I dont think its necessary to bath them very often unless they have rolled in something gross but my two play a lot, involving a lot of mouthing, resulting in quite aromatic dogs : Little Flynn is easy, he fits in the sink , and up until today we havent ever bathed Sam . If he swam it may be better but he is still wary, only swimming by accident after a ball and he was getting a tad wiffy . We dont have a bath, only a walk in shower, my Lord, you would think I was trying to murder him : In the end, I laid a trail of treats into the shower and as he followed it, I quickly closed the doors , poor lad was really upset . Maybe a cheap paddling pool would be easier , does anyone else have trouble ?
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? A bucket and cloth in the garden for our boy....usually just to get the mud off but once in a blue moon he needs a bath then we just fill the bucket up more. He hates the hosepipe and I can't imagine wrestling with a soaking lab in the house
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? Well Lady had really got to the point of me not being able to stand the smell any longer on Friday, so two buckets of water and the garden hosepipe attached to a water butt (not as cold as the tap and nice and soft) and a large bag of treats plus puppy shampoo and the car sponge and 5 minutes later she's running round the garden like a mad thing all clean and stuffed with treats and I'm soaked. ;D Next day she rolled in fox pooh 100yds from the house. WHAT IS THE POINT! Aaargh! I've also done her in the shower, but it's really necessary to get in the shower with her which is actually quite good fun all round. Coming out of the shower isn't though. No matter how many towels you have they aren't enough and it's necessary to clean the whole bathroom including the ceiling. Don't forget the plug hole - never seen so many black hairs! Good luck.
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? I think I`ll do the buckets of water and a sponge in the garden next time , my bathroom was plastered in black hairs and awash with water , thanks for the tip
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? Lilly has a hydrotherapy swim if not weekly then fortnightly and has a lovely coat which is a magnet for fox poo of course : She has been known to have a swim on Monday, fox poo prompted bath on Tuesday and again on Thursday - that was the worst week! I think its easiest to fill a big bucket and do it in the garden - a tip is to mix the shampoo in half a jug of warm water first - much easier to apply. Not a fan of the dog-haired plastered bathroom and Lills doesn't entertain the shower not after the first time! Oh....and loves the hair-dryer at swimming but runs a mile when my daughter switches hers on LOL! Dogs, eh! Jacqui
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? I don't bath my labs, but I do bath my spaniels occasionally. Their longer coat seems to get, well, grubby, over time Will definitely try this one, I always struggle to get their coats wet. I try to avoid bathing in the winter as I think it removes the waterproofing from the dog's coat. Pippa
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? Yes the tip re mixing the shampoo is good - thank you. Lady gets a wash down when the smell gets too bad but otherwise not because, as you say, the waterproofing comes out.
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? I dont bath mine unless they are completely gross. A splash through the stream and then a quick rub down with a towel usually suffice. However, if they are really disgusting I get out the doggy paddling pool, a bucket of warm soapy water - and after 10 minutes I am usually exhausted, soaked, and covered in black AND yellow hairs... which is partly why we dont do it often!!
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? As a rule we don't bath our dogs, a regular dip in the river is usually enough. But Maia has good line in 'eau-de-dead' and can manage to rub it from behind her ears all the way down her neck across her shoulders and half way down her flank, all in the time it takes to wonder where she is and call her in! She finds the really sticky stuff too, the one that won't come off no matter how many times she's sent into / across the river. So she's regularly hosed down in the garden but our tap is outside and no matter how well insulated it is freezes up solid as soon as it gets a little chilly, so we have a shower attachment thing that is supposed to go over the bath but it has a very long hose to come out of the kitchen window which makes for a much more pleasant time all round, and I can still feel my fingers at the end of it. Because she's got a proper waterproof coat I try not too use too much shampoo, it's possible to hose her down and remove the green without her skin actually getting wet, but it then requires three bath sheets to get all the water out of her top coat - ah the joy of labradors! However Juno (the one with the skin complaint) loved to be showered off and learnt to open the shower cubicle door and would join you mid-shower! "Do me too", she'd demand whilst shedding great clumps of black fur all over soggy legs - I learnt to bolt the door, she sat outside looking very forlorn.
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? Haha, what a picture!!! Both my dogs love to visit me when I am taking a bath. They sit by the bath, looking very perplexed, and occassionally lick my shoulder or foot... ;D They dont show any interest in getting INTO the bath though, I am happy to say...
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? Hi Jaqui. Just tried your tip of shampoo mixed in half a jug of warm water. Works like a treat. Thank you.
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? A friend of mine had an outdoor hot tap fitted to hose his dogs down. I thought he was mad and said so. "Dogs don't mind cold water" I told him and he agreed but pointed out that he did and hosing off poo in winter, wellies not withstanding was cold enough without getting extra cold and wet. Having been through one winter- this year I agreed and I too have a hot tap saves a lot of messing about when they're filthy and I don't want numb fingers.
Re: Do you bath your dogs ? Ah! Hot tap now there's an idea. It was a really serious fox pooh incident. I had to hang her collar on the back step of the Land Rover, drive with all the windows open and stop for a coffee break half way home to get rid of the feelings of nausea! :-\
