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Tips for Giving Your Dog a Bath
Written By Stella White
Giving your dog a bath, especially if he or she is a large dog, is no easy task. While Fido might love the water, he hates the bathtub and everything associated with it. You should know this going in - your dog will resist you at all costs to not, I repeat not, get in that tub.
My dog has actually learned to place all four paws around the door frame to try and stop me from getting her in the tub, and she's strong. When I finally do manage to gently (more on this later) place her in a shallow tub of warm water, she looks at me as though I stole her favorite toy - or, worse, just scolded her. She pleads with her eyes for me to let her out of the tub and constantly looks for ways to escape.
I have discovered that to a certain extent her favorite treats help me get her in the tub and keep her there. The great thing about dogs is that they don't care if you've dropped their cookie in the tub - they'll still eat it!
That being said, here are my tips for giving your dog a bath.
1. If at all possible let someone else do it. You can have someone else go through the mess of giving your dog a bath, dry, brush and comb for a fee. And unless your dog lives on a farm or in a place where they are constantly getting dirty, you don't actually have to bath your dog that often. Pay the fee.
2. Only bath your dog in the warmer months when you can bath him or her outside. Bathing your dog in your bathroom is messy. When dogs get wet they shake, and all of that fur, wet fur, comes flying off them - sometimes in chunks - and lands on every exposed surface, which is not good.
If you have no other option, then at least make sure your bathroom is already dirty, cover the floor with towels and close the shower curtain when they shake. When you do finally get your dog in the bathroom make sure you gently, very gently, place him or her in the tub. Your dog will be squirmy and fighting you off, but it is crucial that you treat your dog like a newborn - if your dog has a bad experience in the tub, it will be a slippery slope from there.
A really good thing about bathing them outside instead of inside is that you both get a chance to play in the water and have some fun with bath time - it's really difficult to play in a confined space with an animal who hates getting a bath.
3. Arm yourself with treats. I mentioned earlier having treats on hand makes bath time go a lot more smoothly. Dog trainers would probably call this association. This is key with dogs; once they associate they are going to be rewarded with food, then they don't mind being in a slippery tub and having water poured over their heads. They will learn to at least tolerate bath time because they have a positive association with it.
4. Tell them over and over again what a good dog they are and speak in a soothing tone and repeat step three. Again, it simply cannot be said enough: you have to be patient and you must be gentle. You have to train your dog to like bath time and it won't happen overnight. Also be consistent, try to have the same bath time routine every time you bath your dog. Dogs like routines, they love schedules and they thrive on positive reinforcement. The more things stay the same, the better each bath time will be.
5. Exercise your dog to the point of complete exhaustion. That's right - make sure your dog has been running and playing for so long that he or she is mellow and thoroughly worn out come bath time. This is not to say that your dog won't put up a fight, but at least he or she will be too tired to really give you a lot of trouble. Repeat steps three and four.
Some people will have an easier time bathing their dogs than others, but if you remember three key things - patience, constancy and treats - bath time should go fairly well.