People in the dog grooming business are frequently asked by their clients how often they should bathe their dog. This is a very common question because dog owners want to keep their pets in tip-top condition.

They are worried that if they bathe their dog too often it will cause dry skin, but if you don't bathe your dog often enough we all know the dreadful consequences. Especially if it's been raining outside. Because it's a well-known fact that the smell of an unwashed, wet dog is enough to put Rosanne Barr off her dinner.

This issue of shampoo causing dry skin is a very common misconception. A lot of vets will tell you that dry skin on a dog can be caused by bathing too frequently. But, unless you're using a particularly harsh shampoo and/or your dog has particularly sensitive skin, it is most unlikely that you'll cause such a condition. A far more important factor in maintaining healthy skin with the correct balance of natural oils is a good diet. If you make sure that your dog eats properly, you'll most likely find that his skin and coat are kept in great condition no matter how frequently you bathe him.

If you are in any doubt about this, just ask anyone who enters their dogs into shows. Most show dogs will receive a bath every single day. I wouldn't recommend such frequent bathing for most dogs because it is simply unnecessary. However, weekly bathing is absolutely fine provided you use a gentle shampoo and follow up with a good conditioner to replace the natural oils that are lost during a bath.

One common mistake to look out for if your dog has a skin condition, particularly if you are using a medicated shampoo, is not to bathe your dog so often that you defeat the purpose of bathing at all. If you do this the dog's sebaceous glands can become over-active in a bid to replace the oils lost during washing, which can easily make the problem worse rather than better.

An important factor in deciding how often to bathe your dog is how much your dog enjoys the act of washing. If your dog runs a mile every time he hears you running the bath, or creates mayhem whenever you take him into the bathroom, you'll want to minimise the amount of time you spend bathing him. If however your dog is one of the few who really loves bath time, you could end up being talked into giving him a bath just for fun, even when he doesn't really need one.

So, although the choice of how frequently you want to bathe your dog is purely subjective, depending on how dirty and smelly he is as well as how much hassle it is, you might just be best following the rule of thumb that a bath once a month keeps on top of the cleaning aspects of the task without generating too much extra work for you and stress and hassle for your dog.