Bath Time

We had been meaning to give our dog a bath for some time now. It was really nice out when we started thinking about doing it. But then it got cold again and then it was bouncing back and forth. Ugh.

We have always given our dogs baths at home. It's just cheaper and easier for us. We did that with our last pup and we have been doing it with our current one. Finally it was nice out enough. Now some of you may wonder why we were waiting for it to be nice out. Well, after we give the dog a bath we take him outside so he can sun bathe and we can brush him out without making a complete mess out of the apartment. Plus the extra fur can be used by birds to make a nest.

Our dog had baths all last spring, summer and fall and he didn't really mind them. He wasn't exactly happy about it but he would tolerate it just fine. But today for some reason he really didn't want to go in the tub. Master had to literally pick him up and put him in there. I then shut the door behind us so he couldn't run out. Once he was in the tub he was fine. Master is the one who washes the dog. I hand him the shampoo and large measuring cup (used to rinse) when He needs it. I also help make sure that he doesn't bolt out of the bathroom when it's done and start running around the apartment like a crazy wet dog. He gets really hyper after a bath.

So we made it through the bath and got him outside. After we brushed him we just sat on the little slab of concrete that is our porch and let him run around a little on his leash and lay in the grass.

As we were sitting there we were talking and decided that he is just too big to get baths at home now. Our last pup was, at his largest, 65lbs. Our current one is only three years old and he's on his way to 80lbs. The funny thing is he's not fat at all. Not even a little bit. He's all muscle. He's a very lean, tall and long dog.

Now when you consider the different between almost 80lbs and 65lbs it doesn't sound like a lot. But it really is. It's not that he misbehaves or anything like that. He doesn't. But since Master had to lift him and everything and he doesn't have much room to move around.

So the next time we are going to take him to a professional groomer. We don't want all the bells and whistles. We just want a bath and an ear cleaning. We don't want his nails touched. He has all black nails except for one on his rear paw. The quick in each nail is really long. He was a stray before we adopted him. We don't want to risk anything. Yes, I know they can stop the bleeding with a gel. But honestly he doesn't ever needs his nails trimmed. Believe it or not he trims his own nails. He will literally lay on the couch and start chewing on his nails until they are where he wants them. This includes his back paws. He just pulls them up to his face, pins them down with his front paws and commences his beauty treatment. The rest is taken care of when we take him for walks due to the concrete.

I called a local place that has pet grooming and they aren't expensive at all. We are, however, very particular. We only want oatmeal shampoo used. We don't want any "scenting". We just want him to get a bath, have his ears cleaned and dried. After that, we'll happily take him home.

Once he was dry enough we all went back into the apartment and he got treats for being such a good boy. He's been tired since then though. Lots of fresh air and excitement will do that.