How To Give Your Dog A Bath

Today is the day you are going to give your dog ayou take a break and start a pot of coffee. Why
bath. You imagine yourself in one of thosenot, the morning is shot anyway.
commercials. You know the one, the big fluffy dog inPhase 2. Start the bath. Get dog and put him in the
a big tub of water, kids running around, beautifulbathtub. No problem, your dog does not associate
summer day, everyone laughing. It is the perfectthe bathroom with anything yet, so he's game. He
Kodak moment.gets a little nervous in the tub. You talk to him
Today is not like that. First off, it is supposed to besoothingly and let him hang out for a minute. You pet
summer outside, but it's 55F degrees and raining. Youhim with one hand and grab the sprayer with the
let your dog out in the yard while you hang out byother. You had the foresight to buy one of those
the door encouraging him to hurry up. He does, butdoggy shower adapters just for this purpose. Your
the moment he gets within 5 feet of you, you gasp.dog looks a little worried.
Your dog has just rolled in the nastiest thing youYou know your shower is quirky, but you have got it
have ever smelled. You cannot even imagine whereunder control. As long as no one flushes a toilet the
he found whatever it was he rolled in. You swearwater pressure and temperature stay the same. Just
you were watching him the whole time!get the dog wet, shampoo, rinse and dry. No
Not only that, but he slips by you and gets inside.problem. You start to spray your dog.
This is where he shakes. Shakes. Shakes. Shakes.YOUR DOG FREAKS OUT. Your dog knew he had a
Adding that putrid smell to everything within 10 feetreason to be worried. Mistake number one...you
of the door. You take your canine friend straight tosprayed his head first. Mistake number two...your dog
the garage. All this, and you haven't even had yourhas never been in the bathroom. Mistake number
morning coffee!three...You left the bathroom door open and now it's
Your dog has never had a bath before. You get thisa mad chase of stinky wet dog through the house.
bright idea that today is the day you are going toMistake number four...your dog now KNOWS the
give him a bath. He weighs 35 pounds, what couldbathroom is evil and he is not going back in there, no
possibly be the big deal. After all, the dog in thatmatter what!
commercial was at least 90 pounds and 8 year oldThe moral of this story is when giving your dog a
kids handled him just fine.bath, prepare them for the experience. Introduce the
You sift through all your bathroom goods and find abathroom to them in a positive way before they
baby shampoo. This is a good start. You grab ahave rolled in something stinky. Start the water spray
bunch of towels, move things around a bit in theslowly at their feet. Don't spray their head, gently
bathroom so there is room for two. Great.use a sponge for that. Use a comfortable
You go get your dog, who is busy rubbing his newtemperature for the water, not sauna hot or freezer
found smell onto everything in the garage. Coffeecold. Get a friend (or two) to help. Offer treats. Take
would make this entire moment just a little brighteryour time. Don't scare your dog. Have your coffee
you mutter. Since your dog hasn't left any stonefirst.
unturned in the "spread the smelly love" department,