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mudrunner
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28-04-2016, 08:11 PM

Can bathing too frequently affect coat growth?

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and am hoping for a bit of advice/suggestions. We have an almost 17-week-old Saint Bernard pup. We are very experienced dog owners; however, he is our very first Saint. We also have 3 other dogs, an almost 8-year-old Golden Retriever, a 6-1/2-year-old Golden Retriever, and a 4-year-old black Lab. My question is can bathing a Saint puppy too frequently have any sort of negative impact on their coat growth? He is a rough coat (long haired) Saint and all of his brothers and sisters from the same litter have significantly more coat than he does. His older siblings from previous litters as well as both of his parents are also very full coated. I have been guilty of bathing our pup about once a week as he does get very dirty and muddy playing outside and he occasionally has accidents in his crate (although that is gradually getting better as he gets older), requiring him to be washed. I do use an all natural gentle oatmeal puppy shampoo (Oster Naturals), which is what our breeder told us to use so that it doesn't strip the natural oils from his coat, but I am wondering if having a bath and blow dry every 7-8 days is causing his coat not to come in like his brothers and sisters coats have. His head and ears are VERY fluffy, but the rest of his coat is very short. I do also blow dry him after his baths with a dog dryer (not a human blow dryer). Maybe that is drying out his coat too much as well? He does get organic coconut oil as well as fish oil every day for his skin and coat, but I'm wondering (and hoping) if I back off a bit on the bathing that his coat will start to fill out and get much thicker and longer. I actually just ordered some Earthbath grooming wipes to use instead of having to bathe him every single time he gets dirty and smelly, so hopefully that will help. Plus, it would definitely make things a lot easier on me and save a lot of time if I don't have to bathe him quite so frequently!

Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Chris
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28-04-2016, 09:07 PM
The only danger with bathing too often is that it can strip the natural oils out of the coat if the detergent is strong.

Are there any short coated St Bernards in your boys ancestry?
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CaroleC
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28-04-2016, 09:39 PM
I had the same thought Chris.
No experience of Saints, but I used to bath my Cavaliers frequently, and never had any thin or short coats.
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mudrunner
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28-04-2016, 09:39 PM
Originally Posted by Chris View Post
The only danger with bathing too often is that it can strip the natural oils out of the coat if the detergent is strong.

Are there any short coated St Bernards in your boys ancestry?
No smooth coats at all. They are all rough coats and every single pup that our breeder has ever produced from the same sire and dam has had a very full, thick coat. We have photos of all of his grandparents going back 4 generations and they are all roughs and so are both of his parents, especially his father, who has a TON of coat. Our breeder told me that she has never had a pup in any of her litters with hair as short as his, which has me a bit concerned since we specifically wanted a long coated Saint. Don't get me wrong, we still love him to death, but we were expecting a lot more coat by this age! He was VERY fluffy when he was younger. He just turned 4 months old last weekend. I have heard that over bathing can sometimes dry out the skin and coat and interfere with hair growth, so that is why I was wondering, even though I do use a gentle puppy oatmeal shampoo that is 100% all natural, and he gets his fish oil and coconut oil supplementation every day. Saints do have a naturally very oily coat, so I am starting to think that all of this bathing is having a negative effect on his skin and coat.

This is the shampoo we use on him: http://www.amazon.com/Oster-078590-1.../dp/B008RH3IKW
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Chris
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28-04-2016, 10:12 PM
It may be worth running the question by dog groomers - I'm sure there must be a dedicated forum out there.

It's not a problem I've come across, but, I'm neither a vet nor a groomer.

I would very much doubt that the problem is bathing related, but I could well be wrong.
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mudrunner
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28-04-2016, 10:27 PM
I spend a decent amount of time blow drying him as well and wonder if that could be a contributor to the issue. I did try to find a grooming forum and even a Saint specific forum, but didn't have any luck.
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Jackie
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29-04-2016, 08:41 AM
the shampoo will have no effect on his coat length/type, that will all be down to genetics, shampoo may effect the texture of the coat if it is to harsh , I would buy some puppy shampoo, and reduce the number of baths.

My guess would be that your boy simply is not as heavy coated as his siblings............ genetics can be a funny old thing and don`t always do as we want.
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brenda1
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29-04-2016, 09:15 AM
Some pups take longer than other pups to get a full coat. Doesn't matter what breed. Bathing also doesn't mean stripping oils from coat if you use a good shampoo eg: coconut oil plus neem plus tea tree. Dogs coats can change if castrated or spayed. Hope that helps.
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mudrunner
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29-04-2016, 03:57 PM
Originally Posted by Jackie View Post
I would buy some puppy shampoo, and reduce the number of baths.
Like I said before, we are already using a gentle oatmeal puppy shampoo.
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