[BrooklynBasset]

Any suggestions for shampoo for Bassets? I'm picking up my new puppy any day now!

 

[Mikey T]

shampoo need to be matched to the bassets coloration, coat type, skin sensitivities, and/or underlying dermalogical conditions for best results. You are best of waiting until you can ascess these before making a choice.

 

[SophieB]

I hope you won't be washing away the lovely Basset Hound puppy smell for several months!

How often do people bath/shower their Bassets? Ours are just gone two years old and have only been bathed three times and the other day a friend said that she thought they must be bathed often because they always look so clean, but they don't! I think if they're bathed too often it washes the natural oils from their coats.

They don't like the rain but when we've been out in the rain they get a good towel drying as soon as we get home and occasionally I put the hair drier on them to help it along. I know it's probably wrong, but I use Johnson's baby shampoo on my Bassets and my Cocker as it's gentle and smells nice and they have a glossy coat as they get brushed regularly and they have nice skin!

 

[Soundtrack]

I bath mine when they're dirty, or when they have a show. If we have a lot of shows in a row they may be bathed weekly or even more! Otherwise regular brushing is good for removing dirt and crud, and stimulating the skin.
As mentioned, the "perfect" shampoo really depends on the individual dog, however more often than not I simply wash them in dish soap (I like the scented ones) which is diluted about 10:1. Other favorites are LaPooch (long lasting scent), Lambert-Kay Fresh N Clean Oatmeal N Baking Soda, and Kelco Oats Fur Coats (nice cinnamon smell). With any shampoo, I dilute it enough so that it lathers up nicely but rinses out easily. The main thing to remember is to rinse VERY well, then rinse some more as any soap residue left on the skin will cause irritation.
Your puppy's breeder will probably have a shampoo that they like to use.

 

[Dean]

Dawn dishwashing detergent --- vet approved

 

[BrooklynBasset]

Thanks for the advice! This is our first puppy and I wasn't sure how soon or often you should bath them. I'm sure the breeder will inform me but it's nice to have this community here as well. Your mention of the "puppy smell" has me even more excited for the pick up on Saturday!

 

[JessieBrown13905]

Lambert-Kay Fresh N Clean Oatmeal N Baking Soda is what I use. I bathed my new puppy the first day we got him. I have used several different shampoos and I like the oatmeal n baking soda one the best. I bathe my dogs about 1x month.

 

[Lightning&Stomps]

Lightning has had about three baths in his life--twice when he was skunked and once just because. But his hair isn't as oily as a lot of hounds' can be, so he's never had the "corn chips" smell. Stomps' coat was the oily type that seems to be typical of hounds. He had the corn chips smell. But I liked it so I didn't bathe him either.

 

[Kirska]

Any suggestions for shampoo for Bassets? I'm picking up my new puppy any day now!

This is my absolute favorite shampoo and you can find it at Petco. It has a basset on the bottle so it's easy to spot.
Lambert Kay Fresh 'n Clean Oatmeal 'N Baking Soda Shampoo at PETCO

I just noticed that a few others recommeded it as well, so anyway there's the link

It smells good, not overbearing and not too fufu. My mutt has skin allergies and sometimes gets skin infections, but we haven't had any when using this shampoo. As long as you don't need anything medicated I definitely recommend it. The baking soda really helps with the hound odor.

 

[SophieB]

Thanks for the advice! This is our first puppy and I wasn't sure how soon or often you should bath them. I'm sure the breeder will inform me but it's nice to have this community here as well. Your mention of the "puppy smell" has me even more excited for the pick up on Saturday!

I just LOVE the smell of puppies and the softness of their coats and I wouldn't bath them for ages and anyway they don't need it unless you start showing them from about 6 months.

Towel dry (or warm hair drier) them if wet and give a good brushing and they'll be fine or you'll wash the natural oils from their coat. I always wash our dog bed/quilt covers and blankets regularly and that helps with keeping them smelling clean.

I have always showered our dogs in the downstairs shower (and it's easy to get shampoo out) as I have never let any Bassets up the stairs as it's bad for their joints, especially going down, when all that weight is put onto those little front legs!

 

[Boomer's Mom]

I have been using Oster brand puppy shampoo on Boomer. It isn't too sudsy, and rinses clean. I bathe him every week or 2 weeks, depending on what kind of wonderful things he finds to roll on in the yard. As he gets older, I expect to have to bathe him less, of course.

 

[SophieB]

Boomer's mum... do you not think that is too often to be bathing your Basset?
Can't you just sponge off the mucky bits from rolling? You will be washing all of the natural oils from his coat washing him that often!

 

[Boomer's Mom]

SophieB, thanks for your input, and I will do some reconsidering.

 

[Yogi's Mom]

Now that I have Yogi's skin issues under control and we can even use a normal shampoo for baths, he only gets bathed maybe four times a year, if that.

 

[Soundtrack]

As mentioned earlier, if my dogs have a lot of shows they may be bathed weekly or even more often. We have shows coming up four weekends in a row, then the Nationals, so my pups will be bathed 5-6 times over the next 6-7 weeks, maybe more if they get dirty. We've never had a problem from this BUT they are also brushed (which helps to stimulate the natural oil production) and I am very careful to make sure every speck of shampooo is rinsed out.

 

[SophieB]

Now that I have Yogi's skin issues under control and we can even use a normal shampoo for baths, he only gets bathed maybe four times a year, if that.

Glad Yogi's skin is sorted... just make sure you rinse out every bubble of shampoo because his skin would be irritated if not well rinsed... but then you know that! I have always used our downstairs shower room for our Bassets and our Spaniel and they all love the shower spray and it's so easy to give them a really good rinse compared to them having a bath!

 

[Boopus1965]

I am laughing at drying out the skin and not bathing them, I have had basset hounds for over 20 years and I suffer from severe outdoor allergies. My bassets have ALWAYS been bathed 1 time a week, starting with dawn, followed by Buddy Wash rosemary mint. I have never had a skin issue with a single basset, I will say I do feed a high quality grain free food. But Bella is just now 10 months and has had a weekly bath from day one coming here, more often with her typical get into messes that puppies do. So, you can bathe as often as you like.

 

[Boomer's Mom]

I've never noticed him scratching after baths, and his coat always seems smooth and not dry (thinking of the movie "Don't Mess With the Zohan" - 'silky smooth'). He is on a very good puppy food, only grain is rice. When I bathe him, I use a shower head that I hook to the faucet as it's easier to rinse him and get every bit of shampoo off. Of course, he acts like he's being tortured when he gets a bath.

So... it really doesn't really matter if I bathe him once a week or not, and also, why is Dawn recommended?

 

[Boopus1965]

I use Dawn to cut the oil in the coat the allergens I am allergic to cling to the oil, so I need to get it off of them first. (that is what they use on all the animals from the oil spills as well so yes it works and is safe, I prefer the lemon and baking soda one) Then I shampoo with the buddy wash rosemary mint followed by the buddy rinse rosemary mint conditioner to replenish any moisture I may have stripped. I have had to do this with all my dogs for years, they all love their bath I make it a time of deep message and they are mush piles when they are done from the relaxation. It is the only way I can own dogs I am not allergic to them just what they bring in on their coats, and it is worse on the bassets because of the oily coat then it is on my lab with his oil repelling coat. Two different kinds of skin and coat between the breeds.

Have fun!

 

[JAKEELVIS]

Dawn dishwashing detergent --- vet approved

Dawn dishwashing liquid is used at Tri State Bird Rescue to clean oil from birds. So it should be good enough for hounds!