Bathing my dogs: A difficult challenge
I adopted Tommy right from the streets and his first ever bath was my first ever time handling a dog while bathing it.
I was scared about him biting me when I pour water on him!! Thankfully, he is a friendly creature and obliged. My next dog was Blackie.
He is an extra docile dog, so during his first bath, i was confident I could handle him. He, however, was sceptical and shivered a lot. I became extra confident about handling him, but my two dogs were soon to turn the table on me.
The conspired and formed a team on the bathing days. If I took one of them for a bath first, the other one would not let me catch it. What more, the newly bathed one took special pleasure to play with the dirty one right after its bath. I hated it.
So I decided to bathe the two them together. I caught hold of Tommy, shut him inside the bathroom, and went straight for Blackie. It was a struggle (he weighs 30kgs and to lift him is a lot of exercise for my biceps!).
The minute I opened the bathroom door to take Blackie inside, Tommy; before I could realize what was going on, dashed out.
I learned a lesson that day. Now what I do is: leash them, and slowly take them by the leash to the bathroom!! This is the easiest method I have discovered till date!
If I don’t give them other hints of an upcoming bath session, they willingly come with me once I put the leash on them. Few dogs find it easy to resist going on a stroll… that is until they find out that their destination is the bathroom.
Blackie is very smart though: if I open a faucet in the bathroom with a bucket below to fill, on a sunny afternoon, his looks will clearly tell you that he has got the hint!!
Once I was filling the bucket to wash my clothes, and he went and positioned himself on the bed firmly, watching my every move! They are such adorable fools!!
One thing I don’t quite understand is why Tommy has to go and check the bathroom so many times after the bath. What is he looking for there?
This is a guest post by Dr. Manik Godbole: One of the most active INDog enthusiasts in Mumbai.
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This post has 2 comments
July 1st, 2008
I have to literally carry my mutt (also a street rescue) to the tub and plunk him in.
Funny thing is my lab, who HATES water, will jump into the tub on his own as soon as I get Rusty out.
July 5th, 2008
Nona,
I always thought labs love water, your dog may be a sub-conscious water lover after all! Anyway, it could be that your two dogs have a sibling thing going on, where if one of them gets to spend time with you (even in the tub), the other one will want to do the same as well.