Fear of water

[Kaitlyn]

My female and male doodles are fear of water. I would like to know how do you train them properly not to be afarid of water?  When I bathe them last summer my male doodle shook the most than my female doodle. Thanks Kaitlyn

[Sorana, Darwin and Chance]

Are they afraid when you try to bathe them in the bathtub, or with a hose?  Or are they afraid of getting in bodies of water, like lakes or the ocean?

 

From the experience with my doodles, I can tell you that it took a little while to get them used to being bathed in the bathtub (I have a long hose on the shower), and lots of treats throughout the process.  The older doodle (Darwin), used to be afraid and just shake and cringe while in the tub as a pup.  Now he jumps into the bathtub when I point to it, and stays there patiently while I soap and rinse.  After he jumps out onto the towel and I dry him off, he feels awesome and proceeds to zoom around the house at maximum speed, which is really funny to see.  The little one is just a pup and has only had two baths so far.

Make sure you're using warm water, because cold can be quite uncomfortable for them (they will shiver).  And give lots of treats to make it a good experience until they get used to it.  You can also desensitize them to the tub by having them jump in, treating, then releasing them back to play.  You can do this once a day for a while until they're both okay with that part (practice with each dog separately). Then, advance to having them jump in, treat, stay there while you briefly turn on the water, treat, dry their feet, treat, and let them go back to playing.  Practice with each individually until they seem okay with the process.

 

 

[Kaitlyn]

My male dog is afraid of the hoses when he is being bathe. I use rapid bath for my booth doodles. When I take them to the groomers he does not like the bath, the groomer told me . I'll practice with them each to not be afraid of the water.