Where and How Do You Bath Your Doodle?

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

With 3 dogs bath day is an event at our house. The beagles seem to be able to sense when bath day arrives and try to take up permanent residence under our bed. Harlow is too big to fit under the bed, but doesn’t mean she doesn’t try. Anyway we usually end up in the shower using the handheld shower head. This means I get completely soaked when bathing everyone so I am generally in an old bathing suit. We also have one of those sink adaptor thingies that we attach to our bath tub spout. That way I can sit on the side of our tub to bath the dogs. But this means I can only do 1 dog at a time as the other 2 will jump out of the tub and proceed to sling water all over the bathroom.

[Adina P]

Ahhhh...doggy bath day! I never actually bathe all dogs the same day... Rosco used to get bathed every 1-2 weeks while we were active in therapy. Thule...once a month if I was feeling adventurous. Cass...um...yearly because as old as she is and as arthritic as she is...she fights HARDER to get out of the bath than any dog I've seen. And she's visibly distressed and panting and has a miserable time. Clark used to take her to the lake...have her swim, suds her up and send her in again to rinse. I'm less of a fan of that as I just don't think or local lake is THAT clean =)

I am the doggy bather of the family and give baths in the tub (all year round) with a hose attachment that hooks to our shower nozzel (sp?). Getting the doods IN the tub is the tricky part...often I end up feeding Rosco his meal in there so he'll get in...otherwise I have to force him in and lift his front paws into the tub. Once they are in, though, they do fine...just hate it. I have a foam thingy I put under my knees so I can kneel if need be as I wet, rinse, etc. I have a separate washcloth for butt scrubbing (blech) and do that last.

But last night, Clark got bathing duty as I simply can't bend anymore and it kills my back. Before baby is born or while it's being born I will be begging friends to take my doggies to the groomer for a bath...

[Krista, Angel, and Toby]

I pay 9 bucks to use the self-serve bath in Pet Supply Plus. It's easier on my back and I think easier on Angel, too, as it's just a leash holding her there instead of me. I'm calmer, and therefore Angel is a bit calmer, and since I can use both hands, it makes it easier to treat her as I bathe her, as opposed to trying to hold her in the tub, use the hose, grab the treats, and rub in the shampoo simultaneously. ( Those are the times you wish you were born with 8 arms...)

Anyway, I take her when she needs it, roughly twice per month, maybe.

[Adina P]

I would love one of those places in town! Our new doggy daycare plans to have one some day...I think I would use it lots!

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Hmmm, sounds like an entrepreneurial opportunity...?

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

We have a place close by called That Dirty Dog that is a self-serve or you can have them wash. I have not tried it. I need to go scope it out.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

Due to their messiness, outdoor lifestyle, and love of swimming & rolling in dirt, my dogs get bathed or at least rinsed off daily... when it rains and is muddy, several times/day... they are so used to it by now, that they walk straight into the shower after I let them inside. We have removed the shower doors and connected a long hose to the shower head, which makes it easier to reach and rinse. One dog at a time, the other one waits patiently (well, mostly). I dry them off with towels and let them shake before they go back into the family room. I've given up on clean carpets and have come to accept the splashes all over the bathroom. I usually don't get too wet, probably because the dogs are fine with the routine and don't try to escape. So while some people say that frequent bathing is not great for the dogs' skin & hair, maybe bathing your dogs more often would help, haha ;)

[1xar0x2rcx0li]

Option 1) in the tub, one at a time, with the detachable shower nossle. Usually bribed to get in the tub with a treat.

Option 2) both together, throw a ball in the lake.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

Yankee will get in the tub, doesn't like it but just leans on me the whole time so I am very wet. Finn hates it and I have to hold him with one hand through the whole process. I get soaked, totally. They do manage to get out and shake before I can grab a towel. Bathroom is a disaster.

[Jennifer Tramell]

We live in TN and it is relatively warm much of the year. If possible, I give my dogs a bath outside with a hose. The biggest problem is not making a mud puddle on the ground during the bath. We are building a new house and there is a concrete terrace with water connection. This is a wonderful place for a doggie bath. The dogs seem to prefer this to a tub (which is the cold weather choice) and it's easier on my back :-)
Our truly lazy way to give a doggie bath is the dogs' favorite way. We take them down to the lake, toss the stick a few times until they are nice a wet, lather them up & then toss the stick some more for the rinse off.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I just finished bathing Samantha - 61 lbs in my kitchen sink. It does afford me the opportunity to wash my kitchen floor on my hands and knees after. I have bathed her in the bathtub but just hurts the back too much.
Obviously Charli is much easier now to bathe her in the kitchen sink but I am going to invest in a doggy bathtub. That is on my wish list after I get my Andis clippers.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

I'm with you! I am trying to convince my DH that since the plumbing is already there on the inside back wall of the garage ( house bathroom is on other inside wall)... And we never put our cars in the garage anyway ........that it would be very little work to install on of these lovely bathtubs that Adrianne imbedded a picture of to the hot and cold running water and sewer in the garage. It sure would save my back....which is awfully rickety anyway. I am hinting that it would make an excellent Christmas gift, We'll see. meanwhile I sit on the shower floor - just cannot bend over that long.Or I sit on the deck floor and use cold water if it is hot enough outside that I can stand the cold water. My dogs swim everyday and get at least rinsed everyday, so they pretty much have the routine down, although Roo is less tolerant of it than Tigger.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

It's nice when you can take them to a groomer and let them do it professionaly...We also have places where you can go and do it like PetCo or Pets Supply Plus. However my sister also has bath day at her house with two pitbulls and one rottie/lab mix, and my two, the pitbulls and rottie/lab mix get toweled off and than drip dry, Hannah and Honey are towled dried also and I try to use the blow dryer on them, but Honey is terrified of the blow dryer so I try and show her it's ok with Hannah, but she still wont have anything to do with it. So we do the best we can and feel like we just played a game of twister..lol