Dog hates to take a bath? Please help...?

Question

When i start giving her a bath she screams and moves around a lot... shes a big puppy so its hard for me to hold her...any suggestions on how to calm her down (and to make it more pleasant for me and more importantly her)...Don't know if this matters but she loves the water and to swim...

Answer 1

My Great Danes are idiots. Big, lovable idiots who hate to take baths. When they were puppies, I'd just run a bath and put on some clothes I didn't particularly care about, then get into the bath with them and gently wash them. If you're in there with the puppy, or if you put the puppy on your lap while you're washing it, it will usually be calmer (warning: you might suffer a few light scratches at first). Now they've learned to like water better, so I just take them in the back yard on a leash and soap them up while they sit on my lap. Basically, use physical contact, reassuring words and slow, gentle movements so it doesn't feel like you're attacking//punishing the dog with the water. Hope this helps! :)

Answer 2

give her treats.  talk softy to her.  dont get yourself stressed!  and keep telling her shes a clever girl (:

or try a bigger bath ?  you could go to the shops that you take your god in and wash her yourself !

good luck! :D

Answer 3

Some dogs will never like baths for no particular reason they just dont.

I have a miniature shnauzer, hates bath, whenever i say bath, he runs off.

Answer 4

Try using a real calming voice while giving her a bath.  Break bath time down into steps and give her treats periodically during these steps.  Also, kind of pretend like you are petting her throughout the bath.  But, basically make her feel like she is being rewarded the whole time.  Try changing the temperature of the water, too.

Answer 5

give her a treat i guess

Answer 6

Maybe, you should try praising her and telling her shes a 'good girl', when shes in the bath, and when she starts to struggle, give her some sort of treat, to calm her down.

However if this doesnt work, you may have to try another method such as hosing her off in the garden, LOL.

When my dog had a bad leg and coldnt get in the bath, we used to hose him off in the garden.

It sound weird LOL, but it works.

Answer 7

Pity theres not a way of cleaning her when shes in the sea or something. But thats adorable, I love doggies!

What breed is she?.x

Answer 8

I have to soap my dog up, and chase him around with the water hose!  He seems to enjoy it. But everything isn't for every dog.  You'll figure it out.

Answer 9

Have her outside, tie up to something, well you wash her.

Answer 10

give her a toy while she is being taken a bath, other then take YOUR DOG SUCKS!

Answer 11

My dog was the same way. We would put her collar and leash on and put her in the upright shower, tying her leash to the handle bar on the wall, so she couldn't move around too much. She liked the sprinkling of water much better and it got her cleaner quicker- plus she couldn't drink the soapy water. (She wasn't too bright.)

Answer 12

Make sure the water isn't to hot and talk to her the entire time.  Wash her like you're giving her a massage so it's enjoyable.  

Answer 13

I have a dog like that, but she doesn't like water. So I try to get the bathing done as quickly as possible. I fill the bathtub about a third of the way (adapt that to the size of the puppy) and I prepare a dilute solution of 1 part shampoo to 8 parts water of doggy shampoo the kind that kills ticks and fleas. I put it in a large stainless bowl.

I have a washcloth and soft brush handy in the solution, I put a leash on her and talk very sweetly and tell her how much I love her.

The prepared solution goes on really quickly and I have one of those separate hand held shower things and I can rinse the gog quickly and thoroughly. Of course there's a towel on the floor of the bath and another one that I use right away. It works. I don't so it often.  

Answer 14

What i do with my dog is just use one of those blow up or plastic kiddie pools. Put some soap in there before you fill it up so that when you fill it up it will bubble up. Since you said she is kind of big you can buy a little pool with taller walls. And as far as making it more pleasant for your goes, just change into your bathing suit so it doesn't matter if you get wet! Hope that helps and good luck!

Answer 15

I had a huge dog that hated being in the bathtub.  It took two of us and we still had trouble, but he was fine when we bathed him using a hose.  He loved to play with the spray coming from the hose, so it became a game for him.  Of course, that's only possible when it's warm out, but that might be something to try if you can.  They don't feel as trapped or confined that way as they do when you put them in the tub.

Answer 16

If you yell at her to sit and stuff while she is moving, she might be startled and scared, when you are giving her a bath give her treats during and after and tell her "good girl" in a calming voice during her bath and try to make her as comfortable as possible...my dog use to do the same thing but once i gave him more and more bathes he started to like them, good luck!

Answer 17

Sean Sean Sean B. Though you know hes not as fly as a bee.

Sean Sean Sean B. though you know hes singin to me