I also do not bathe our dogs. I did when they were puppies and I do make them get into a tub I have outside to wash their paws, but other than that, I brush them with a shedding comb (has 2 lengths of teeth and is made of strong steel) and a brass bristle brush. I paid quite a bit of money for the brush - it is static-free and has never lost a bristle. I do brushing weekly year round and at least every 2nd day during shedding season (which is right now!) Be sure to lift up their ears and comb carefully under there; they get dreadlocks under there very quickly. I even use a very fine tooth comb for that part. Our dogs have gorgeous shiny fur without any dandruff or skin problems and they don't smell a bit doggy. I suppose if they ever rolled in something terrible or met a skunk I might have to bath them, but I'm hoping this never happens!

If your breeder is telling you to bathe your dog 5-6 times a year, then she must not be a breeder that shows her dogs!

Some show dogs are out in the ring almost every week, or every other week, and they are probably getting baths weekly or every other week before going into the ring.

If you use Oatmeal shampoo which is moisturizing and soothing, I doubt you'll dry their coat out. My Berner gets a batch a couple times a month as he too enjoys to roll around in rain and mud and he has a wonderful coat.

I will say that I brush his coat DAILY and typically that will get a lot of the daily dust off, but if not, into the shower we go! I live in the Chicago, IL area, and during the winter the snow cleans him off naturally, but during the summer, he get a lot more baths.

Most shampoos these days are not that drying like in the past...just buy a high quality shampoo just like you would buy a good shampoo for yourself. I also do put a conditioner on after the shampoo, and then while blow-drying him, I usually use a spray-on/leave-on conditioner/detangler made by an Australian company. Can't think of the name right now, but there is a kangaroo on the front of the black bottle.

Best of luck,
Gail and Finn

Originally Posted by Gail949

If your breeder is telling you to bathe your dog 5-6 times a year, then she must not be a breeder that shows her dogs!

Some show dogs are out in the ring almost every week, or every other week, and they are probably getting baths weekly or every other week before going into the ring.

If you use Oatmeal shampoo which is moisturizing and soothing, I doubt you'll dry their coat out. My Berner gets a batch a couple times a month as he too enjoys to roll around in rain and mud and he has a wonderful coat.

I will say that I brush his coat DAILY and typically that will get a lot of the daily dust off, but if not, into the shower we go! I live in the Chicago, IL area, and during the winter the snow cleans him off naturally, but during the summer, he get a lot more baths.

Most shampoos these days are not that drying like in the past...just buy a high quality shampoo just like you would buy a good shampoo for yourself. I also do put a conditioner on after the shampoo, and then while blow-drying him, I usually use a spray-on/leave-on conditioner/detangler made by an Australian company. Can't think of the name right now, but there is a kangaroo on the front of the black bottle.

Best of luck,
Gail and Finn

Ah our breeder!!! Its an interesting story... We live in Athens Greece and there are NO breeder for Berners here, so we had to look elsewhere. We found our breeder in Italy. They are very nice people with gorgeous dogs but we have one major issue with them... Communication barriers! They do not speak any English and I dont speak any Italian. During the months prior to getting our girl all the communication (email, phone calls) had to be done using translators it was so timeconsuming and aggrevating at times. So when I stated that we would not show or breed our pup they recomended how much to bathe but like other questions I have, Iam not sure things are not getting miscommunicated between the "translators"....

You'll just have to do what's best for you... if you bathe her lots and she doesn't dry out then awesome... It's very dry where I live in Northern Canada, so Toa gets very dry... I used to live in Southern Ontario and the humidity was awesome and there was no dry skin!

I use really good shampoo for Toa and he still dries out if I bathe him too much.

Give it a try and see how it goes

Dear Nubia's Mom,

Love that you are so dedicated to find a Berner you went on an international search!!! Nubia is a lucky puppy!

I am fortunate to live in a spot were there are quite a few breeders in adjoining states, so I have only had to go up to Wisconsin for my Finnegan and my puppy that I'm getting next week is from Michigan...a little further away, about a 6 hour car drive!

Best of luck with the bathing! Finn doesn't quite love getting into the shower with me for his baths, but afterward when I am brushing and blow drying his coat, he throughly enjoys the grooming time!

Gail

Originally Posted by Gail949

Dear Nubia's Mom,

Love that you are so dedicated to find a Berner you went on an international search!!! Nubia is a lucky puppy!

I am fortunate to live in a spot were there are quite a few breeders in adjoining states, so I have only had to go up to Wisconsin for my Finnegan and my puppy that I'm getting next week is from Michigan...a little further away, about a 6 hour car drive!

Best of luck with the bathing! Finn doesn't quite love getting into the shower with me for his baths, but afterward when I am brushing and blow drying his coat, he throughly enjoys the grooming time!

Gail

Hello Gail,
Thank you for your kind words. We tried very hard to find our baby girl, it was not easy as most breeders would not give us a pup to take out of their countries... I actually tried many breeders in the States but they all refused. On the one hand I completely understand but at the same time I was almost in tears eveytime someone turned us down. Even with our Italian breeder it was all uphill... They too were very reluctant to allow one or their pups out of Italy, but I guess we were able to convince them she would be loved and well taken care of in our home.

Little Nubia (well not so little as far as size) is worth it! I have had other breeds in the past but nothing had prepared me for the joy this fur ball has brought us all. Sometimes I think she is too perfect to be real. I watch her sleep and get that warm fuzzy feeling... I think I am hooked for life on Berners!

Have a wondeful day
Anna