Bathtime Blues

[Dunton4]

Tilly has always disliked baths - she shakes and "groans" throughout - but recently she has become even more distressed, crying in a high-pitched, almost hysterical way, alongside the groaning and moaning.  She seems really frightened, even though she has never had any bad bathtime experiences, and it seems to be getting worse with each bath.  She doesn't try to get out of the bath and "endures" the bathing whilst shaking and crying.  I try to be very "matter of fact" about the whole process and talk to her in a jolly voice, but she is no better and even refuses treats   .  Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get Tilly to overcome her bathtime blues?  Tilly is not a timid dog, so this behaviour is very unusual for her and I am at a loss as to how to help her.

Thanks.

Sue and Tilly

[lizzy]

I'm sorry I don't have a solution to your question, but something similar has happened with Molly , she's always been ok in the bath, but when we came back from our holidays a few weeks ago , I picked her from the kennels and they said they had bathed her the previous day, but she was still a bit wiffy so I gave her another bath.

She started this terrible crying and moaning, it was really distressing and very unusual, I wondered if she had had a bad experience at the kennels whilst being bathed

But she soon bounced back to her normal self, hope Tilly does too!  

[Dunton4]

Thanks, Lizzie.  It certainly does sound as though Molly had a bad bathing experience at the kennels   .  Glad she is ok now and hope her bathing aversion doesn't continue .  I wish I could point to something tangible like that with Tilly, but she has only ever been bathed at home by me and I know she hasn't had any traumas.  She is fine once the bath is over - tears round the house like a mad thing   .  It's just when she is in it that she seems so frightened and it's definitely getting worse....

Sue and Tilly

[lizzy]

I read something somewhere about spreading peanut butter, jam etc.. on the side of the bath, to take their mind of the water!

[cindere528]

Aaaawww, poor Tilly  

This may sound a little obvious, but are you absolutely sure the water temperature is right for her?  Dogs' body temperature is different to ours (I can't remember whether it's higher or lower) but that means that they need the bath water a different temperature to us. Just a thought. Hope it helps.

Just found out dogs' normal temperature is 38 - 39 C, which is a couple of degrees higher than ours (I think humans are about 37C), so I think that means that the bath water needs to be a bit warmer than we would have it.  

[Dog Mad]

Hiya,

Just to let you know Bailey (my Lhasa) sounds like I am killing him when I bath him.  He cries, screams and tries to escape all the time.  I am really gentle with him and make sure he doesn't get any water in his ears etc.  

Anyhow the last few times my boyfriend has bathed him and i have stayed out of the way, he is silent as a lamb for him.

I have a feeling he is just playing up as he gets sympathy from me whilst my boyfriend just gets on with it.

Debbie

 

[Birtles]

mmmm i haven't bathed Luca yet i just hope hes not that bad, maybe its something i should think about doing soon so he can get used to them.  hoe often do you bath dogs as a general rule...... I know what your going to say "when they smell"    but really..... once a month? a week? suppose they can be bathed too much and remove some oils from their coat?  got the shampoo, maybe I'll do that this week.
Jayne

[cindere528]

Mine only get bathed every 3 - 4 months when they go to the groomers.  In between times they get rubbed down with a baby wipe if necessary, or the offending bit dunked in a bowl of water if really dirty/muddy.  I don't know about bathing too often & removing natural oils - they used to say that years ago, but I think dog shampoos have improved a lot since.  Having met the lovely Tilly on several occasions, she has the most beautiful glossy black coat you could wish to see, so her natural oils have certainly not been removed.    

[Laura]

I smother the bath in peanut butter, butter or cream cheese - has worked wonders for us.  Brogan now stands still in the bath and doesn't need treats - although I still use them every now and then to make it worth his while Bailey is oblivious to the shower head while he licks away  I praise them while they stand quietly licking and completely ignore any other nonsense.

I bath mine when they start to smell really doggy - usually every 3 weeks.  Brogan has long white feathering though so he gets hosed down with just plain water after most wet walks - Mmmmm another reason why I got a darker dog for our 2nd!    

[DIANNE32]

Bailey absolutely hates the bath, he tries to escape all the time and howls and yelps like he's being killed or something. He's due a bath this week as we are off on our hols on friday so he cant go to the breeders house wiffy(the breeder we got him off looks after him for us while we are away). Im am so dreading doing it incase he creates and also because i get wetter than he does , so wish me luck  

[Tracey J]

I smother the bath in peanut butter, butter or cream cheese

    Laura, is that for you or the boys??  

[Laura]

I smother the bath in peanut butter, butter or cream cheese

    Laura, is that for you or the boys??

  glad I didn't add that hubby sometimes helps as well - I really must learn to word things better      

[Michele]

When bathing dogs I always check the water temperature the same way as you would for a baby - on the inside of my wrist  
I don't have the water too hot as I think it can be this and not the shampoo's that strip the oils from the coat    

[Dunton4]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  I will try smearing something enticing on the bath for Tilly next time !  I really don't want her to get so upset, so maybe I should try putting her in the bath with something nice smeared on it, without the water for a few times so that she associates the bath with something nice, rather than something scary.  I can then introduce a little water for her paws, then a little more - taking it back to basics like when she was a pup.  I'll work on this and see how she goes.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Sue and Tilly the Terrified