Lab Cross with Itchy Skin.?

Question

I'm having a common sense problem with my significant other.

We brought our lab cross dog to the cottage this weekend. She had just got a bath last week because we had been at the cottage last weekend as well, and she had got very dirty. She gets a lot of sand in her coat and just itches almost constantly.

After this weekend at the cottage, she is itching very badly and I told my S.O she needs a bath. He is going into a fit saying he has done research that says you cant bathe a dog that often, yada yada.

First of all, labs are notorious for itchy skin. Second of all, the dog is dirty, she needs a flippin bath.

AM I WRONG? Should we let her itch and scratch like a maniac because she's already had two baths this month? Will giving her another bath to clean off the sand and crap really make her worse in the long run!!?

Seriously, this seems really common sense to me, but does anyone have any info that I can show my S.O so he can stop arguing with me.

Answer 1

Hi there
Well you can tell him My neighbors Across the street spend their summer camping @ the lake and they have a female lab
They do come home quite often as we live 10 minutes from the lake but Lady is given a bath almost weekly as she gets full of sand and she is itchy also and My neighbor is a clean fanatic and cannot stand the Sand in her carpet in the house so before Lady is allowed in the house she is bathed so A bath once a week will not hurt your Dog Just make sure you use Johnson's Baby Shampoo as to not irate her skin any more than it is already iterated
Good Luck to you

Answer 2

Labs tend to have dry skin, and bathing them too often dries their skin out more, but if they need a bath, don't just let them run around smelling up the place. There are shampoos for dogs that will help keep their skin from drying out so badly, like an oatmeal shampoo. Also, if you put some fish oil on their food regularly, it helps keep their skin from being so dry in the first place. There are other, more expensive, food additives you can get at the pet shop, but our vet said fish oil is very good, and even cooking oil would be better than nothing.

Answer 3

She needs a bath. She is dirty and got into something that made her itchy, possibly sand fleas or just the sand itself.

In general, you shouldn't bathe a dog too frequently but you obviously bathe a dirty or itchy dog.

This site seems to make the case:

http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/NewsReleases/listdogbathing40306.html

Answer 4

If your dog is itching, she may have an allergy and you should get some medicine for it. (OTC human allergy pills are usually ok, but check with your vet) Your SO is right, you shouldn't bathe your dog too often, but if she is dirty, then obviously clean her. First you should try brushing her to get the dirt/sand off and then check her skin for rashes or irritation. Good luck!

Answer 5

Make sure she doesn't have fleas or tics. That will cause her to scratch constantly to the point of damaging her skin. Use a good flea & tic repellent http://www.1800petmeds.com/pdetail.asp?SK=10464 and a collar.

Try a nutritional supplement. This one is added to your dog's food. http://www.marketamerica.com/PULSE99/index.cfm?action=shopping.uoProduct&storeID=168&prodID=5602

Answer 6

i would bathe her
benedryl really helps
even the cheap stuff from the dollar store