How Often Can You Bathe A Goldendoodle Puppy?

With two growing daughters, my wife and I also have our beautiful mini Goldendoodle Lexie.  She is sweet as can be and fits perfectly in with our family.  She is very active, and yet at times, she knows when it is an excellent time to settle down and relax. 

She is small but the perfect size for our family, and we love her.    We know bathing is essential for everyone, including a Golden Doodle.  We realize that not everyone may know how often a Goldendoodle should be bathed, particularly a new and growing puppy.

Below, we offer insights into Goldendoodle bathing frequency when they are in the puppy stage and other tips to getting that adorable teddy bear fur baby clean and fresh.

Want to bathe your Goldendoodle on a schedule, but not strip natural oils or damage your dog’s coat? Here’s what you need to know about soap, keeping water out of ear canals, taking care of your dog’s skin, and what to do if your dog has sensitive skin.

We may bathe often, but bathing a dog too often can lead to dry skin, which causes itching in dogs.  A good bath session should include brushing and inspecting the puppy for ear infections, eye goop, and skin issues on the dog’s body that can go unnoticed under the dog’s hair. 

Grooming a Goldendoodle puppy should begin as early as possible in their life to promote acceptance of this task.  This breed requires a lot of grooming, so get them used to a routine early. Some dogs will enjoy it, while others may only mildly tolerate it.  The good thing is that puppies love to play, making it easier to undertake this ritual. 

Our Recommendation is to Take it Slow

The first session can be a bit of a challenge for Lexie, but they will become less nervous about the process after the first few months.  Many things can be done to reduce their stress, and other cleaning methods at the beginning will lessen a Goldendoodle puppy owner’s stress.

Having a puppy is a joyous time for a pet owner. We know it was for us when we adopted our beautiful Lexie.  All that loveable cuteness with all that energy and curiousness about life can be fantastic fun to have around the home.

As Lexie grew, she liked to go on little adventures around the house and our fenced-in yard, exploring and discovering lots of trouble.  These adventures often brought about mud, dirt, filth, and other debris that we often had to remove from our Goldendoodle’s coat and sometimes rinse off the excess dirt from our dog’s coat.

In those beginning years, we, too, were unsure how often we should bathe Lexie, she was a little puppy, and we didn’t want to cause any issues with her skin.   We found a perfect balance for bathing our cute teddy bear girl around once a month through research online and trial and error.  We would only clean her more if she got extra, especially smelly or dirty, and needed it.

In between those bath or shower times, we would brush her as needed with a slicker brush to remove tangles and prevent mats. If any mats have formed in their curly coats, you may need to cut them out with scissors or clippers.

Puppies need to learn early on that bath time can be a fun experience.  Regardless of how often a Goldendoodle puppy is bathed, it should always be positive since grooming is a lifelong task that they must accept and learn to enjoy.

How do I bathe my Goldendoodle puppy?

Those first bathing sessions were fun, where we ended up with just as much water on us as she did her, it was more like a family bath than a mini Goldendoodle puppy bath, but that was okay.

Treats, verbal praise, and games can make the bathing experience enjoyable for everyone, from that first initial wash down to old age.  These tools help keep it acceptable and fun for the whole family.

It is important to brush and comb a Goldendoodle puppy before they receive a bath.  Using a gentle grooming tool expressly designed for a puppy’s delicate skin can prevent their owner from harming them.  At this time, areas like the dog’s ears, eyes, skin, teeth, nails, and paws can be inspected gently and wiped clean or trimmed, as needed.

Any discovered issues can be addressed, and then they can be bathed with a  gentle dog shampoo free of fragrances designed for the unique needs of a puppy. You can follow this with a dog conditioner if desired. After this is done, offer a few treats and some much-needed praise.  Patience for the “likely so done with the bath” puppy may be necessary.  Overall it should be a positive experience for all involved, so everyone looks forward to the next time.

Gently towel drying or blow-drying if the Goldendoodle puppy isn’t too scared can speed things along if they are getting bored.  We had a window of time to get it all done in those beginning days, fast before Lexie got bored.  Thankfully her size made it easy for us to manage.

A final brushing should do the trick, and both you and your beautiful fur baby pup will be headed for the next adventure of the day.  It is highly recommended that a Goldendoodle puppy be bathed in a bathroom or possibly outdoors if the weather is tolerable.

Some people like to think that bathing a dog weekly or bi-weekly will prevent them from being dirty, and to a certain point, depending on the dog itself, this is partly true what comes in its place though, can be much more irritating to deal with, dry skin.

No one likes dry skin, puppies included, and it isn’t exactly like we can put a cream on their skin like we do our own.  can be irritating to a puppy that doesn’t understand and isn’t fully trained yet to chew and bite their fur.

This doesn’t mean that there won’t be times when a Goldendoodle puppy isn’t bathed more than once a month.  We had a few moments in Lexie’s puppyhood stage where she had to be washed twice a month or more to get rid of something extra stinky or dirty that she somehow located outside.

This is fine to do, as long as it doesn’t become a regular ritual.

What do I do if my Goldendoodle puppy doesn’t like a bath?

Not everyone enjoys baths at first, including us humans.  Making it a fun experience can go a long way to creating the right environment for acceptance.  If that doesn’t work, fur baby owners who have a Goldendoodle puppy can take a big step back, set up a tiny pool with a very small amount of water in it, and sit back and wait.

Curiosity is the name of the game when it comes to bathing a Goldendoodle puppy.  Depending on their unique pup personality, this may take a bit of time, a couple of sessions even, but throw in a few toys, and what Goldendoodle puppy can resist this fun?

We did this once when Lexie was a puppy, and it was a warm summer day.  At first, she was a little confused and scared, but it didn’t take her long to explore the big, giant water bowl, paws first!

If, after these sessions, a Goldendoodle puppy is less than enthused about a bath, their owner could undoubtedly join them in the tub for some water fun.  If that doesn’t have them getting all soaked and playing in the water, we don’t know what will.

Do I have to bathe a Goldendoodle puppy monthly, or can I go longer if they aren’t dirty or stinky?

Bathing a Goldendoodle puppy once a month is a guideline, not etched in stone.  While you don’t want to bathe them too often, bathing less often won’t harm them in any way unless they are dirty. 

If they become dirty and left in their fur, this can become difficult to remove later on; not to mention that it is unhealthy for the dog’s skin.

Should I have my Goldendoodle puppy bathed at the groomer every month?

While a groomer can make a Goldendoodle look adorable, at the puppy stage, there is no need to waste money and time for them to do a task that a Goldendoodle puppy owner can do at home.

Should the family be averse to doing it in their own home or yard, then a groomer will do a lovely job while offering them the experience of someone else handling them.  This is a passive way to socialize with the Goldendoodle puppy.

Grooming and bathing, whether at home or at a groomer, teach and train them while socializing them, which is beneficial for their mental and emotional development. 

They learn what is expected of them, and after a time, it naturally becomes a part of their life.  Let’s face it, who doesn’t love the cute little bow or scarf they wear when they come from the groomer?

In Conclusion

A Goldendoodle puppy should be bathed about once per month.  How often you bathe your Goldendoodle puppy is likely more informed by how dirty they get. This time frame is only a guideline as there may be certain times when they are bathed more or less than monthly.

Whatever the length of time, we can tell you, a freshly bathed Goldendoodle puppy is too hard to resist!

Related Content You May Find Interesting

Here are some more articles that may be of interest to you if you’re keeping a Goldendoodle puppy clean and healthy.

• A Goldendoodle, regardless of age, should be bathed no more than once per month unless they are very dirty or smelly.
• For a Goldendoodle puppy, you can wait 6 weeks to 2 months before giving them their first bath.
• Bathing a dog too often can lead to dry skin, which causes itching in dogs.
• Grooming a Goldendoodle puppy should begin early to promote acceptance of this task, as this breed requires a lot of grooming.
• Brushing and inspecting the puppy for ear infections, eye goop, and skin issues on the dog’s body should be done during a bath session.
• Treats, verbal praise, and games can make the bathing experience enjoyable for everyone.
• It is essential to brush and comb a Goldendoodle puppy before giving them a bath.
• A gentle dog shampoo free of fragrances designed for the unique needs of a puppy should be used, followed by a dog conditioner if desired.
• Gently towel drying or blow-drying can speed things along if the puppy isn’t too scared.
• It is highly recommended that a Goldendoodle puppy be bathed in a bathroom or possibly outdoors if the weather is tolerable.