To Make Bathing Easier for Dogs, Just Shower With Your Pet
My best friend and life partner Tucker Bordeaux III recently turned fourteen. Although, fortunately, he is in relatively good health for a person approaching 100 canine years old, he developed skin problems in his old age, due to which I have to bathe him every few days. Tucker, as you might guess, was not happy with this development. After many agonizing attempts to bathe him in the kitchen sink and bath on my own, I finally broke down and one day just sent him to the shower with me. We were both a ton happier.
When I bathed him myself, Tucker was constantly shaking, trying to drain the water, trying to get out of the tub / sink in which the bath was being taken, and trying to avoid washing at all costs. The baths took a lot longer than it should have, and I always found myself covered in dog shampoo and water, just enough to make me feel like I needed to jump into the shower right away.
And then one day I just sent him to the shower with me.
Obviously, your mileage can vary depending on the nature of your dog, but for Tucker, when I shower, for some reason he feels completely normal just standing and showering. I think when he takes a bath, he feels highlighted, but if this is what we both do, then for some reason it is much more acceptable. He attracts attention, and he is not the only one who has to stand in the water.
He’s happy to just stand in the tub and let me shampoo him if I do that too. He’ll even stand in the shower after I go out and wait for me to take him out with a towel before he runs away. It was a refreshing change and I’m sorry I didn’t try it sooner.
Tucker weighs roughly 25 pounds, which is probably the border of the largest dog you’d like to try it out (after all, you also need a shower space). If you do try, I recommend making sure you have protection to prevent the dog hair from clogging the drain. Believe me, there will be dog hair.
That said, if you end up getting wet every time you try to bathe Fido, give it a try. At least this time you’re trying to get wet.