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Is it okay to bathe my dog every week? How often is too much?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | unneutered | 7 years and 2 months old

How many times should I bath my dog in a week?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 3rd, 2018

You should not bathe your dog more often than once a month, preferably less as frequent bathing will dry out the skin and may cause the natural defense of the skin against bacteria to fail. Best bathe your dog only when he rolled in something stinky or when he is visibly very dirty,

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2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Other Answers

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on July 29th, 2019

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. Bathing a dog more than every 2 weeks is not a great idea as it affects the natural oils of the skin. There are medications such as Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch. 

There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. 

Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). 

If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests.

 Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!


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    Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 22nd, 2017

    When possible, try to limit baths to no more than every two weeks. Obviously, if Sly rolls in a mud puddle, that's an exception to the rule! Bathing too often can dry out the skin by washing away necessary oils in the coat and could cause Sky to become overly itchy.

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on February 3rd, 2018

    Not more than once a month is my usual answer, the more you wash your dog, the worse his coat health will be, you should try to minimize the washing as much as you can and just wash Nestle when he really needs it.

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