# Bathtub bath - NOT a good time! Tricks, hints, advice, please?



## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Bailey came home in July as an 11 week old and promptly received a bathtub bath. Easy, pacheezie, he was little, easy to control. 

I don't remember if he ever got a second bathtub bath.

I know that sounds bad, but his coat is so easy maintenance. It's a slicker coat than a pb. You let mud try and it falls/combs out. He's white, so easy to find any dirt. Follow that up with a little sponge bath, a little wipe with a dryer sheet and you're good to go. He doesn't stink and never has except for when he first came home.

BUT we spent Sat and Sun afternoon at the big soccer park and it is muddy in places, so he got pretty dirty. 

I decided, yep, time to try a bathtub bath.

Okay at first. Got in the tub with him. Didn't last long.  Once this dude wanted out of the tub... he just... got out of the tub. He's too big and strong to hold in there, come to find out.  I did make the mistake of taking his collar off, so I had nothing to hold onto, but still, whew! Big, strong boy.

I've bathed my smaller dogs plenty and with them, I've leashed them *in* the tub and wrapped the leash around the spout. No problem. I'm almost afraid to try this with Bailey. 

So do you bathe your own dogs? How often? In the tub or outside? Sponge baths? Curious to all you do in regards to bathing!


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I have a handheld shower hose, so can use it easier on the dogs in the tub. Karlo only had one bath til he was about 8 months and then feared it when her heard his nails scratching. I used a training ball on string and ramped up his drive to get him in. After that he loved it, jumps right in. The hand-held has a massage feature and my dogs really like that too. I use a fursaver on them when I bathe them so I can turn them or hold them in place. Normally they don't wear collars at home, and the fursaver works well for bathtime.


----------



## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I have one of those suction cups with a groomers noose IF I bathe them in the tub. Mine don't mind the tub at all, it's just the mess to deal with

You can also use the no water type shampoo and I believe they have it for white dogs too


----------



## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

I bathe Wolfie in the bath tub. He hates it. I get in with him, and close the shower doors. He can't get out. Let me rephrase that, he most definitely could get out, but respects the barrier of the doors. I open the doors and let him hop put when I am done.At the summer house, I wash him in his pool.


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I tried it once and felt like I was never going to get all the wet dog fur out of my shower. And can you picture that in your drain? Ugh. No thank you. In the summer I bathe them outside; in the winter I use a groomer.


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I've never done this but I've heard peanut butter smeared on the side of the tub works.
Also we use the slip leads you get at the vet clinic to hold them in.
If the dog is over 40lb. or so, I get help. My back isn't what it used to be


----------



## StryderPup (May 16, 2009)

I bathe Stryder in the bath tub. When he was younger he had some skin allergies and we had to bathe him with a special soap. When he was smaller, I would get in the bathtub with him. He did not love it but he tolerated it. What else I did was made it a big deal when he got dried off and made it a game....I would dry him off in the tub and then get him out, he shakes and then I let him go back and forth under the towel (like a bull tamer, for lack of a better description)....then he can run around like a mad dog...all I have to say is the word "bath" and he runs upstairs and jumps in the bathtub. If he did not like it...I would be screwed! 

(also...do you see how much I like ellipses...)


----------



## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

We have a big, stupid jet tub that only gets used to bathe Scarlett. DH gets in with her and I run interference to keep her in the tub. The hair is unimaginable and when she shakes, every single surface from ceiling to floor is soaked. I HATE IT!! However, she really only needs a bath at home a few times a year. I am all too happy to pay a groomer to brush and trim her. She is SO wiggly and hairy!! 

I do give her a "buff up" when I brush her and use freshening spray (spray on the brush and brush it through her hair). I trim her feet and fluffy-butt myself, but when she is blowing her coat, I pay for the groomer. Generally we go to her twice a year. 

When we remodel our bathroom, we will not have the tub, so I will have a shower sprayer installed and a way to lock the shower door so I don't have to chase Scarlett down.  Yeah, I'll be taking a dog shower/bath too, but I can usually use one anyway.


----------



## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

Emoore said:


> I tried it once and felt like I was never going to get all the wet dog fur out of my shower. And can you picture that in your drain? Ugh. No thank you. In the summer I bathe them outside; in the winter I use a groomer.


I close the drain while I am washing him and just let the tub fill. When I am done, I stretch a piece of panty hose over the drain and all the hair collects in that while the water drains through.


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Wolfiesmom said:


> I close the drain while I am washing him and just let the tub fill. When I am done, I stretch a piece of panty hose over the drain and all the hair collects in that while the water drains through.


That's brilliant! Doesn't help with the wet hair that gobs onto the sides of the tub though. . . I'm too lazy for all that.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

if i absolutely have to, they get bathed in the tub. Riley just stands there like a dud and its like pose-a-dog because he just shuts down and gets this pathetic "why do you hate me?" look on his face. 

with Shasta, i have to physically be in the tub with her getting totally soaked which means sports bra, t-shirt and shorts, probably wearing tennis shoes to protect my toes from crazy claws when she moves around. if i try to be outside the tub and bath her, my entire bathroom gets trashed and the bath just ends up being a huge ordeal. 

Summer time, they get tethered to the post holding up our awning on our patio and hosed down, scrubbed and hosed down again. Much easier. However, since my favorite pet store upgraded to a bigger store and added a do-it-yourself dog wash, i'll be using that in the winter time.


----------



## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

Emoore said:


> That's brilliant! Doesn't help with the wet hair that gobs onto the sides of the tub though. . . I'm too lazy for all that.


Yeah, those get wiped out with paper towels before I clean the tub. It takes forever.


----------



## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

KZoppa said:


> if i absolutely have to, they get bathed in the tub. Riley just stands there like a dud and its like pose-a-dog because he just shuts down and gets this pathetic *"why do you hate me?"* look on his face.
> 
> with Shasta, i have to physically be in the tub with her getting totally soaked which means sports bra, t-shirt and shorts, probably wearing tennis shoes to protect my toes from crazy claws when she moves around. if i try to be outside the tub and bath her, my entire bathroom gets trashed and the bath just ends up being a huge ordeal.
> 
> Summer time, they get tethered to the post holding up our awning on our patio and hosed down, scrubbed and hosed down again. Much easier. However, since my favorite pet store upgraded to a bigger store and *added a do-it-yourself dog wash,* i'll be using that in the winter time.


Wow, thanks for the great replies. Peanut butter on the sides of the tub? That could work. 

I certainly got the "why do you hate me" look tonight. Geesh I felt rotten BUT looking at the nastiness I got out of him, now coated on the bottom of my tub, it needed to be done. 

I am *so* about the idea of a do-it-yourself dog wash. I have to find such a thing. At least for the cold months.


----------



## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

KZoppa said:


> if i absolutely have to, they get bathed in the tub. Riley just stands there like a dud and its like pose-a-dog because he just shuts down and gets this pathetic "why do you hate me?" look on his face.


 
LOL...They all perfect that look, don't they?!

I really miss the Wag-N-Wash in Colorado Springs. All the mess, funk and wet towels stayed THERE. When our house was for sale, our poor dog had to be bathed more frequently so we didn't have "dog smell". There was NO way I could do it at home. The Wag-N-Wash was a godsend! I think there was a place like it here in Va Beach....


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

in the winter time if my dog needs a bath
i put a wet towel in the tub and then
tell him "get in". the shower hose is
almost long enough to reach under him.
in the summer i lather him up and rinse
him with the garden hose and he stands there
and waits for me to say "shake" before
shaking. a trainer told me to feed my pup
in the bath tub and run the water (not
wetting his body). the trainer told me this will help
him get use to the tub when it's bath time. i thought
this was a wacko idea but i did it anyway. well it wasn't
so wacko after all because now he steps into the tub
on command.


----------



## boiseno (Oct 20, 2011)

doggiedad said:


> in the winter time if my dog needs a bath
> i put a wet towel in the tub and then
> tell him "get in". the shower hose is
> almost long enough to reach under him.
> ...


Thats awesome!!!!

I'm trying that one.


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I actually fed Beau in the tub while I was washing him


----------



## Gmthrust (Mar 3, 2010)

LOL Scarlette's Mom for: *When we remodel our bathroom, we will not have the tub, so I will have a shower sprayer installed and a way to lock the shower door so I don't have to chase Scarlett down.  Yeah, I'll be taking a dog shower/bath too, but I can usually use one anyway. *

Oh my gosh LOL That's soooo funny! We removed ours this past summer...so IF needed, our dogs get washed up in the master bath shower (for Keek who loves it), and the swimming pool area (Cris and Trin ---oh they dearly love it----will squeal with delight).

Our hall bathroom still has its tub and I still have them hop into that for fun games and feeding....just in case..... LOL


----------

