How Often do you Bathe your dogs??

[VallejoSheltie]

Don't know if this will help, however Boots also initially was not overly thrilled with grooming. So, I just made it a habit of grooming after a long dog park excursion when he was naturally pooped out. Along with that, I rewarded him with treats at the beginning, laf-way through and at the end.
As time went on, I cut back on the treats, and now I usually will pop him one at the end after he's been patient. He has incorporated this activity as normal, and likes to relax on his side and rest.

Did the same with bathing, and he now will come when called into the bathroom after seeing me get his dog bath towels, and jumps right into the bathtub for his bath. Even have him trained pretty well not to shake until we are down and I can hide behind the shower curtain.
Again, done primarily after a good long dog park visit.

Now that I think about it, the fact that it happens every week or two may b key to making it seem more 'normal' for him.

Also, picked up a real water bottle sprayer at HD for $3-4, and pre-mix shampoo and water in it. Shampoo lasts a lot longer, and its easier to get him entirely covered without just dumping a quarter of the bottle on him. Also makes it easy to add a few drops of Tea Tree oil or other anti-flea essential oils to the mix.

Finally, still have to recommend the Trader Joes $3.99 Body Wash. Almost entirely essential oils, cleans him well and seems to condition his fur and no fleas and only 1-2 ticks in the past year. And we go to the local dog park 4-5 times a week, and they have a lot of trails/open areas nearby that are tick infested.

HTH

Originally Posted by littleplate

Internette, your story sounds exactly the same as the one I have with my rescued sheltie Mia. When we first rescued her, she was barely 19 lbs and was shaved with a 0" cut due to bad matted fur full of her own faeces (puppy mill rescue). She also came with a bad stench. We took to bathing her biweekly because initially I thought it was all the walking around in the rain that did it (Oregon, sheesh).

But I figured it was just her after a while! I give my cats Nutra oil to help with their thick coats, and I had just started giving Mia that too when we first got her. After about a month of double the daily dosage (to help with the weight and other issues as well) her stink just dissipated, and in another couple of weeks it went away almost completely.

Maybe consider adding a pump of fish oil to Chauncey's food? I like to add it to 2 tablespoons of wet food for Mia. Maybe that would help :)