Hello all, our fox red lab Wilson is coming up to 8 months old and is just the most special, adorable pup. But he has an aversion to water which makes it really hard to clean him when he's mucky or (horrors!) has rolled in fox poo. He fell into a field pond when he was about four months old and although he got himself out very quickly and seemed to be none the worse for wear we wonder whether that has affected him. He potters happily around the edge of the same pond, and even drinks from it, but won't go in. He's fascinated by other dogs going in but hovers on the edge. We live near the coast and, again, although he's happy enough at the edge of the sea he won't go in. I realise this may change when he's older - the bigger issue is that he has never had a bath and we can't hose him down as he's terrified of the hose. Even a bowl of water and a cloth makes him go mental and it takes a while to calm him down (letting him sniff the cloth, talking gently to him etc) before he'll let us wipe his paws or wash fox poo off. He IS OK with a towel rub if he's just a bit wet. I would appreciate any tips on how to clean him when he's really dirty, and how to make him less frightened of water. Thanks.
Just for cleaning him, use a spritz of Cowboy Magic and rub him down with a towel. My dog loves the hose & we play with it in the Summer, but I never bath him. He just gets a spot clean for stinky patches. ** He does love going in the water though, for a retrieve.
The only way I can hose off muddy paws/legs in winter is by stream feeding treats in one hand and hosing off with the other. She LOVES the hose...for play, not hosing off. Does your hose have various settings? You could try starting off with one of the very gentle spray settings and stream treats at the same time?
Sounds like to me you’re addressing two different issues. Being cleaned and not wanting to swim. Does she hate water or just hate cold water. We couldn’t get Duggan in a child’s wading pool in the early days and couldn’t wash him with a cloth either. He wouldn’t swim and also seemed to hate water. Fast forward... he will jump into the river from a moving boat and will retrieve ducks in sub zero temps. What happened was that he also got covered in feces and knowing his hatred for cold water and hoses, I took him in the tub with me half pre-filled with warm water and Then i couldn’t get him out. For two months he cried to get into the bathroom when he heard the tub getting filled. Most animals don’t like the being in the tub as it’s filling, the rising water scares them so try washing her in warm water.
I was wondering about the water temp thing too. We have black rubber tubs from the farm supply store that we fill with water and leave on the blacktop or around the yard. Mostly to play in but sometimes for baths. Hesitant puppies we put an inch or less and throw a favorite toy in and play. Fill more as they like. Bath time we have two tubs, one for soaping and one for rinsing. The black tub on the blacktop can get quite warm when left in the sun so be aware of water temp. And yes we do scrub these out once in a while like our dog bowls. Hee hee. Same tubs in outside kennel with blankets for napping. Multi uses. Zeke was much more hesitant swimming I big water. Rex ran right in. Zeke eventually followed. Do you know an older dog that could go swimming with you? It took a few weeks for Zeke to want to play in water.
Cleaning wise, I have never bathed Tatze in all her five years. Aquasorb towels for wet and mud, Cowboy Magic for Fox poo and any other stinkies. She’s a sweet smelling dog. Guide Dog pups and working dogs are never bathed either.
If he retrieves tennis balls, try tossing the ball a foot or so into a shallow pond. If that works you can try going further and further. When Cooper was very small she did not want to swim initially, but it did not take much to get her into deep water. Cooper was never really afraid of water but it took a little to get her into deeper water. Both she and Tilly went in chasing tennis balls.
That's reassuring to know your dog just gets spot cleans - I was worrying that he had never had a proper bath. We did manage to use some shampoo on a patch of fox poo once but it was a slow process as we tried to keep him calm. I think we'll try playing with the hose when it's warmer. Thanks for your reply.
Thanks for replying - yes the hose does have different settings but he doesn't like even the lightest setting. We have used it around the garden and had a builder in who used quite a hard spray and I don't think he likes the sound. I've also tried taking the spray head off and just letting water trickle out of the hose end but he still won't come near it. Streaming treats is a great idea though - we'll try that, thanks.
Thanks Johnny, yes you're right it's two issues. I think the not wanting to swim will be resolved in time. I'm more concerned about the difficulties in cleaning him without distressing him. Water temperature is a good point. I like the idea of a warmer water tub - I think we'll try that in the garden first as I suspect he would go mental trying to put him into a tub in the bathroom. Thank you
Ella hates the hose, isn't keen on waves in the ocean but with throw herself into a lake Sometimes it's harder to get them into water if they have to jump in or it's quite deep. A gently sloping lake or beach is ideal then either walk in yourself and reward for following you or try throwing a ball or something. Just don't throw something you're not prepared to lose! The first time Ella swam was about 5.5months, at a lake. She'd also got used to walking into the shallow dam at my parents place.
The Cowboy Magic Boogie mentions is very useful for spot-cleaning. No water involved, just a trigger spray bottle - or you could even wet a cloth with it then rub it onto the offending stain. Wilson will be just fine if he never has a bath.
Yes, I just spray it on to a wet cloth. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cowboy-Mag...&qid=1524226398&sr=8-12&keywords=Cowboy+magic
Great idea for the tubs - we'll definitely try this. Wilson has been with a couple of older dogs who happily went into the field pond, and a shallow river. He's hilarious because he hovers around the bank and extends his paw out to the dog in the water but won't go in himself. I'm sure that will come with time - I can't believe we'll have a lab who never goes in the water!
Oh thank you! That's very reassuring to hear. I'll look for Cowboy Magic and Aquasorb towels - they sound great. Thanks.
That's really helpful, thanks. We took him to the beach yesterday and tried gently lobbing his ball into the shallows and he went in a few times! We're doing it slowly slowly but I'm sure that's building his confidence. Thank you.
Thank you - that's really helpful. I think it's a case of gently gently with him going for a swim. He has now been into the shallows at the seaside so I'm sure is gaining confidence and will eventually go into the field pond or elsewhere. Perhaps I shouldn't be wishing it ... we'll have a wet dog all the time then hehe. Thank you
It can take a long time for a dog to get comfortable near/in water if their first experience was falling in. My suggestion is go somewhere where there is a beach and low waves approaching the beach. Very calm water is the key to re-introduce them to water. Then just walk in the water along the shore with them following you. Sit down, see if he comes over to you. If so don't hold him or pull him closer. This all has to be on his terms. Eventually if the experience is on his terms he'll get comfortable with water and will go in more.
