Last week, I decided to try a friend’s dog bathing strategy of taking Lilly into the shower with me. That’s probably TMI. Yes? Well, it worked remarkably well. (No photos, of course.)
I’ve never done it before because we had a powerful shower head, but Tom recently replaced it with one that has a broad, gentle … and more importantly, quiet… spray.
I thought Lilly might like it, and (as you’ll see tomorrow) she had an outing planned that required her to be princess girl, rather than dirty mountain girl.
Since my other bath-time ploys have fizzled out, I’m not sure it’ll ever work again, but she took to being in such an enclosed space with water pouring down on her pretty well.
I blocked the spray while shampooing her. I stood her up on her hind legs and spun her around for a rinse.
I toweled her off the best I could, then asked her to just hang out in our shower room, which is a subset of the master bathroom, while I took my shower. She curled up on her towel next to the radiator, and that was that.
I’d NEVER try this with Ginko because he would surely cause bodily harm.
So, you’ve seen those t-shirts and such that say things like “I kiss my dog” or “Sleeps with Dogs.” I guess we’re now part of the crowd that “Showers with Dogs.”
I own a large male Siberian husky and he sheds SO much that if I did this, I would have a clogged shower for MONTHS. Any way to possibly like put a strainer over the drain or a good way to unclog it afterwards?;) haha
Testing a new comment feature.
Only for the sake of not clogging my shower drains with the mounds of Siberian Husky hair have I not tried this tactic.
Wow, it worked much better for you than for me. K was too scared to stand on her hind paws for rinsing her underside so that that part was a disaster. But, my friends with shower heads installed on long hoses say that those gizmos completely solve the underside rinsing problem.
I have to admit, K wasn’t at all happy about the entire thing. New gizmos probably won’t solve that but might make it possible to impose a shower on K when it’s absolutely necessary.
Love it! What a sport Lilly was. I’m terrible with grooming. Kona has short fur that blends with dirt so nicely that she may get a real bath once a season. I like to reason that she stays clean during the summer with playtime in the water, and gets a couple good showers in the winter when we’re crazy enough to head out in a heavy rain…maybe it’s good she won’t let strangers pet her and feel her not-so-silky coat.
That’s an interesting strategy. I’m not sure it would ever work with Marge – we have to go to a grooming salon and use their “self-wash” service so I can bathe her in a high-up tub that she can’t jump out of. She HATES water being sprayed on her.
Can’t wait to hear about the news tomorrow!
Lilly didn’t really race around inside the house. She fled, for sure, but she didn’t try wriggling against the furniture or anything. She just hung out on places I’d reinforced with blankets while she was still damp. I did let her go outside for short stints because it was somewhat sunny and breezy (though cold-ish). She dries remarkably fast.
What happened after you were done with your shower and opened the door? Did she attempt to engage in post-bathing-run-through-the-house-like-a-maniac behavior?
Can’t wait to hear about the princess-girl outing.