My dogs stink!

allwildgirl

allwildgirl

Cathlete
Okay, my dogs need a bath. For those with dogs who bathe them at home, how on earth do you do it?

My dogs are not small, 55 and 60 lbs. Do you put them in the tub? Do it outside with the hose?

I can't afford to send both of the beasts to the groomer to get done at $50 each.
 
lmao! It's a really tough job but you gotta get them used to it. I can't put them in the tub because they're too big and clumsy. I do it outside with a hose and they actually love it when the temperature is super hot. Just prepare yourself to see them roll in dirt as soon as you're done with them. I read that they do that because they like to be dirty and stinky. Sending them to the groomers is not an option for me because my dogs are hyperactive. I swear they need Ritalin. :7
 
I put my dogs in the shower, hose them down and lock all the doors, windows and the doggie door so they can't escape and roll in the dirt wet as they are, and I end up with a muddy dog instead of a dirty/smelly dog.

Mine have this trick down really good, and find some new ones as we move along, so I always have to think ahead.

AND, I am certainly not going to lift a 38 lbs wigglebutt in my bathtub, I will be be the one who has a nervous breakdown.

They will go to the groomer 2 or 3 times a year though.

You could also look for one of those self-service doggie-wash places. They are popping up all over the place here. It's much less than the regular groomer and you won't have the mess in your house.

Good luck!
 
We do ours in the tub. Our guest bathroom has a tub/shower and so we bought a thing that attaches to the shower head that is a sprayer. Does that make sense? We just leave it on there and it can be used for showering or you can pull it down and use it as a sprayer (well, not really a sprayer, but you know). My dog Amber HATES to be bathed, but Diane Sue mentioned that she gives her dogs cookies and as soon as she shows them the cookies and says shower they run in there. I haven't tried that yet but I'm gonna so I can try to make it a more pleasant experience. I hate stressing Amber out that much.

ETA: Unless it's REALLY hot outside I would think the hose would be miserable for them. I know I wouldn't want a cold shower.

Suz

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." - Anatole France

http://www.picturetrail.com/dogs2birds
 
Our dogs are 55 and 85 pounds. We will put them in the tub (one at a time!) and close the shower doors so they can't escape. We have a showerhead with a hose so it makes it much easier that way.

Do your dogs like water? Will they try to escape? If so, I'd try to do it in the bathroom in the tub. When I was a kid we had a small dog that, when I bathed her in a kiddie pool in the backyard, she would escape and go rub herself in the dirt and mud.

Oh, and we've never used dog shampoo, we've always used suave apple shampoo and their coats looked great!
 
Sorry but I am no help. George, our Newfie is 155 pounds now and a challenge just to brush! Good grief.
Plus there is only one groomer in town that even does giant breeds, so off he goes every 6 weeks. His hair is pretty long and gets matted real easy.x(
I do however, like the hose idea, especially since its still hot out? Hopefully you have a fenced in yard! Oh and do not bother with those sol called "dry shampoos". They really don't work, you wind up with a stinky dirty dog that smells faintly of roses.:7
 
I like the treat way. My dog is so used to it now that he will run to his "room" after nhis shower and just sit at attention, waiting for his Greenie. I give him his in the bath tub. Really even if your dog is 50-60 lbs, the bath should be ok, maybe not easy but ok. I mean heck, I weigh a little over 60 and I take a bath sometime:) ;)
LD
 
No advice, just commiserating with you. Our Wheaten terrier is a cat food addict and will constantly do covert operations down our hallway to get at it. She has a very fuzzy muzzle, so she always smells like a garbage truck when she pants. Oh, and it cakes to her hair like cement, so washing her doesn't really do the job. Good thing we love her so much!!
 
Shelley - Brandy weighs 67 lbs, and I have been known to put her in the tub. It's a real adventure. Ask me to tell you about it sometime.

But while it's warm, I use the hose outside. I do it on my front porch, and all the water conveniently runs off into a flower bed. :) Then I towel dry her as much as possible and bring her in until she's completely dry, so she won't do the ever famous "roll in the dirt" stunt.

In the winter, I'm lucky to be able to use my dad's shop. He has hot water in there, and a hose attachment to the faucet. When I'm done, I just use his "squeegee" think and push all the water that's on the floor out the door.

And Brandy is stinky too. She gets a bath this weekend, although she doesn't know it yet.
 
My dog is smaller than yours, about 35 lbs, but I just point to the tub and he hops in. From there I just use a large cup and get him wet, soap him up with doggie shampooo, and then rinse him off w/ fresh water. The rinsing is the hardest part. He's got wiry, wooley, bushy, spastic fur and it can be a job getting all the soap out. He pretty much stands there and just looks pathetic the whole time. I dry him off with a couple of old towels and try to keep him in the house til he's mostly dry. However, he likes to run around the house like a crazy dog and roll all over the carpet when he's wet, so I try to dry him off REALLY well and give him a chew bone to get him to stay put for a while. While he's chewing, then I can clean up all the fur in the bathroom. The bathroom cleanup afterwards is the worst part!!

Nan
 
I don't have a dog but I was thinking you could use one of those tot(baby) pools and fill it and use that like a tub in the backyard. That way you won't be messing up your bathroom and they will get a good wash.

Debbie
 
Thanks for all your input. I had thought of getting a kiddie pool for outside. One of my dogs HATES water - he'll cross the street to avoid a sprinkler. So it will be interesting. But I can't stand the smell anymore and I'm quite sure I don't want my house smelling like stinky dog, so I guess I'll bite the bullet.
 
We bathe Rascal in our tub. He's a little over 60lbs and tolerates the process well enough. We wet him down and rinse him off with an old Tupperware 1/2 gallon plastic pitcher. He's got short hair, so this works OK for us.

Gunther, my previous Boxer, was 80lbs and we bathed him in the tub as too, but he didn't tolerate it as well. So in his case, we had to tether his lease to the handrail in the shower to keep him from jumping out.

The doggie daycare that Rascal goes to has a dog washing station that they let people rent time on so they can come in and wash their dogs without having their bathroom turned into a mess. You might see if something similar is available in your area. I'm sure it's way less than what $50 per dog would be.
 
I've got a good dirty dog story for you . . .

We took our Great Pyranees (100+ lb fuzzy white dog) to the dog park for a run. Turns out, there was a section in the lower half of the park that held onto some rain water and was nothing more than a mud pond. So, dog is frolicking and all is well until she spots the mud pond. She made a bee line for the mud, and dove in! Rolled around a few times . . . and at that point, the damage was done.

We retrieved our ball of mud and headed for the truck - passing wide eyed dog owners who stared in awe at the site.

DH stripped himself of his clothes and took her into the bathroom - shut the door behind him. Before he had a chance to get her into the shower . . . yep, you guessed it . . . she shook. Needless to say, we had mud on the walls, mud on the ceiling, mud everywhere. It took a few hours, but eventually we got the pooch and the bathroom white again.

My one suggestion if you do use the tub, put down a towel so the pooches have a non-slippery surface. Part of the reason many dogs dislike being bathed in the tub is because they can't get a grip - just like the stainless steel tables in the vet's office.

Good luck!

Mo
 
We have two big dogs...over 60 lbs each. My DD figured out a way to bathe them without them running away. She puts a leash on them and shuts the leash in the car door. That way the dogs can't get away, and she can use the hose on them. Then they come in the house and run their ears on the carpet in a hugely hilarious way (head to the ground and butt in the air) to get the water out of them. Works every time...

Laura
 
Ya'll are cracking me up ..

Shelly .. in the summer I bath my babies outside ... it is super hot down here so they LOVE the water hose ..we bought a nozzle that had 4 different sprays .. so that made it a lot easier. My big baby is 130 pounds and he loves the water but it usually takes 2 of us b/c the minute he is finished he finds the only dirty spot on the lawn and finds pleasure in rolling himself in the mud (I swear he does this on purpose and thinks it is hillarious)

..in the winter we bath them in the tub .. like the others said I have a shower attachment that makes it super easy .. the tub is not that bad - it is the getting out and "shaking" that is bad .. have to cover everything in towels!

to get them to bath? I just tell them they stink and they go to the bathroom ... not sure how they learned that ..LOL .. habit I suppose!!

Hey .. on the bright said "doggie bathmax" is one H### of a workout!!:7
 
I used to have to tie up Cosmo--she hated baths.

Maximus has never had a bath in his life. I read an article right before I got him that said if you never bathe your dog s/he'll never smell--something about washing away the natural oils, yadda yadda yadda. So I figured I'd give it a shot & it's true, Max doesn't smell bad at all. If anything he smells like the fabric softener I use on my blankets. :) Weird huh?
 
Laura - mine have never had a bath (since I've had them anyway) and they never smelled up until this week. I have no idea what's up, but they both smell like stinky dog. Maybe I should just rub them with dryer sheets:p
 
Shelley,

Here's another suggestion. They do make "dry" foam baths that you can use. You just spray it on and rub it in. Just a thought.


Mo
 
Lol, if I never bathed my weiner dogs - p'u!!! Their feet alone smell like little sweaty gym socks! They shed really bad too and the baths get rid of a lot of that hair. I just pile them all in the tub. That's pretty easy with three weiners, but bigger dogs have to actually like being in the tub. I used to have an 80 lb lab/rottie mix (foster mom) and we trained her through treats and positive reenforcement to sit in the tub and be a good girl. She was actually easier to wash than the three weiners combined. You can buy some animal "body spray" for your dogs too and that might be an option to get rid of a little of the stink.
 
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