Bath time tips please

Hi Guys

Does anybody else have problems at bath time?
Every time i try to bath Bruce he just goes nuts!! and we end up with water everywhere.
no matter how i try to calm him down, he just hates having a bath!
He dont have a fear of water, as he only has to see a lake or pool and he is straight in there swimming!
I have tried the dry and foam shampoo but i dont find it as good as giving him a propper bath!
Cheers for reading guys

Zeus does the exact same thing, anytime he goes near it he just spazzes out and wants to run out of it. I found that if you put a few of his toys in the bath, something hes familiar with, it calmed him down a bit, and also I didnt make too much of a fuss of it, just acted like it was normal and used gentle tones when I was talking to him.

We actually have the opposite problem. Suki loves baths but won't even think about going for a swim. They don't have to be bathed so often so you could rub him down with a wash cloth instead.

Pixee plays a game of oh no you wont catch me in the bathroom with door closed. I just stay calm and talk to her saying you will love the clean smell of your fur. Then calming go to her to scoop her up, by then she is pretty much calmer. To be fair the first one was a nightmare, but the more you do it, the better it does get.

Staffy lover wrote: To be fair the first one was a nightmare, but the more you do it, the better it does get.

Not in my house! Dempsey's got worse over time! If you try to call him into the bathroom now, he just disappears!

Caryll wrote:

Staffy lover wrote: To be fair the first one was a nightmare, but the more you do it, the better it does get.

Not in my house! Dempsey's got worse over time! If you try to call him into the bathroom now, he just disappears!

sorry but that has got me big time. Bet you have a game trying to find him.

Frank is happy to go in the Bath if I stand in it with him, but then the fun starts, he thinks its a game and lies down ... so i can wash his back but his belly and front paws (as he buries them under his chest) barely gets a look in and there always the really dirty part of him!!

Tara shakes like a leaf, she will jump in the bath, stand shaken while you wash her and then jumps out, and my mum always wraps her in a hot towel and gives her plenty of cuddles after the bath ... just one of those things where I think she is really unsure of it... Not sure of her past so it’s a working progress I guess.

We started ours off really young in the bath now we have to try stop her jumping into our bath when we are in it. Even when we have finished bathing her she wants to stay in the bath a yelps at the taps lol. she loves water

have you tried to give him a treat while they are in the bath ?

Moo doesn't get a choice, if she has been swimming she gets a wash. Pick her up and plonk her in the bath and rinse her with the shower, she just puts up and takes it in her stride.

I also started Tyson young and he loves his bath. So much so that he tries to jump in with me when I bath. This is not often as I prefer the shower. When he was little he used to join me in the shower as well. I used to'bath' my previous staffie in the shower and that was a mission!

All I can suggest is that you use treats to firstly coax him in and out of an empty bath and then add each step over time. May take awhile.

Well i dont have a bath tub, so Jabba gets washed outside in the sun. First i have to get everything ready to go, then i sit down with him between my legs & wrap his lead around my leg so he cant get away & he sooks & lays down & we both end up pretty wet!

I started both dogs young and tried making it fun with toys etc, they still DON'T like bathing. As soon as I run water in the bath the dogs just magically disappear.

If they realise it is for me, they have no problem lying in the bathroom with me, but if I don't get in, they stay just out of reach.

Caryll wrote:

Staffy lover wrote: To be fair the first one was a nightmare, but the more you do it, the better it does get.

Not in my house! Dempsey's got worse over time! If you try to call him into the bathroom now, he just disappears!

Yep legs it here too, to be found at the back of his crate as he knows I can't get him. I don't have to carry him upstairs anymore thank god as that was a mission in itself by the time I'd got to the top I was too knackered to bath him!

Bathed them both a couple of weeks ago and I think I was wetter than the pair of them!

I tie mine up outside and hosepipe them soap them up and hose them down

Look what we have nearby - I have yet to try it but I will................ when I summon up the courage

DIY doggiewash!

http://www.trendypooches.co.uk/Outdoor-Dog-Wash-----.html

Mark Walsall wrote:Hi Guys

Does anybody else have problems at bath time?
Every time i try to bath Bruce he just goes nuts!! and we end up with water everywhere.
no matter how i try to calm him down, he just hates having a bath!
He dont have a fear of water, as he only has to see a lake or pool and he is straight in there swimming!
I have tried the dry and foam shampoo but i dont find it as good as giving him a propper bath!
Cheers for reading guys

Try putting a (wet) towel/non slip mat in the bottom of the bath if you don't already as a lot of dogs just don't like that they can't get any grip.

Play a few games in the bathroom then play some in the bath without any water and without washing him to start with. When he's happy with that, add a little water into the equation, still without washing him. Gradually introduce more water and start wetting more and more of him but make sure you do it at a pace that means he's still happy enough to play.

He may never love it but should grow to tolerate it, especially if you have a really fun game of tug with the towel after or similar.

Never call him to get him to come to the bathroom/get in the bath, it will seriously damage your recall! Always go and get him

Kennys not a bath lover lol