug and this pug had the softest coat I have ever felt. She said that she had not bathed her pug in a year!! I just about feel out in the floor, but apparently it was working for this one pug!!!

Do we have any professional groomers on here? This is just my opinion, but I almost think that dogs who have hair-Yorkies, Maltese, etc. need a bath more often because the oils cause their hair to matt up. But dogs that have short fur-pugs, BT, Chi, don't require bathes as often because the oils protect their skin and their fur doesn't matt up. I don't know if this is true, just my opinion.

I would say that in general if your pug does not have a medical condition where they need medicated baths, to just save yourself the trouble and bathe them as little as possible. The oils will condition their skin and give them a shinny coat.

I rarely give LuLu a bath now, but when I first got her she was a bit dry even though her coat was beautiful and thick so I was conditioning her skin and coat and with proper new nutrition it improved. I am probably going to bathe her every 3-4 months from now on.

Also another person with Buddy Bath right now but I used to swear by Earth Bath and will get some for LuLu. LOVE the smells and how gentle they are and the variations they have for different kinds of skin issues and fur.

When she sometimes gets the stinks or sometimes her hair does get a bit oily, I use dry shampoo her- it's a natural organic spray one for humans but safe- cant remember the brand now.

papaspugs wrote:

Do we have any professional groomers on here? This is just my opinion, but I almost think that dogs who have hair-Yorkies, Maltese, etc. need a bath more often because the oils cause their hair to matt up. But dogs that have short fur-pugs, BT, Chi, don't require bathes as often because the oils protect their skin and their fur doesn't matt up. I don't know if this is true, just my opinion.

They need constant combing that some people cant commit to- I combed 4x a day to keep a "show" coat.

I had a bichon and a maltese .the maltese just has hair and no undercoat gets more oily and can tangle just like human hair by the length and gets less when they were clipped into a "summer" length then they don't really matt up and need a brush every other day only.

I dry shampooed them inbetween baths because it is a pain to wash their hair and dry them all the time and also it can dry out their skin to do it too often..

T is a groomer so she would be a good one to ask She used Bark 2 Basics Melon Cucumber Shampoo on Stella and she smelled/felt wonderful! So that's what I use on her now, it's yummy.

My pom gets groomed every 8 to 10 weeks, but I brush her alot--especially when she is in full coat (which is almost never). she has a very thick undercoat and she tangles and matts easily. I mostly keep her clipped short to avoid all the hassles and she has an easier "off-roading" in her clipped cut. In full coat, her hair is 3 to 4 inches long.

Okay, I thought this was about bathing when I read everyone's post, not about a specific shampoo. Sorry. In my experience, a shampoo that has a nice lather, but that doesn't go over board on the suds is easier to use. It seem like I can have more control over not getting bubbles/suds in their eyes. That is one of of the reasons that I like the Cloud Star/Buddy Shampoos. Also they are kind of expensive, but I just use a tiny amount when I bathe them. I start out with less and then work in more if needed. The shampoo that Baby Girl uses has almost no suds. I have also found small/travel sized Buddy Shampoo in sets at pet boutiques.

I'm another Buddy Bath girl here. I do love how it smells (a lavender/mint scent) even though the scent doesn't stick around. But the one bottle I've bought has lasted me for ages because I just don't need to bathe my guys that often. Jackson can easily go 3-4 months without a bath and not get that doggy smell. Sammy does get doggy smelling faster-- it might be his Frenchie side... I think they've got naturally oilier coats. I end up bathing him around every 2-3 months, and if it's on the longer end, I go ahead and do Jackson too.

The easiest way for me to do it is in the kitchen sink, so I have access to the sprayer thingie to help with rinsing. WAY easier than a plastic cup and the bathtub!

Isle of Dogs Gloss Shampoo. It smells incredible and it is made from organic ingredients.

I use one made by Simple Solution. It is a shampoo and conditioner and very low suds. The smell is just a clean smell, nothing in particular.

That said I rarely actually shampoo them. Probably twice a year unless they have got into something filthy. If they just need a spruce up or to get mud off their legs I use plain water, and even then they don't get a full soaking more than every couple of months, generally.

I never put shampoo anywhere near their faces, up to the shoulder is as far as I go with it.

Whatever product you use make sure a) that it is formulated for dogs not humans as dogs have a different skin Ph level apparently, and b) make sure you rinse it all out very thoroughly. This can take longer than you think as pug coats can be very thick.