European Dobermans Grooming Needs and schedule/How Often should you groom your european doberman?

    We often get asked: “how often do you bathe your Dobermans?”, “should I worry about causing dry skin by giving baths too often?”, and many other really great questions! So, we’re talking the time to answer the big ones, as well as lay out our grooming schedule for all of our European Dobermans. It’s not a one size fits all program, but we’ll lay out the fundamentals and the time frame you want to make sure to do at least each task on your European Doberman.

Bathing your Doberman

    There are a lot of different opinions on bathing dogs. There’s a prevailing opinion that you shouldn’t bathe your dog more than once a month, and that if you do, then you will have a dog with super dry skin and dandruff all the time! There is one main factor that should be your concern with how often to bathe your European Doberman; give your European Doberman baths often enough that they are pleasant to love on and have around. If your dog is too stinky and dirty to get pet and cuddled, then they’re too dirty! Clean your pup up so you can live with them happily! The potential for a little dry skin is not worth not wanting to have your dog around!
    We haven’t had a Doberman that bathing them once a week has caused dry skin/dandruff This may be because of the higher quality our European Doberman lines or that we always do conditioner after shampooing.

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​Regardless of your grooming schedule, after a day at the beach your pup will need a bath!

Nail Dremeling your Doberman

    Nail dremeling is superior to clipping nails in every way. Nail clippers cut the nail, but it begins by crushing until the sharpness of the blade starts to “kick in”. The initial crushing almost always causes pain, especially if you’re getting close to the quick. Even if you do get very close to the quick, it’s hard to shape well with clippers, though it can be done. If you do make a mistake, it’s usually going to be a relatively severe mistake, and you will want quikstop powder close by, because the nail is going to bleed heavily.
    Using a nail dremel by contrast is pain free (as long as you don’t dremel the quick). The vibrations of the dremel on the nail can be annoying to the dog, but nail dremeling is a very important part of their health. Nails that are too long will damage and change the bone structure of the foot, and the way the dog walks. So nails are one of the most important grooming tasks you can do for your European Doberman.

EAR CLEANING

    One of the great benefits of cropping ears is the resiliency to ear infections. This is because the ear being upright and uncovered lets water air dry, where natural ears keep the water trapped inside the canal. Where there is water, bacteria will grow, and then you get ear infections!
    Even with a cropped European Doberman, you will want to clean out their ears with an alcohol based ear cleaner frequently. Getting out dirt, sand, and ear wax will make sure they are comfortable and clean. Plus, European Dobermans LOVE having their ears cleaned out, you’ll find it’s their favorite part of the entire grooming process.

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TEETH BRUSHING

    The final grooming task we do for our European Dobermans is brushing their teeth. Every few months we will use dental tools and deep clean the back molars, but for frequent grooming we only use a tooth brush and tooth paste. It doesn’t take long, but using an enzymatic tooth paste and scrubbing for a few seconds goes a long way for healthy gums and fresh breath.
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    Thankfully European Dobermans don’t need hair cutting! So that is the end of our grooming tasks!

Recommended Grooming Schedules

Most Comprehensive

"Once A week"
-Nails
-Bath
    2 shampoos and a Conditioner (Wet dog, lather with shampoo, rinse and repeat, then lather with conditioner and rinse).
-Ear Cleaning
    Wet pad with cleaner, wipe out ear until clean
-Teeth Brushing
Monthly
-One week during the month, add dental tool scraping before brushing teeth

"Good Enough"

Biweekly
-Nails
-Bath
    2 shampoos and a Conditioner (Wet dog, lather with shampoo, rinse and repeat, then lather with conditioner and rinse).
-Ear Cleaning
    Wet pad with cleaner, wipe out ear until clean
-Teeth Brushing
Bi Monthly
-One week every two months, add dental tool scraping before brushing teeth

"Bare Minimum"

Monthly
-Nails
-Bath
    2 shampoos and a Conditioner (Wet dog, lather with shampoo, rinse and repeat, then lather with conditioner and rinse).
-Ear Cleaning
    Wet pad with cleaner, wipe out ear until clean
-Teeth Brushing

This really is a "bare minimum schedule" and is not a schedule you will want to do long-term. "Good enough" is a good long-term schedule, with "Most Comprehensive" being great if you want to be a super owner. As you do more grooming you'll find a schedule that works for you, like weekly bath and teeth, with biweekly nails and ears or something to that affect. Do what works for you and your dog.

Here's a link to all the products that we recommend.  .

Shampoo - The shampoo is the best we've ever used, and has the longest lasting sent of any shampoo we've found.
​Conditioner - Same scent as the shampoo, highly recommend after shampooing to keep skin and hair hydrated and soft.
Nail Dremel - You don't want a cheap Oster dremel, they break very quickly and battery powered and powerful enough for your needs.
Nail Dremel Heads - Replacement heads for the nail dremel when the ones it comes with wear down.
Ear Cleaning Solution - Alcohol based that smells great and dries the ear completely, preventing ear infections.
Ear Cleaning Pads Washable - For cleaning the ears, machine washable and reusable.
Ear Cleaning Pads Disposable - Throw away after one use.
Dental Kit - For scrapping plaque.
Tooth Brush - No need for a dog specific brush.
Enzymatic Toothpaste - Enzyme toothpaste that breaks down plaque and bad breath (fluoride is poisonous to dogs, so dog toothpaste only).