How well does your dog tolerate bathing?

[Gempress]

Spinoff of PWCorgi's thread: How does your dog behave when being bathed? Does he/she behave well, or throw fits and temper tantrums?

Zeus and Voodoo are wonderful about baths. Neither of them like it much, but they don't fight it. I don't have to restrain them in any way. I don't even put a collar on them when I bathe them outdoors. They know the drill very well. They just stand there with a big *sigh* while I shampoo, rinse, condition, and rinse again.

Voodoo is the only who puts up a token protest, but that's only if I bathe them inside in the bathtub. And even so, it's not exactly a fight. He'll follow me into the bathroom, and jump into the tub when I tell him to. But once he's in the water, he goes limp. He'll literally sit down with his hind legs sprawled. His attitude seems to be, "I won't fight you, but I won't help you." It's like bathing a giant mound of Jell-O. He won't turn around when I tell him to, or do anything to make it easier. He just sits there like an inert lump while I grunt and shove and smoosh him into position to shampoo and rinse.

 

[JessLough]

She's behaved, she jumps onto the tub herself

 

[yoko]

Yoshi is great. She'll jump up into the tub and sit and lay down when I ask .

She'll even fall asleep if I let her soak long enough XD

 

[BostonBanker]

Meg looks absolutely appalled that you would betray her in such a manner - but she freezes and won't move while you do it.

Gusto screams like a hyena in heat and is like trying to hold onto a greased pig.

 

[Emily]

Both hate it but tolerate it. Mackenzy, who's afraid of literally nothing else in life, is horrified by the forced air dryer. Keeva also hates it but just lies down and waits for the end to come. LOL

 

[Laurelin]

Mine hate it but are resigned to the inevitable. They sit there and glare at you.

 

[maxfox426]

Morgan behaves very well in the shower. As I said in PW's thread, he begs to come in when he feels dirty. LOL! Once he's in, he just stands there as I scrub and rinse him, and will even let me turn him around in order to reach all sides. He doesn't look happy during the process, but he dances once we start toweling him off. He feels good afterwards.

The few times we tried to bathe him in the bathtub (as a puppy) was an unmitigated disaster. He HATED it. Flailing, scrambling, crying, etc. We haven't tried that again, the shower works so very, very well.

 

[PWCorgi]

His attitude seems to be, "I won't fight you, but I won't help you." It's like bathing a giant mound of Jell-O. He won't turn around when I tell him to, or do anything to make it easier. He just sits there like an inert lump while I grunt and shove and smoosh him into position to shampoo and rinse.

This is pretty much Frodo. He stays standing but everything has to be a struggle. And he wants his head away from the faucet (which isn't even running) at all times. Which is difficult since I really would like to bathe BOTH sides of him Turning him around is literally like pushing a statue around, he refuses to move his legs at all, lol.

 

[Brattina88]

They're both very well behaved. Maddie will jump into the tub herself with her wiggle-butt.
Bailey doesn't like it but she's very well behaved, and pretty much doesn't move until I'm done.

As for drying? Maddie is hilarious to towel dry! She gets very frisky and play bitey and won't sit still LOL
Bailey.... doesn't like it pretty much doesn't move until I'm done. :rofl1: And then zoomies ensue.

 

[Lyzelle]

Zander seems to think baths are a game. He has a whole complex about it.

First, he will absolutely refuse to go anywhere near the bathroom and get the zoomies. Then, when I least expect it, he'll run past me and jump in the tub. Then he'll sit still for 5-10 minutes. After that grace period, he starts screaming at the top of his lungs and starts trying to zoomie in/out of the tub.

When I finally let him go, he zoomies all through the house while I try to dry him off as best I can. Mostly, he just rolls all over the carpet like an idiot. More zoomies. More zoomies. Some peeing. Lots of barking. More zoomies.

Then he crashes on his bed where I finish drying him off/brushing him out/so on.

Meanwhile, I just sort of stand there. I'm never sure if I want to laugh because it's so amusing or cry out of sheer frustration.

 

[PWCorgi]

Oh, I forgot drying!

I have to keep him wrapped in a towl and furiously rub because as soon as he thinks he is free of the towel it is shaking time! And then he runs around the apartment like a wheelbarrow, head on the ground, front legs curled under and back legs pushing him along. It's lovely. -.-

 

[Maxy24]

He behaves but is scared. I think 99% of his discomfort comes from the sound of the shower and the act of having water squirted at him. He seems a bit better int he sink than in the shower. He is VERY stiff, tucks his tail, and just has a look of terror on his face. After I wet him down and start rubbing the shampoo in he gets comfortable again, tail comes up, his muscle relax, and he stops clenching his jaw. He'll shake off. Then when I rinse he stiffens up again and usually starts shaking a little. He might try to bail but is usually too stiff to move. He's never snapped, though he looks like he thinks about it when I spray behind his ears. I feel like a horrible person.

He goes in fine though, he jumps in by himself a lot and likes to hang out in the bathroom while I shower so he's not scared of the tub, just the process.

 

[NicoleLJ]

All the dogs are pretty good about being bathed. None will struggle or try and jump out. All know how to jump in and out now on command and turn when told too. Sheena and Luna both will give paws when asked too and shake on command as well or not shake when told not to. Daya is still learning. I wouldn't say any of them "enjoy" it though. They tolerate it is the better word. Their favorite part is the rub down after. We turn it into a huge wrestling match/massage and they all love that.

 

[MyHorseMyRules]

All three of mine hop right into the tub and stay there until the bath is done. They get a little goofy when you start drying them off with towels, but I kinda like that. lol Boone likes to get in the shower with me. The two girls will occasionally jump into the tub while it's empty and take a nap.

 

[sassafras]

Pip doesn't care for it, but he puts up with it. He is just filled with woe the whole time.

Before today, I would have said that Squash is terrified of the bathtub and absolutely hates them, but the other thread inspired me to give him a bath today and he hopped right in the tub and behaved quite politely. The only thing I can figure is that for his very first bath ever he slipped around a lot but after that I got a rubber bathtub mat... he's had a few baths since then and he must have learned that with the mat he doesn't slip and the bathtub really isn't a big deal.

Both the boys stand nicely to be toweled off and run around with extra turbo zoomies after, and Squash also rolls on every available surface.

Maisy, I have no idea. I've never bathed her. I suspect she would be like Pip.

 

[SkyRock]

Rocky behaves but he puts a face of terror and it's very hard to bathe both of his sides because he turns into a statue LOL. However, he hates when I blow dry him, he doesn't snap or bark or whine but he looks at me like I am murdering him LOL. His favorite part is when the whole process is over

 

[smkie]

i WAS going to give Pepper a bath, instead I ended up with Victor and NEccy too so rub dub dub 3 dogs in a tub. All my dogs have always loved their baths, but nobody loved them more than Mary. IF you filled the tub for your own self and left while it was filling, you came back to find her in it, with her neck under the faucet letting the water pour down.

I was told NEccy hated bathes. I had to show them the video of where all I had to do was call her and point and she got right in. Now I don't even have to do that. All I have to say is bath time and she runs in with a wagging tail and that's the truth. She knows it will make her old bones feel better and afterward the rub down is fun time too.

OF all the dogs I have had, it probably took Victor the longest to come around to enjoying it, and not just putting up with it.

Mary's Mom Tate use to fall asleep while I poured the water over her back. She would nod nod nod and dunk down would go her nose in the water where she would sputter as she woke up only to fall do it again. Something about pouring the water slowly down her back put her right to sleep.

 

[Shai]

Mine are in the resignation group.

They'll all hop into the tub for me on command and stay there til it's over and just stand in place but they look soooo very mournful throughout the horrid procedure.

Then as soon as they are freed they are filled with love and joy and zoom.


One of our dogs when I was a kid...big Lab...about 80lbs when trim...he would get his baths in a metal water trough like are used for livestock. I'd drag it up to the backyard. He was the most uncooperative dog ever...I'd have to tether him before getting the tub out or he'd hide...then once it was full I'd have to carry him (and at the time I was about 12 and didn't weigh much more than he did) to the tub, half-dragging...then I'd try to put him in and he'd reach for the rims so he'd end up standing with all four feet splayed on the rim and not a drop of lava, I mean water, on him. It probably didn't help that I would be laughing the whole way because he was just so melodramatic about it...this dog who loved to jump into creeks...

But yeah now I'm old and more easily broken and actually train my dogs so they have to put themselves in the tub

 

[Toller_08]

None of them really enjoy it. The Dobes do put on the saddest, most tortured face you've ever seen though, haha. And Ripley's a dweeb and hangs his head down so all the water runs down his face, so I have to hold his head up sometimes depending on where I'm rinsing. Dance doesn't look thrilled about a bath either, but she doesn't look quite as sad as Ripley and Keira.

But they have each been taught to hop into the tub on their own, stand, turn when I tell them, sit when I tell them, etc. And when I'm finished, they all know to shake before I release them, and then they hop out onto a towel on the floor, sit there, wait for me to dry them and wait to be released again. Bathing any of my dogs is super easy. The only part that sucks is the bending for me - by the time I'm finished everybody my back kills me. But the dogs themselves are wonderful. If only they could apply their bath time manners to nail dremeling... then I could never complain about any aspect of grooming them ever again.

 

[Tankstar]

neither enjoy it but both tolerate it like champs.

Blaze has been taught to shake on command and not to shake until I tell him.

Solo just sits there with those big sad brown beagle eyes that could melt the devil himself lol

Both will hop int he tub at home (though I barley bathe blaze at home)

At work is another story. my work is a old bungalow style house. downstairs is the bathing room, you have to go down 5 steps. Blaze will never willingly go down there, even if he is done his bath lol. He knows when its time, and will run to the reception room, or to our back jog a dog room (One of those doggy treadmills room) and hide. then i will grab his collar walk him to the main room, where the stairs are, and he will drop. and roll on his side wagging his tail like crazy, so then I slide him across the floors until we get to the stairs where he walks down. its actually pretty funny. in the tub at work. I dont hook him up with the tethers we have. he stands the whole time for Ly (our bather) and she does her magic lol.