At What Age Is Bathing A Puppy Safe?How Often Should A Puppy Be Given A Bath?
If you have obtained a new puppy that is at least 6 weeks of age, it is fine to go ahead and bathe her if she needs it. However, do not continuously be giving puppy baths, as too many will dry out her skin. Golden Retrievers should only be given a bath when they obviously need one. 
Regularly brushing her coat does a much better job of keeping her fur clean and healthy and reduces the amount of baths she will need.If you are raising a litter of puppies, wait until they are at least 5 weeks old before bathing. Momma will keep them clean until then. If you have to bath a couple of the pups, make sure that the house is very warm and that you dry them as thoroughly as possible. It is best to “mop” the puppy in the dirtiest places, rather than giving them a full “soak 'em wet” bath. You do not want them to get chilled. Never use human shampoo or dish soap for bathing a dog. Use puppy shampoo or dog shampoo that says it is safe for puppies. And never use any type of flea shampoo on a pup that is younger than 12 weeks of age. Follow the same procedure for your pup as you would for bathing an adult dog. If you are using a topical flea preventative, you will want to watch the timing of bathing your puppy, so that the ointment works as it is suppose to. Once your Golden Retriever reaches 8 weeks of age, you may want to give her an occasional fake bath, about every 3 weeks, for a couple of months. This fake puppy bath is to help her learn that getting one is not anything to be afraid of, so using shampoo is not even necessary, just plain water will be good enough. After she gets over any initial fright, bath time should be something that she either tolerates very well, or even looks forward to!
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