Bath time

[Claire Ellery]

Lucy has had 2 baths at home now (she is 9 weeks old). Her first, my husband locked her in the bathroom and it may have been a bit traumatic. I think he gently sat on her at one point to assert dominance. Since then, we've fed her in the bathroom, fed her in the tub, etc. Today I gave her a bath and she was a little shy in the bathroom but came in okay. However in the tub, she kept trying to get out and was on her back two legs the entire time. I did feed her lots of treats, but she was not a fan of the experience. 

Afterwards I tried to comb her and she kept trying to nip/bite and was barking (which she doesn't do very often). We eventually came to terms and I gave her some good belly rubs and play time but:

Does anyone have any great tips on how they got their dog to love bath time? I've done a lot of reading but would like to hear some experiences. Thanks!!

[Sarah & Dahlia]

Dahlia did the exact same things when she was around that age. It honestly didn't get better until she turned a year old. Now she actually walks into the shower on her own! I like to think it was a combination of time and practice. She just has to get used to
the whole process still.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Yes, time and pleasant experiences for her in the tub. I think it's pretty normal for them to get out and then have sudden, crazy energy (zoomies!) when wet. Unless you sit her down immediately with the blowdryer and more treats you can pretty much expect the zoomies, lol. It's all the excitement of it, and it's so new for her - new sounds, objects, experiences - all the stim gets them riled up. If you want her to chill, try the no talking, no eye contact rule while you're with her. Do everything really slowly, with praise and treats, and talk softly if at all. Project calm and confidence. Have fun!! :-)

[Lynda Kamrath]

I didn't like bathing the dogs in the bathroom, so I had my husband build a dog wash area when he made the new laundry room.  It has tables on each side of the double sink and a warm water sprayer to spray them down.  They get out on the tables to be dried with Shamwow towels and then the blow dryer.  They don't seem to mind at all and even though the tables are 36 inches tall, both dogs will jump up onto the tables to get brushed or groomed.  I lift them down off the tables because I don't like them jumping.

Actually, we sometimes go to the rehab pool for a swim and they have a great dog wash area there for after a swim.  Nice warm water and they don't mind that at all.  I guess best info is to make it comfortable for them so they trust you.  My dogs are fine with bathing and grooming.  Get her used to it early, especially if she is going to be in (or on) your bed.  (This is the dog wash area right next to the pool.)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Your puppy was terrified, NOT defiant.  Asserting dominance or punishing for trying to get out of the tub is not the way to go.  Why has she needed two baths already?  If you are just trying to get her used to a bath, don't do the entire procedure at once.  Just put her in the tub and treat her - nothing else.  Do this lots of times. When she is not scared of being set in the tub, turn on the water when she is there. Do that for a while.  Then get her wet  . . . and so on.    Do this over a period of weeks. 

Since it is summer time, you could wash her with your hose on a patio.  Fasten her leash to something.

However you bath her, get all of your supplies together and prepare to get wet!

[Missy]

9 weeks is still very young!!  sat on her? how big is she?  I can only imagine that experience both for him and her. :)

I was given some great advice when we brought home our puppy.  (we got ours at 9 weeks) The pups are learning what the world is about and they will learn what we want them to do. 

So, knowing we were going to have to do the grooming thing, we started brushing and combing every night.  At first, it was let the puppy sniff the comb, get the puppy used to it being combed over, teaching the puppy to sit still. And building the trust between puppy and human.  By week 12, our puppy looked forward to the nightly grooming session, like it was his nightly massage. 

I am a chatter, and I sing and chat to our dog as I am doing things to him.  telling him what a good boy he is..how beautiful he is, etc.  And I did that on our first dog bath experience too.  No treats.  I did have everything out and ready, so it was place dog in tub.  let him sniff the sprayer. chat about what it will do for him.  spray his feet, let him lick the water.  sing the bubbles song.  pup started shaking..took a towel and dried his face..kisses and more chatting.  he lifted two paws on side of tub..I placed feet back in tub, saying not now..we have to scrubby that body.  then it occurred to me he might be cold, so I plugged the tub so the warm water would fill up around his legs.  this seemed to help.  quickly wash and rinse. when getting to the end, let the water drain out and spray off the legs, then I wrap him in a towel, and pick him out of the tub swaddled up.  place swaddled bundle in my lap, wipe his face.  clean out his ears (water cleaner from vet). then run a comb thru his face.  talking the whole time!! we tried to use the dryer, but that freaked him out too much.  (vet later said the noise might be hurting his ears), so we towel dry off.  then let him run crazy!!  I have several towels that I let him run from one to the other and he rolls and face dives into for 20 minutes.  this pretty much dries him off.  hours later, I run a comb/brush thru entire coat.

if your pup is not used to the comb...start teaching her the comb is a friend.  do this in stages.  then as others stated, place in tub (no water) for short periods of time.  work your way up in time, to teach her it is not scary.

I am wondering if since she is 9 weeks and two baths, did she have a messy poo? if that is the case, no time to teach.  So, just make the experience as quick as possible. She is learning to trust you. and as long as you make it a positive experience for her, she will obey and take a bath.  (that means no more sitting on her!!) lol 

this is a great place to learn!! all dogs are different, but you will learn what works for you and your pup!! you can do this!!

[Laura and Angus]

Our puppy is 11 months now and while he doesn't love bathing he'll stand still in the bath. It just takes many positive experiences (or neutral experiences) until they know that it's okay in the bath. Just make sure the water is lukewarm...not hot or cold. I agree with what else has been said here. There is no reason to "assert dominance" with a baby puppy...especially when you're trying to socialize them to new experiences. It is all about easing them in to every new experience and teaching them what is an is not appropriate in the house. 

With brushing/combing, we always did it where one of us would hold a treat in front of the puppy and the other would gently brush. It is important to brush before you bathe to avoid tangles. We don't even try to brush our puppy after the bath because of the "zoomies." I usually wait until he has calmed down - generally I wait until our pup is calm and resting to do brushing.

[Claire Ellery]

Thanks for the great advice everyone! And I have to apologize for the horrifying image I may have created.  My husband didn't literally "sit" on Lucy. He knelt on his knees over her while holding her in place, so none of his body weight was on her. It was something we saw on youtube during a video on being the "leader of your pack". Maybe 9 weeks to too young to be doing that sort of stuff (like being the first to walk through doorways, and drinking something first before you give them food, etc." But I promise he didn't hurt her and we definitely don't SIT sit on her.

But thank you for the input--I think we just have to keep doing what we've been doing as far as feeding her/playing with her in the bathroom and tub and just be patient. I guess I forget how much of a baby she really is! We were planning on giving her a bath whenever she starts to get stinky, which ended up being about a week apart. We use an oatmeal conditioner for her skin, but I talked with a coworker today who said their natural oils are best to try and keep  on them for as long as possible. Any thoughts on how often is best for a puppy/ adult dog?

I suppose the take away is try different things but whatever you do make it fun and be patient :)  And I love the word "zoomies"!

[Laura and Angus]

I think you're doing okay. I wouldn't worry about "how often" to wash your pup as an older dog...we just wash our dog when he gets stinky or excessively muddy (haha) - that ends up being a couple times a month tops. Otherwise, we have him groomed every 6-8 weeks to get everything (ears, cut, wash, and paws clipped). 

I also wanted to mention that "pack leader" and "dominance" training is an outdated and no longer widely accepted as the best way to train a dog. There is TONS of information about teaching your dog how to exist in your home without using those methods. Although, I will tell you that our trainer taught us some "leadership" strategies to use at home with our puppy who is very high energy - you hinted at some of it, but imo you don't have to drink something first before feeding your dog. Some strategies we use at home to teach patience and that we are in charge in the house: we make our guys Angus sit and wait until we say "ok" to go out the doors, leave the car, and get his food. We also use "blocking" like you mentioned - our trainer taught us to physically block him from trying to rush past us in narrow spaces (e.g. stairs, hallways, and doorways). This made a HUGE difference. It is more about safety and manners than anything else-  you don't want a large adult dog rushing past you on the stairs!

Anyway, for more insight on training I found the Zac George YouTube videos to be extremely helpful! He uses a similar training style with positive leadership and teaching methods. You should also check out the Training group on this site - lots of great resources and suggestions!