Avoiding a war in the bathtub

[Marty]

Whenever I give these pups a bath, it's always a battle. They whine, cry, struggle, try to jump out of the bath, etcetc...
...and then I see these other dogs who are groomed and are perfectly happy an still in the bath...how do they do it??

They're so good otherwise, they love to be brushed and don't mind it at all when I check out their paws, ears, teeth, etc. But when it comes to bathing, they want no part of it.

Can you give me some tips on making peace in the bath?

[erdog3]

Me again, retired groomer too. Many pups find a tub very frightening. Try placing a brick or something heavy in the tub. On top of a non slip mat.
When you stand them in the tup, let them put the two front feet on the brick, or whatever you find to use. hold them under their chest, holding onto the elbow opposite the side you are facing them. That is if you use your left hand with the pup facing west, you would be holding onto his right elbow.
Now rather than pouring water on them, use a sponge to gently clean them.
Only fill the tub to come half way up their legs.

[Moo]

First make sure that you don't run the water when they're in it.... the noise is one of the scariest parts of the bath. And you only need to fill the tub with a couple inches of water... enough to clean their feet, the rest you can sponge them down.

[dog freak]

Thats what i want to know my dog does this too!

[doglovin]

my chihuahua was the same way,so i put a couple inches of water in the bath tub,got on my bathingsuite and played with her,and her ball,now she loves bathtime,lakes and the ocean,it all became a game to her.

[ChandraRae]

Kind of a variation on ellierat's idea of a brick.. I use the sink to wash Scooter and let him put his two front paws on the countertop the whole time except when I wash those paws.. Which I do quickly.. He seems to do better.

THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH BIGGER DOGS.. LOL

Harley is too big for the sink so he gets a bath in the tub.. he puts his paws on the side of the tub for the most part. He doesn't enjoy his baths as much as Scooter but he loves to swim!! LOL

[Catalyst]

Using Elllies idea of the front feet up. Start away from the bath and teach them the stay command. For some reasons, dogs learn this quicker with their front feet up on a bucket or something.
I've found the principle of if you're in control of everything, the dog will follow works well.
We use a hydrobath here which is quite scary. It's noisy and totally contained.
Once the dog has the stay command down and you use it, they calm down.
The more you try to coax them and tell them it's ok, the more they learn it's ok to be scared because mummy and/or daddy will give them cuddles.
Once my dogs are in there (they're big dogs too, minimum of 30kgs, no chance of fighting them) I tell them to stay. They can sit or stand, but once they've chosen, they do not move until I tell them to. If they worry, I tell them to stay again and put a hand under their chest to show them I ment buisness. As soon as I've taken control of the situation, they calm down and allow it all to happen.

[JennyG3479]

I line the tub edge with treats and went Jack lets me do something she gets one. Or if she wants to get one on her own she can but that would mean that she would have to move and she really WON'T move in the tub, it's crazy. It's been a lot better since we've introduced the treats to bathtime.

[Marty]

Hi there,
Thanks so much, I forgot that I posted this!
I'll try the brick and sponging down for a rinse after the shampoo, but It's almost impossible not to hose them down because of their coats.

They both have very thick coats with a sort of cottony underlining - it seems to be almost waterproof and I have to really hose it to get it thoroughly wet in the first place!

---But I'll try getting into the bath with them (MrM would have a cow if he knew that!)...they respond best to affection and attention, so maybe that's the cure. Soon they'll be too big to keep in the tub if they keep trying to jump out!

[MuttMania]

My Boxer gets her bath once a week. She has learned to put up with it although she really wasn't all that bad as a puppy either. We just put her in the bathtub (we have one of those hand-held shower heads) and scrub a dub dub away. She loves getting out and romping all over the house with the towels. Make sure you have a mat in the tub though....for the dog AND so their nails don't scratch the tub.