Splish Splash

[Heidi & Milton]

On our daily walks, Milton delights in running through sprinklers and toweling off in the plush grass.  Since the Milt sheds only slightly, his fur quickly becomes matted down with dirt, grime, and an assortment of leaves, sticks, and burrs that he saves for later.  He then proceeds to nap throughout our apartment spreading the wealth. 

Quite honestly, we could bathe the Milt every night, but it is enough work to keep ourselves clean on a regular basis, plus it is just not healthy for his fur.  Bathing a dog too frequently, like washing your hair, can rid the fur of essential oils and lead to a dull coat.  So, we try to stick with at least one bath per week to keep him smelling fresh and his coat bright and shiny.  We want people to be able to pet the Milt without sniffing their hands with obvious disdain.

When we bathe the Milt, we always corner him in the bathroom and shut both doors, so there is no possible escape route.  For this particular bath, it was a mans' affair while Momma photographed.

Getting ready to take the plunge

Surprisingly enough, our goldendoodle is very calm and composed when taking his bath.  He just stands there with his eyes averted and lets us soap him up, scrub him down, and rinse him off.

Waiting patiently to be done

Sometimes the Milt tries to make a mad dash for it, but we usually body block him and yank him back in.

The below are our main bath essentials:

        

 

We use a specific puppy shampoo, Perfect Coat Tender Care Puppy, which is more gentle on Milt than adult dog shampoo.  We have really enjoyed our bath mitt which allows us to scrub deep down into the Milt's fur and pull some of the grime out.  Of course, you need a giant cup, like the free fast food ones, to rinse your dog off.  Our cup of choice is Dickey's BBQ.

The Milt has special ear wipes to clean out those floppy ears because dogs with larger ears are especially prone to trap water leading to infection.  Last, we have a fur catcher for the drain, but although it is a cool product, with Milt's little shedding, we haven't needed it yet.

Almost all of our bath supplies were a perfect "doggie shower" gift from my good friend, Danielle, who conveniently ordered them from wag.com  If you have never visited this website, check it out because they have loads of fun products at good prices.

Shaking it all out

Of course after a bath, everyone knows that dogs go absolutely bananas while they dry off.  Milton follows the rule, not the exception.  After we towel him off as best we can, he takes it upon himself to finish the job.   He enjoys racing around the apartment at breakneck speed in circles, of course, and furiously rolling on the floor in an attempt to get that fur back to normal.  It probably is a good idea to vacuum before you bathe, so more "stuff" does not get caught up in that now silky fur.

After Milt dries a bit, Daddy likes to brush out our doodle to get rid of any of the little excess fur he has and to root out all of the stuck articles.  We have two brushes:

The smaller brush has been great for puppy because it has really small, close bristles that pick out obtrusive items very easily.  The larger brush has thicker, less closely aligned bristles that will work better when Milton is older with denser fur.

Milton may not enjoy his bath time, but at least he tolerates it.  I can't say that I like my own shower every time.  It's just one of those things you got to do (in polite society).

[Rachel and Ollie]

I love the mit, I need to look into one of those. All of this looks very familiar with Ollie :) We even use the same Dickey's cup! 

[Heidi & Milton]

ooo, that showerhead looks nice.  We might have to!  Jeff is the king of Amazon, Ebay, etc...

[Meridith and Lola]

No Need to wait for a house.  You can get this to attach to the shower:  

http://www.amazon.com/Rinse-Ace-Pet-Shower-Deluxe/dp/B0002ZINFW/ref....

I started with the cup but fortunately quickly realized it was not the most efficient.  I got one of these and it reduces the time significantly and gets them much cleaner.

Good luck.

[Heidi & Milton]

The pull down shower head is such a good idea, J!  Whenever we finally get a house, that is a must!

Willow, thank you so much for the compliment!  I am happy you like reading about our Milt so much.  We adore him!  Posting on doodlekisses and my blog, goldilocksandherdoodle, has been AMAZING!

Lindsay, let me know if you need any pointers!  We are not experts yet on the whole bath thing, but we spot check Milton all the time too.  I don't think our apartment will ever be as clean as it was pre-Milt...

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Awwww Milt...you look so cute all spit shine clean :)

[Lindsay & Leo]

Such a timely post! I'm planning to give Leo his first full bath this week while my mom is here to help. So far I've only had the courage to attempt spot-area wipedowns and a water-only rinse for my squirmy little fellow :)

[Willow and J]

Reading about Milt has become my favorite activity on the internet! I am barely suppressing the puppy fever everytime I see his pictures!

I like Buddy Wash and Nature's Dog brands for Willow's bath, both liquid and solid soaps from them. We tried a couple more "all natural" "mild" brands, but not all "mild" soaps are equal, and Willow used to scratch after baths even on oatmeal formula before we found the right ones.

This summer, it's been so dry and we've been bathing her every week or 10 days, but she usually gets a bath once in 3-4 weeks since she gets a good rub down after a rain / snow (thus, no soap) and we give her "foot baths (with or without soap)" as needed.

I just got a doggie bath tub, and it's a back-saver and time-saver! No worries for the escape artist running down the hall with soap bubbles, too. :)    

Thanks for sharing Milt's pictures and stories!

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

So cute :)  Milton seems like he's a good sport about his baths.  

When Luna gets into dirt/mud etc.  I just rinse her thoroughly (no soap).  We installed a pull-down shower head in "her" bath (it's a combo bath/shower) so rinsing is easy.  I also put down a rubber bath mat so that she doesn't slip - I don't want her to hurt herself while she shuffles around.

 I use soap a maximum of once every 2 weeks.  I still use only a small amount of a gentle oatmeal-based puppy shampoo even though she's all grown up.  She has an extremely soft, shiny coat so I think I can assume I'm not bathing her too often.  When she was a puppy though, I probably used soap about once a week... she came home in the Fall and was always full of mud.