There will come a day in every dog owner’s life when they will have to bathe their own dog.   Whether it’s because the groomer was booked, or the dog decided to roll in the mud two hours before your entire family arrived for a barbeque, or he had a close and personal meeting with a skunk, it’s inevitable that it will happen.

And for some, that’s the precise moment when they realize that their dog doesn’t share their excitement for the bathing event at hand.  Not only that, some dogs can have a panic-stricken reaction that leads to more fear, hysteria, and in some cases aggression.

Let’s take a look at the most common bathing scenarios and how a bit of training and behavior modification can help create a better experience for all involved.

“My Groomer Said My Dog Loves To Get Groomed, So Why Is He Freaking Out In MY Bathtub?”

Um, right.  So, unless you’ve actually seen your dog at the groomer having the time of his life, let’s quantify that statement.  Remember, groomers are dog professionals (like the groomers at our new grooming shop, Kathy Santo’s Pet A Groom), which means that they know their way around a resistant, hysterical dog, they have equipment that makes their job easier (slip-free bathing tubs, for starters), and they make the right decisions at the right times. Because of that, most of the time, the grooming experience results in a successful, positive outcome.  Unless you have professional training and years of experience under your belt, without some guidance your result may be different.

Canine Aqua Phobia?

Some dogs dislike water. A lot. It could be because of the way is shoots out of the hose, or the temperature it is when it comes out of the hose, or it could be the unpleasant sensation coming from your “regrettably still set on ‘Power Jet’ mode” handheld showerhead.  (Helpful hint: starting out with a gentle setting like “Rain” is less stressful to most dogs).  And while we’re on the subject, let me debunk the myth forever that sporting dogs and dogs who have “water” in their name are genetically engineered to love water.  They aren’t.  There are Portuguese Water Dogs who don’t love water just as there are Golden Retrievers who don’t love to retrieve.  Every dog is a unique individual.  Know thy dog!

But whatever the reason, you’re going to have to find a way to convince your water resistant dog that bath time is at least tolerable. My Doberman would head for the hills when my golden retrievers came out of the pool just in case a rogue droplet of water hit him when they shook! To prevent his bath from being a traumatic experience, I didn’t use a hose or even a hand held showerhead.  I used a sponge similar to what you might use for a horse, dipped it in a bucket of warm water and soap, and gave him a sponge bath.  When it was time to rinse him off, I had a second bucket of clear warm water and a sponge at the ready.  The time it would have taken me to empty the first bucket and rinse the sponge would have increased the length of the bath, thereby increasing the length of his stress.

It’s worth mentioning that I did tether him so that he wouldn’t be able to take a field trip around the yard during his bath.  In addition, I would turn on the hose just a tiny bit so a little stream of water trickled out.  When I picked up the hose, he got a treat.  Once I saw that he was happy and relaxed when I was reaching for the hose (as he was anticipating a cookie!), I would run a little water over one of his paws and then reward him.  After he was relaxed about one paw getting wet, then I would progress to two, and so on and so on.   This process took two months, at least, and I was very careful not to push him over his comfort threshold.  My goal each session was a happy, relaxed dog.

Fear of the Tub

There can be many reasons for this fear.  I’ll skip over “Because one day he was muddy and you carried him upstairs against his will and forced a bath on him” and go right into the many other reasons dogs dislike being in a bath tub. Whether it’s their long nails, the slick tile, or the small confined space of the tub, there’s not much for a nervous dog to love.  Here are a few ideas that can help reduce the stress for your dog:

Your Bathroom Is Now His Dining Room.  The quickest way to get your dog unstressed about the bathroom is to start serving him meals in it.  Start with feeding him in the bathroom doorway and gradually migrate his bowl closer and closer to the tub.  Don’t shut him in the room and proceed SLOWLY.  Once you have a happy dog that runs into the bathroom anticipating a meal, you can drop an extra special treat into the (empty) tub.  Letting the dog reach in and get his reward will lead to the dog hopping into the tub, especially if the treat is accidentally on purpose placed farther away from him than he can reach by standing outside it.  But before you get to that point, you have to remember that……

Dogs Hate Slipping.  This seems obvious, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it.  Go out and buy a rubber bath mat and put it in the bottom of the tub.  For extra nervous dogs, take your bathmat (yes the one that you step on when you come out of the shower) and put that on top of the rubber mat. Then add the water to the tub. Yes, I know that your mat will be soaking wet. That’s why dryers and clotheslines were invented.  Your dog’s comfort and safety in the tub comes first.

Memo To You:  Your Dog Is Not Getting Dive Certified

He isn’t taking a PADI home study course; therefore you don’t need to fill the tub up to the tippy top.  Start with an inch or two of warm water to acclimate him to the idea that his feet can be in water without him panicking.  Preferably you’ll have the water already in the tub when the dog arrives, especially for those fearful of running water.

Haven’t I Seen You Before?

If you’re going to desensitize your dog to the bathroom, water, and hoses, you may as well add his shampoo bottle to the list.  A rarely thought of trigger, the sight and smell of the shampoo bottle can set off a negative reaction, too.  When the sight of the shampoo caused my student’s great Dane to race around the house in an attempt to avoid a bath, the first thing I  had her do was to change to a different brand of dog shampoo.  My feeling was that it would be easier to acclimate her dog to a new scent then to change her feelings about the old one.  Next, the shampoo bottle made regular appearances in her life outside of an actual bath.  Like the Travelocity Gnome, the bottle appeared near her food bowl when she was eating, by her leash on the counter, in her basket of toys (of course she was supervised, silly!), and next to her cookie jar.  Every time her owner picked up the bottle, the dog got a treat.  Her association with that shampoo bottle was that she was about to get a cookie, NOT that something unpleasant was going to happen that she needed to avoid.  Eventually, when bath time was imminent, we took the extra precaution of putting the shampoo in a plastic bowl and carrying it upstairs to the tub.  That way, if her dog had a negative association with the squeezy/slurpy sound of the shampoo coming out of the bottle, this prevented a regression.

In and Out Bother

To avoid the drama of the dog that jumps out of the tub, an inexpensive tub tether is the answer.  If you have a dog whose training is at the stage that you can ask for a “Stand/Stay” then give yourself a round of applause and use a tub tether anyway.  You just never know when even the best dog is going to decide that jumping out of the tub is an option.

NOT A Hot Tub Party!

At the other end of the stick is the dog that thinks “Whoopee!  Water!”  These are the dogs that are constantly biting at the hose, chasing the spray, and generally engaging in unbridled joy at the idea that they and their human are “playing” in the water together.  Those of you with a fearful dog think this would be a better problem to have.  Those of you whose dog inappropriately celebrates bath time think differently.

Individuals with this type of dog should do themselves a favor and make sure that the dog comes to the party already tired out.  A nice long walk or run, a rousing game of fetch, or maybe even working on some homework from obedience school will result in a mellower dog – the term “mellow” being relevant, of course.

If at all possible, see if you can get a friend or family member to help you.  When my daughter holds a peanut butter stuffed Kong, my golden retriever lets me bathe him as long as I want to without moving a muscle.  That is, as long as the peanut butter doesn’t run out…..

In addition, this is an excellent time for your obedience training to go to work for you.  One huge reason to have training in the first place is to (among other reasons), make day-to-day living with your pet an easier experience for the both of you.  At bath time, consider using your “Stand and Stay” command.

Personally, I think that teaching your dog to calmly accept a bath is an important life lesson.  During the bath a lot of handling occurs that teaches your dog to be tolerant of being touched.  That skill comes in handy when you need to clean his ears when he has an ear infection, when you need to brush a mat out of his coat, or if someone has to grab his collar to prevent him from doing something that could be harmful (bolting out a door into the road, for example).  Instead of having a flight, fear or aggressive response, your dog will be calm, cool and accepting.  And not to mention that when you do take your dog to a groomer, at least you know that he’s been trained to understand what acceptable behavior in the tub is.

Imagine having your dog so well trained that he can enter a television studio with 279 people that he’s never met before sitting 25 feet away from him (or closer), a dozen or so more walking close by, cameras rolling towards him that are twice the height of a person and a few thousand overhead lights thrown in.  But yet, on command he can perform whatever he’s been asked to do perfectly. 

As someone who’s been on television in front of live studio audiences many times (with my dogs and those of my students!), I’m very familiar with  the level of attention that needs to happen for a successful experience.  At every appearance, the dogs were relaxed and happily focused on me, and not the extremely distracting environment.   

In your dreams, you think? As I’ve told my students more times than I can count, “Raise the bar, people!”  Although your dog may never be under the bright lights of a TV studio, teaching him a command that will get you his undivided attention is an extremely important.  Imagine being able to instantly summon your dog to be 100% focused and attentive, no matter what’s going on around you.  Having trouble imagining the real-life application of this command?  How about when you’re walking your highly prey-driven dog (read: chases anything that moves) dog and you see a squirrel or cat crossing your path?  By asking for his attention and either heeling past or staying still and waiting until it passes, you’ve made life a whole lot easier for both of you.  Dogs with a penchant for chasing cars, wanting to engage in games of “staring and stalking”, or for barking at others can be re-directed by using the “Watch me” command.  And that’s a big part of what dog training is all about – re-directing your dog so that you reward him for doing what you WANT him to do instead of constantly fussing at him for always being wrong.

Where to Start?

Any dog, at any age, can learn this command.  Plan a training session for when your dog is hungry, lonely and/or bored so he’ll be interested in the game.  Go to a distraction-free area (for now) and put your dog on a leash. Have a supply of your dog’s favorite treats or, if he’s not a food-motivated dog, his favorite toy to use as a motivator.

For puppies or small dogs you have a choice – you can either kneel on the floor or you can put your dog up on a grooming table (taking care to hold onto the leash in case of a potential bungee jump!).  Larger puppies and dogs can sit at your side while you stand.

Here’s How To Teach It:

Have your dog sit at your left side and bring the treat or toy to his nose.  Let him sniff it, and maybe even have a nibble.  You want him to be very interested in what you have.  If he’s not, then choose a different treat or toy.

Next, slowly raise the cookie up to your eyes, and the second you see his eyes look from the treat to your face, say “Yes! Watch” or “Yes! Look”. (you’re naming the command when he does it correctly, not chanting “watch watch watch” to a dog who is looking away from you), pop the treat into his mouth and at the same time praise him “good boy” and immediately release him with “O.K.!” If your dog knows how to tug, this is a great time to play that game with him.

 My suggestion is to do this 5-10 times per session, keeping in mind that you always want your dog to want to do more.  Never train until he’s exhausted!  This is where knowing your dog (his work ethic, energy level, motivation, etc.) is essential.

Watch Out!
The timing of the reward is a critically important step in the “watch” command.   You must get that treat or toy to him as he’s watching you!  If you’re moving the      reward towards him and he gets distracted and looks away, refocus him on the food by bringing it to his nose, and bring it back up to your face.  If you give him          the food while he’s looking away, you’ll have a dog that learns that “watch” means look anywhere but at you.

I know it sounds obvious, but when you’re training and you have to think of eight dozen different things to do at once (the command, the lure, the timing of the reward, the alternate plan if he looks away) the obvious suddenly becomes muddled, and you find yourself doing things much differently than you’d planned.  Slow down, be calm and be very, very patient with yourself as well as your dog.

Equally important is the release (“ok!”), because just as he would associate getting a treat while looking away meant that looking away was what you wanted, releasing him when he’s looking away also rewards the behavior.  By simultaneously putting the treat in his mouth and praising and then immediately releasing him, you’ll avoid the problem.

Things Are Looking Up……….

After a week or so, your dog is probably ready to move ahead.  We’re going to transition from putting the treat in front of the dog’s nose and moving it to your face to saying “watch” without the lure.   Of course, the dog will still receive a reward when he does the command correctly, but soon we’ll transition off the food/toy as a primary reward, and transition to your verbal praise and a great game of tug.  After all, obedience should never be dependant on whether or not you have a great treat in your pocket, or whether or not your dog is hungry or in the mood for his special toy.

(Those of you with small dogs or puppies who started the process sitting or kneeling next to your dog will need to transition to standing up before proceeding. Sitting in a chair is a great bridge between kneeling and standing.)

   Have your dog sit in front of you, on leash and close enough so that your knees and his nose are almost touching.  Tell him to “Watch”. Praise him when he does.

   Take one step to the right, and repeat the command “Watch”   If he continues to watch you, reward/praise and release (“O.K.!”). 

Build up to taking more than one step to the right, and then try the same thing moving to the left.  After that, try the same thing while backing up one step at a            time.  Keep your dog motivated and enthusiastic by keeping your level of enthusiasm up and using great treats, games and toys as rewards.

If your dog is at this level and does not look at you when you say the command, be sure that you haven’t skipped a step or rushed through the process.

With each practice, gradually increasing the length of time that you ask your dog to watch you, and add distractions (start mild and work up from there!).  Now          you’re teaching your dog under which situations you expect him to obey your “Watch Me!” command.

In less time then you think, your dog will be happy to give you his full attention, no matter what the situation.  And when people admire your dog but say that their    dog could never do that, you are required to tell them, from me, to “Raise the bar!!”

Rounding the corner of the DOG TREAT aisle at my local Major Pet Supermarket Chain, I come upon a scene that most people would find heartwarming.  Two people are engrossed in a conversation about the recent dog food recalls while their dogs, who are on leashes, are sniffing each other.  Other people are walking past and smiling, seeing a friendly interlude. I’m rooted to the spot, anticipating a major problem.

Others see dead people.  I see dog fights.

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For most people, interpreting their dog’s behavioral issue is like reading Homer’s Odyssey. Upside down. In Mandarin.

It’s situations like these that can cause tension and stress between the owner and dog, and sometimes result in the owner making the decision to place the dog in a shelter. The good news is that if you learn a few basic facts about dogs and their learning process, you’ll be able to successfully solve these problems.

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