Can someone please explain to me in Labrador logic why Edsel will dive into any body of water he comes across, no matter the size or murkiness of said water, yet cowers and fights and looks like I've dipped him in acid when I attempt to wash him after some of these muddy romps? What am I missing? ???
Re: Bath time blues They like it only when they choose to do it, don't they? Try having someone delivering a stream of treats as you prepare for and then execute bath time. Most dogs can be made to accept things calmly if it's introduced gradually and it involves plenty of food. This video (link below), made by Dr Sophia Yin, is not bathing but toenail cutting - still, it illustrates a 'counter conditioning' approach to getting a dog to tolerate something it previously hated, by turning it into a positive experience with food. You can use the same kind of gradual approach with bathing, or any grooming type procedure. http://drsophiayin.com/videos/entry/training_a_dog_to_enjoy_toenail_trims
Re: Bath time blues Harley used to gate baths, but she now loves them I make sure there are 2 of us in the bathroom, one giving treats for calm behaviour around the bath, calm for going in the bath and a few whilst she is being washed so much easier with 2 people. We then play a game of wrestling to get her dry! :
Re: Bath time blues What you have failed to recognise and what your superior Labrador instinctively knows is the health giving properties of disgusting, fetid, muddy water
Re: Bath time blues Its the same logic that lets them drink filthy puddle water on a walk then insist on fresh water in the bowl when they get home.
Re: Bath time blues Dexter has only been bathed at home once .....10 mins after we got him home from the airport,poor lad,he just stood there,I think he was just bewildered about the whole turn of events his life had just taken ;D I hose his feet down every morning ( he doesn't like it) and he's had 3 baths at the groomers when his nails have been trimmed ......too scared,toooooooooo scared to even try doing them myself!
Re: Bath time blues [quote author=lorilou61 link=topic=6119.msg79892#msg79892 date=1400634531] Can someone please explain to me in Labrador logic why Edsel will dive into any body of water he comes across, no matter the size or murkiness of said water, yet cowers and fights and looks like I've dipped him in acid when I attempt to wash him after some of these muddy romps? What am I missing? ??? [/quote] ;D ;D ;D Charlie is happy to have a full on water fight with a running hose jetted across the garden...it used to be impossible to get him to stand still while a hose was run on very low pressure over his paws - no chance! When he started to go to hydro, we needed to do the showers, just had to make it fit with my madly busy routine - it was simply a case of shovelling treats in until he revised his view of the shower stall from "torture chamber" to "sweet shop". I didn't have time for anything more sophisticated, but it worked fine.
Re: Bath time blues I have never bathed Tatze in her life. When she's muddy I hose her down outside - I simply hook her lead on to the tap and hose the mud off, she doesn't love it but her tail is up and she puts up with it fine - I did this all winter too - croooool mummy!
