Advice on washing dogs needed

[hedgehog]

I walk Guinness and Pooka about a mile cross country. This time of year they come back muddy up to the chest. I've been popping them into the tub and rinsing them off with the spray nozzle. It's no problem with Pooka, but sometimes Guinness actually lies down rather than getting into the tub. Most days I don't bother with soap , just a warm water rinse. is the water too hot? too cold? Is the tub too slippery?

[Shell Beau]

1. I use warm water. And the tub is always too slippery if they haven't

had their nails clipped.

It always helps if they like the bath! A lot don't!

[hedgehog]

2. How warm is warm? I'm halfway suspicious that Guinness prefers lukewarm water to

what I think of as warm. I don't give them a hot shower.

[Shell Beau]

4. I use lukewarm. It is warm to the touch at first, but would

feel chilly if I were bathing in it. That is what my dogs prefer. All dogs are different. They do not like cold though, I do know that much. My dogs don't like cold (just to clarify).

[flvegan]

3. Get a bath mat and use room temp water.

Dogs don't care for temps like most people like (hot). Some dogs just don't like getting bathed. Some don't like it at first but then get used to it.

[Shell Beau]

5. Yes, room temp. is they way I give my dogs baths.

And they do not like baths. But, lukewarm is better than cold. At least for Hank and Lolly.

Of course if they could talk (in English at least) they would say "NO BATHS EVER"! But now Lolly LOVES to be blow dried.

[Shell Beau]

6. Damn computer! Dupe!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

7. Okay, this sounds bad, but this is the method I use on Mick

Beag can be rinsed off in the shower, but not him.

I basically just tie him up outside and spray him with the house. He has never had a real bath. The water's cold, but considering he'll swim in a cold lake, I think he's just reacting more to the hose part.

[flvegan]

8. I heard LostinVA likes when you do that too.

:hide:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

9. If I tied her to a tree and hosed her down in the yard, I think the neighbors would stare

[flvegan]

11. Yeah, cuz that molotov cocktail episode raised their expectations.

:eyes:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

12. LostinVA just laughed and said, "oh God, I forgot all about that"

It could be worse though, I once saw my stepdad piss drunk, about 30' up a tree and missing one of his shoes. Now that is eyebrow raising.

[Shell Beau]

10. That is probably how most dogs get their baths!

Biggish dogs are hell at getting baths.

I had to edit because now that I think about it, my little dog is hell when she gets her baths!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

13. Him and Beag are the same size (about 40lbs)

But he's just more prone to flipping his shit about stuff.

[Shell Beau]

14. Hutch was my 45 pounder. Between him, Lolly (17 lbs.) and Hank (112 lbs.),

he was the hardest to give a bath hands down.



I say "was" because he died almost a year ago. x( He was 6 1/2!! RIP my Hutch baby!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

16. Aww...that's too young

Our vet says that Border Collies know how to leverage themselves like cats, which is why they're a pain in the ass with some stuff. Plus, Mick is a huge baby about being messed with, even though he otherwise has a huge pain tolerance. If he's running/herding and hurt, he just ignores it, but godforbid you try to clip his nails or something.

[hedgehog]

18. All of our dogs have had black toe nails, so I've never clipped them.

This combined with the kids tracking in sand may explain why the finish if gone on the wood floors!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

20. I have the vet do it

It's the only time they get clipped.

Beag has black nails, and I'll trim her's no problem. I've clipped nails on assorted dogs, cats, birds, lizards, rabbits, but I can't do Mick.

[Shell Beau]

22. The black nails are tougher to clip because you can't see where to clip.

[Shell Beau]

19. Oh the nails are major! They think they are having surgery or something!

My Hutch got run over. It was waaay too young. He was the one I thought would be the oldest when he died. He was so scroungy. He never got sick. He was tough. Nothing would bring him down.

And it was our fault too. My fault really. My husband was running to the store. I told him Hutch would so love the ride with him. He took him which he rarely did. It was a treat for Hutch. But my husband didn't leash him. He guided him by his collar to the truck. Hutch jumped in like he normally would. But he got a wild hair up his ass. He jumped back out and took off. Into a truck. Right in front of my husnband's eyes. The truck never stopped. Hutch ran back to the yard and died right there. I cry now thinking about it. It was so sudden. Would not have happened if we just put that leash on like we always did.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

21. Oh wow

:hug:

[Shell Beau]

23. Thanks! I went into the ugly I can't breathe cry when it happened.

And I was around 4 months pregnant. My mom was so worried I would lose the baby I was so upset.

People told me my dogs would become less important to me after I had my baby. Those people are crazy. If anything, I love them more. They are our protectors. It is amazing how loyal dogs are.

[ogneopasno]

15. He just might not like water. I had a dog that never liked to play in water or have anything to do

with a hose or a bath.

[hedgehog]

17. He has no trouble plowing through the mud or 10" of standing melt

water, but lately he's been balking at the tub. I give Pooka a bath, then a treat, then Guinness a bath, then a treat. Unfortunately, by that time, Pooka has forgotten he's already had a treat and is looking for another one!

I think it's the lukewarm/room temperature water I need to try.

[Dappleganger]

24. Guinness is probably waiting for the hot tub...

and his glass of chardonnay. You just aren't trained well enough to figure that out yet! :P

[hedgehog]

25. Now, there's a thought! Instead of hosing him down, maybe i should fill up the tub and pop him in!