# how to get a dog into the shower to bathe?



## asuna (Sep 26, 2013)

So tonight is the first time ive bathed thor. 
or tried too
the reason bein is that he had a flea infestation when i first got him and the vet said not to bathe him after he put on his flea treatment for a month, andbefore that thor was recently neutered so they also said i couldnt bathe him for a month

so here we are and im trying to get thor into my stand up shower treats, encouragement ect
he wouldnt come more than an inch in.

i thought he was part lab? arent labs water loving dogs?
LOL

anytips ?


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## JuliaRose (Nov 14, 2013)

Ours is half lab but hates water. I did get him able to take baths though because it became necessary... What we did (because coaxing into the tub with treats did not work, guess he decided it wasn't worth it) was to just pick him up, and drop him in the tub. With no water at first! Fed him tons of treats once he was in but didn't let him get out until we said so. Now we can get him in for a bath and he will (begrudgingly) tolerate the water while I bathe him until I give him permission to get out. I would just start slow without water and work it up as a positive location for him to be in.


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

Aww that would be so frustrating. We got Royce as a puppy so it was pretty easy for us. He doesn't like to bath but likes being close to me so it helps. If I'm in the shower he actually will open up the door and hop in. Lol 

Good luck. I know you just have to make it a good place for him, treats, praise, toys...I know he first time I put Royce in the tub as a fluffy 20lb baby I out a tug toy in there and played with him in the dry tub with treats. He is not a HUGE toy fan but he still played a little and was never afraid of the tub.


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## MimiAzura (Jan 5, 2013)

sclevenger said:


> played with him in the dry tub with treats.


^This

This is what i've been doing with Freya


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## asuna (Sep 26, 2013)

okay ill try that ill bring him in without water on ect and let him do some sniffing i just thought he would be like HEY WATER LET ME IN


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Using a rubber gripping mat (the no-slip safety kind that are recommended for kids and the elderly) can help the dog feel way more secure standing in the tub or shower. Even dogs that like lakes and streams and playing with the hose outside can be freaked out by the slippery tiles or tub. It is safer too in case the dog starts to scramble around in the shower.


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## asuna (Sep 26, 2013)

Shell said:


> Using a rubber gripping mat (the no-slip safety kind that are recommended for kids and the elderly) can help the dog feel way more secure standing in the tub or shower. Even dogs that like lakes and streams and playing with the hose outside can be freaked out by the slippery tiles or tub. It is safer too in case the dog starts to scramble around in the shower.


theres already one in there its a stand up shower and i didnt wanna slip LOL


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

I had to ruin it for both my dogs as they both reeked of urine when I got them.. So really I just carry them in. It's so brief that it's not the end of the world if they have to be upset about it for a little while.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

Sometimes treats just don't work. I just put a harness with a handle on the back and picked him up by the harness and collar and put him in the shower. He is much easier to lead in the shower now. He doesn't dead weight and I don't have to pick him up. I make sure to body block the dogs so they can't squeeze out of the shower stall.


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## Brit (Nov 16, 2013)

My wife and I had SO MANY good ideas when we got our last puppy... one was to gradually and slowly acclimate him to the bath tub... learn to enjoy it with treats and praise... well that went out the window when our new puppy had fleas and we had to give him a flea bath IMMEDIATELY upon getting home. Well, we of course freaked him out on baths and its been a struggle ever since to give him a bath. We are now just trying to make baths a treat filled expeience... but puppies get into things and need baths... so thats seems like a dead end street. So now we are in the "grab and soap" method with lots of treats... it seams now he's just getting lots of treats for being pissed in the bathtub. Oh well, theres always the next puppy!


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## Biddity (Jan 18, 2014)

Might shower stalls be easier? I lead Delilah in with a treat or two and then leash her to a railing.


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## Kyle071785 (Nov 28, 2013)

Jax took to the tub very early after we got him (as he didn't have a choice...)

9.5 weeks of age, he decided to knock over my glass of apple juice and it landed on his head :doh:

anyways, he loves the tub and we got him used to it with plenty of treats (we actually have a treat bag on the bathroom counter that he only gets when in the tub...high value treat!). We bring him to the tub routinely now when we either clean out his eye guck or clean his ears as it just seems like its a place he's comfortable with now.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

I simply put my dogs in the shower and showered them. They don't like it, but they tolerate it.

For future dogs, I would probably teach them to go in the shower or tub without any water first. Just get them loving the shower/tub and willingly going in there. Then have the water running while they get in there, but not enough that the dog gets wet (or just their toes get wet), then wet the dog a little, then a little more, etc.

Even doing all that, I still think there are dogs who are never going to like the shower/tub, they just learn to tolerate it.


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## pinksand (Dec 11, 2013)

We have it easy because Charlie has a weird obsession with tubs and showers. If we visit people's houses he'll try to get into theirs as well. I just have to say "hop in" and he jumps in when it's time for a bath. The problem is that he doesn't always want to stay there. I just speak gently to him and tell him he's being good. I'd imagine that a tub is easier than a shower stall because I can sit on the edge. Sometimes he rests his head on my lap while I bathe him so I've learned to be prepared to get a bath as well 

I agree that treating and calm praise should be a good place to start!


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

bath time toys! like a little kid. Kong and Chuck it both make some awesome floaty toys. but i agree with the theory of just pick him up and put him in. unless he's got big anxiety problems, he'll be no worse the wear for it.
last night i got to a whole new level of weird. Levi spent yesterday playing in the muddy park with his buddy and the two of them wound up venturing into a swamp/pond thing. he was overdue for a bath anyways. well last night i was falling asleep really quick and i still needed to shower, and he still needed bathing but i only had enough energy for one of us sooooo..... i brought him in the shower with me. is that really weird? I feel like it is lol. i brought in him, soaped him up, rinsed him off and then threw him out onto a towel on the floor while i showered. new bonding experience?


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I free shaped Squash to run and jump into the tub. Pip and Maisy I can just pick up and put in there. We have a sliding door on the shower so once they're in and it's closed, they aren't going anywhere.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

I just lift and plop  Ham loves drinking from the tub faucet though and usually hops in first thing in the morning and last thing before bed and stares at you until you turn it onto a trickle so he can have a drink. He hated being bathed as a puppy though... now he doesn't love it but you don't need two people to bathe him anymore. He's good enough.


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## pinksand (Dec 11, 2013)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> well last night i was falling asleep really quick and i still needed to shower, and he still needed bathing but i only had enough energy for one of us sooooo..... i brought him in the shower with me. is that really weird? I feel like it is lol. i brought in him, soaped him up, rinsed him off and then threw him out onto a towel on the floor while i showered. new bonding experience?


Weird? Nah!  My bird was obsessed with showers and would fly to the curtain and poke his little head in. He loved a gentle spray and would tilt his head back and close his eyes. It was so sweet I didn’t mind. Charlie on the other hand has been known to grab the curtain and fling it open and hop in with me. That or he would go between the decorative curtain and clear liner and sit and stare… very awkward! After this happened a few times he was banished from the bathroom while I showered.


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## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

If you have the time, you could try getting him used to the area first. Play with him near the shower, give him lots of treats. Eventually put some treats in the doorway to the shower or throw his toys just slightly in so he can still easily get to them. Work your way up so that he goes in a bit further each time.

Two things we did with our dog:
1. Don't ever make it a big deal that he's going to get a bath. Just treat it the same as if you were going into the next room. Don't get stressed out or excited in any way.
2. Tonnes of praise if he's in the shower and not freaking out.


Good luck!


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## d_ray (Nov 5, 2013)

I feel your pain. Jewel has been super muddy lately and I've had to start rinsing her off after hikes. She hates getting in the tub, but once, I get her in, she tolerates it. She's big and it's a struggle to get her in though.


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

Hope its not TMI, but actually (velcro dog, but she does not like baths either)- I just take a shower, call her over and haul her in by her collar- it saves time - we both get clean (just have the dog shampoo ready to go and a giant cup for helping to rinse, like one of those 7-11 Big gulps)...


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

BernerMax said:


> Hope its not TMI, but actually (velcro dog, but she does not like baths either)- I just take a shower, call her over and haul her in by her collar- it saves time - we both get clean (just have the dog shampoo ready to go and a giant cup for helping to rinse, like one of those 7-11 Big gulps)...


LOL, Caeda used to want to be with us in the shower too. I started out with her in the tub by treating her for putting her paws on the side (When she was too short to jump in), then I got her in the (DRY!!!) tub with treats, actually got her to sit and down for me. Did that for a bit, then started running the tap a tiny bit, got her good with that. As soon as she was big enough to climb in on her own she would climb in when one of us was showering (until my DH banned that...she was tall enough to be...um....troublesome to him as a large jumpy nippy puppy).

Not sure how the whole scheme would work for Thor though, with a stand up shower.....one thing I would suggest, that helped a TON with bathing Caeda.....detachable shower head, and we went and got an extension for it so it was long enough to even spray under her belly. Starting with the shower with no water will probably help too, and if you have a detachable shower head you can turn it on not facing at him and see how he deals with that. Next step, if he likes water is to get him to stop biting at the water lol.


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## asuna (Sep 26, 2013)

our shower head isindeed detachable !


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## Jen1959 (Jan 29, 2014)

I have been lucky with all my dogs I guess. We have an indoor hot tub room with a shower stall. The door leads outside. Every time mine are all muddy, I wave them over to that door, they come in one by one, I tell them to get in, they do, one at a time, I have a hand held shower sprayer, they get cleaned off, then I do the next one and so on. Some don't care for it but they do it anyway. Ones who like it are the first in. Little harder to coax the others but when I say GET IN NOW, they know I mean business. They are all from 75-100 lbs so forcing them isn't an option.


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## Chichan (Apr 1, 2014)

Benefits to having a small dog I guess is being able to just pick them up and plop them in the sink for a bath. 
I try to make bath time as fun as possible with lots of treats and pets and encouraging talk, so he doesn't seem to mind. 
When I was at my local Pet Valu the other day someone had a very large dog and was using the self-wash station in the back.
Our dogs wanted to say hi so we got to talking and she told me that he refuses to bathe at home, but has no issue here.
So perhaps that could help?


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## asuna (Sep 26, 2013)

Chichan said:


> Benefits to having a small dog I guess is being able to just pick them up and plop them in the sink for a bath.
> I try to make bath time as fun as possible with lots of treats and pets and encouraging talk, so he doesn't seem to mind.
> When I was at my local Pet Valu the other day someone had a very large dog and was using the self-wash station in the back.
> Our dogs wanted to say hi so we got to talking and she told me that he refuses to bathe at home, but has no issue here.
> So perhaps that could help?


i live in a small canadian town, its not an option in the winter, but there is one out in the boonies, that also has a car washing area aswell i might try it
thor hasnt bathed at all but he cleans himself like a cat, which ive been told is a probably due to his husky mix in him
he doesnt seem to like water much at all....to be honest, but he doesnt smell like dog either so we shall see


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