 Barked: Sun Jan 29, '12 5:36pm PST |
 | |  | | Hazel is a terrible fear, squirming, kicking mess at bath-time! She is also not a fan of rain, doesn't like swimming, and is reactive toward the sound of water draining down the sink. That is why she only gets 1 or 2 baths per year. It's not gross to me if the dog doesn't smell.
If you can work your dog toward being okay with a bath, like Darcy has done, that is the thing to do.
If your dog likes to swim, I would just soap him up during a swim twice a year! Use something gentle and biodegradeable to minimize the ecological impact. |  |  | |  |
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I put her collar and lead on and walked her into the bathroom. She is a shutdown dog and would not take a treat. Nor would she accept a pet. I just sat with her. It took about 20 minutes and she finally took a deep breath and calmed down. Then I took her out of the bathroom. I repeated walking and sitting in the bathroom for 2 days until she would walk in without a total panic. Then I picked her up and placed her in the tub. I sat on the edge with her. We sat for 45 minutes the first time until she calmed down. I took her out of the tub and took her back later and it was 20 minutes. I repeated this until she would be put in the tub and not panic. Then I turned on the water (Rince Ace). This took a whole day before I finally was able to give her a bath. Once she got the bath I would feed her and extra special meal (canned food mixed in) as her reward. Now I can bath her with no problems. You have to be patient, take your time and NEVER force your dog. Trust me it'll be worth the patience in the end. 
Also realize, Darcy is an extreme case. But patience does pay off in huge rewards! 
