Problems at bath time

I am struggling to find ways of getting Harley used to having a bath, I put him in and he freaks he struggles to jump out and can not tolerate having the water poured on him. Today I tried a rubber duck and some cut up bits of ham but he wasn't interested he jumped out and shook soap everywhere  . I even got soaking and tried to sit in there with him to reassure him.. things we do for our fur babies  Any suggestions ??

Does he like water at all then Beth? Marley jumped out the first few times a bathed him, but out on walks I encouraged him to go in rivers and since then he will tolerate a bath just not on his face. My terrier I had growing up hated the bath his whole life! No matter what we did he just didn't like it, think so,e dogs just ain't a fan! Sure You will get better advice when others see it

I had to shower Maya after she got slutched up walking her earlier, she doesn`t mind a shower so much, but i`ve never tried her in the bath. So what i am trying to say Lol, is, if you have a shower hose/head, just try that

I very, very rarely bath my dogs but if one does roll in something I prefer to sponge it off.

Hes a bit of a baby Emma and only goes in the river up to his ankles then has a zoomie and runs out again. Mind when he was a small pup he would walk around puddles and wouldn't go out in the rain at all lol so hes much better just hates the bath.

Marley is exactly like that! Only goes to his ankles unless a throw a ball into a deep bit then he dives in realises its deep and shoots out and he walks around puddles haha and won't go out in the rain he hols himself all day till it stops haha! Aw I have to give Marley a bath after a while he stinks

Suki hates the water so when we do have to bathe her we use the shower

Milo hates water so I gave up with the bath and bathe him outside now when its warm. I put his harness on and his long training lead, then fill a large bucket with luke warm water and a jug. I don't hold him tight, just loose and then gently pour the jug of water over his feet first letting him walk around if he wants to and talking to him all the time then coaxing him back to me pour the water further up his legs until over his back. By this time he's usually more relaxed and I can rub some shampoo into him. I don't do his head by the way. Then I rinse in the same way. He's getting better each time - but I reckon its because he can walk around without restriction (to a point) - and going slow and gentle talking helps. He loves the drying and the belly rubs after - oh and I give him a nice treat as soon as I finish the rinsing. Good luck x

Emmahammond25 wrote:Marley is exactly like that! Only goes to his ankles unless a throw a ball into a deep bit then he dives in realises its deep and shoots out and he walks around puddles haha and won't go out in the rain he hols himself all day till it stops haha! Aw I have to give Marley a bath after a while he stinks

I love your Marley - he looks so much like Milo lol xx

Thanks Jenny I will give this a try I think it may well be he feels trapped and panics in the bath Hopefully he will be more accepting outside where he can move around as he doesn't mind sticking his head under the watering can when I'm trying to water the plants lol

Haha thanx Jenny they do look similar milo is stunning

I'm not sure sorry. I shut the bathroom door just so he can't escape as the word 'bath' makes him bolt a mile let alone seeing it , then I grab him and put him in and he spends most of his time trying to escape so i make it as quick as I can and tonnes of praise for the 5 mins til it's all over and he can run off and glare at me from afar

It def helps that Milo can walk around a bit while I pour the water on him. Lots of treats to to tell him he's a good lad lol x

PS - when its hot and I use the hosepipe to do the garden he'll drink from it and start playing as long as I don't point it directly at him. Even jumps through it too now and again so thats a good game to play and it tires him out yey . He's gradually getting braver lol

Use the shower head beth and just sponge harleys head i tend to do this with mia and she tolerates it more just be quick use a collar hold him by the collar and wash him with your other hand .

We only wash our dogs when they are filthy or have rolled in something stinky. I usually just get a bowl of water and sponge wash them, but they're also used to a kiddie paddling pool and using that is easy too.

Our oldest dog was terrified of the pool at first (was fine if it was empty but hated it when it had water in - and this is our dog that dives into ponds and canals!!). We counterconditioned it to him over a period of weeks - he's sensitive so at first we rewarded him (with high value treats) for stepping into it with just a few mm of water, then gradually increased the depth. Finally got to the point where he will wade through a good 6 inches, which makes washing easier

b_phippsy our Staffy was the same as a puppy and would walk around puddles (or if she couldn't walk around, stand and wait for us to pick her up!!) but she overcame that...wades in ponds and the sea now, but still hates the rain!