Dog scared of a bath

[ironmanwho]

Hi all. My german shepherd (11 months old) has always had a problem with getting a bath. When she was smaller it was easy but as she is so much larger it is getting almost impossible to keep her in the tub. I thought maybe it was the shampoo I was using so I stopped using anything altogether. I even put her in the tub with no water and she flips out. She is fine when I walk her in the rain. She is also fine when I take her down to the local river. She will jump right in. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem and found a solution. Thank you in advance for any help.

[PixelQ]

At my old home I had a small kennel bulit to confine my dogs at times. I think it was about 6x13 feet. It was chain linked with a concrete bottom. I discovered it was a great place to give them a bath. Of course I could only do this when the weather was nice.

I would bathe them and lock them in. They dried outside and they stayed clean.

In the winter, I usually take them to the groomer.

It's a little more difficult at the new home. There is no kennel. That will come later. But, this summer, I had to chain them up on the patio. I'd bathe them while on the chain. They stayed outside until they were dry enough to come in.

It's so hot here in Central California that the dogs loved getting wet.

[Lucky Puppy]

Hi! I had the same problem with my Great Pyrennes/Wolf. He didn't like the bath tub. So I bought the Washwand and gave him a bath outside. It's pretty cool an does a much better job of wetting his coat in preparation for shampoo and it rinses the soap out of his coat very quickly. Bath time is certainly less traumatic for him and much easier for me!

[kim glazer]

My German Shepherd also hates baths. He is 9 yrs old and I have to lure him into the tub with treats, sometimes I still have to pick him up and put him in. I then have to get in the tub and sit on the side so he doesn't jump right back out. Bathing out side is a great idea but I live in ohio and we have very cold weather most of the time. I was only able to give him 2 outside baths this year. They are a very intellegent breed but also very stuborn if they don't like something. I wouldn't trade him for anything though there great dogs. Best of luck

[trenpete]

The best way to overcome a dog with a fear is a lot of patients, love and treats.

Because most dogs hate water most are challege by this and often treat this the wrong way creating further fear for you dogs.

If you give him a bath than a great way is to introduce hom to the bath give him a treat but dont wash him. Let him get confortable with the surrondings. When you bath him give your dog a treat before and afterwards and continue patting and saying good boy/girl during it. DONT let you dog eat over you as a lot of owers give up and the dog has won.

Stary in control, be gentle and it will be easier for you. Making your pet love baths wont likely happen but at least he/she will do it without you getting wet too.

[Lou]

When we brought our little flea market rescue home at 6/7weeks the first thing she needed was a bath! She is a border collie/red heeler mix (long white hair with red "freckles") and from the get-go she was determined to have her way. But, her reaction of total terror at being bathed was heart wrenching...her trauma was startling...and in light of her beginnings we did not want to add more stress... she clung and literally screamed. So we used a wet cloth and gradually reassured her we were not going to hurt her. I had much better luck bathing her standing using a garden hose. Happily we have a very large corner shower off our bedroom and I took her in with me when she was about a year old. Worked pretty well, but it was still a challenge. Just talked soothingly and loved her and praised her. Now all I have to do is take her to the bathroom and open the shower door and say, "time for a shower" and she walks in of her own accord...(not without what my husband calls "the old lady look",) but oh, so much calmer and on her own. I try not to prolong it, and she loves to have me tell her to "shake" and she does it on command and we make a big fun game out of the towel drying. Don't we all respond better to patience and love, than having someones will forced on us. Since she sleeps on her own sheet on our bed covers she gets bathed regularly. Now, to get through the nail clipping trauma!!! One challenge at a time, please. One cattle dog owner shared her trick ... she put peanut butter on her refrigerator door up high so her dog had to stand with paws on the door in order to lick it and she would quickly clip the nails! What we dog folks do for our pals!

[Baebear]

I have the same issue with one of my female German Shepherds. The issue is not the bath but the confinement. We solved this by purchasing a Hose Thread adapter for our kitchen sink. We run a garden hose outside. This way you have hot water. We have no problems giving a bath with hose. After the bath, Bae is dried with a blower. Our Male German shepherd is just too large to get in the bath tub. This works great for him too. Hope this helps.

Deb

[bearsmom]

Part of the problem could be the slippy floor in the tub. My old dog had a terrible time with bathing in the tub because he couldn't keep his feet. I didn't have a rubber mat for in the tub, so I put down a towel that helped give him more leverage.

Now, I bathe him outside on a concrete pad, and he still doesn't enjoy baths, but he will stand for them.

Good luck!

[JJ]

This is really wild, but my dalmatian was the same way, 90 lbs of dead weight everytime I went to give him a bath, which was about every 2 weeks typical boy loves the mud. In Michigan it is almost impossible to keep a dog from getting dirty because of the inconsistant weather. So one weekend I was bored and thought here we go again time for a bath I couldn't get him in to save my soul, so I ran some water in the tub, put a bathing suit on and jumped in, he thought that I was going in a pool with him, he knows my swimsuit and jumped in with me!! I was shocked but at the same time so excited I found something that might work. So I splashed around with him for a while he loved it.

Yesterday was the day for a bath, I put my swimsuit on, stood in the hallway he ran in the bathroom and jumped in the tub!! Go figure he thought we were going swimming! I stood in the tub with him while I scrubbed and rubbed he loved it and thought it was pretty cool, tail was wagging the whole time. It's amazing what we do for the love of our animals, will try anything to get what "WE" want them to do!! Good Luck!

[Darth_Vaders_Mom]

We have a great dane that is 9 months old. He is over 100 lbs & used to be pretty stubborn about getting into the bathroom. He minds well but was reluctant. I have this clip on bag that velcros around my belt loop. I fill it with treats. Get him into the bathroom shut the door constantly praising him. I praise & give him treats through out the whole process. We have a shower head that detaches so the water running isn't loud. We have to hide after we let him out though! He gets the zoomies & runs around the table at top speed about 10 times. My china cabinet shakes! Good luck........

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