Bath-phobic dog
- Thread starter Pharlap290
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Treat treat treat. For every step in the right direction give him lots of praise and treat. The further he goes the more praise he gets! Don't spray him at first. Matter of fact keep it dry at first. Just work on him getting to the bath and in and out while it is dry. Once he is comfortable with that start introducing the water a little at a time. It will take lots of determination and hard work but you will eventually get to the point where you can ask him to get in the tub and he will with no problem.
The best method I've found is to take your time and don't expect much to start.
This is a revised method of how I did it for those that have thrown poor Lassie into the tub, and we've all done it at least once.
Make it a session, like Salem said without water to begin. (A session of about 10 minutes)
It's kind of like training for the big day!
Cut up hot dogs are great. Take the dog into the bathroom, perhaps even leading him with a treat. Close the door. Ignore the dog completely, and leave a trail of hot dogs into the tub. Lots of hot dogs!
Than sit as far away from the tub as you can. Why? Because poor Lassie's problem is: you+tub=afraid. So by taking you out of the equation, Lassie can meet the tub on his own terms.
No eye contact. No speaking. Look at your nails, read a book, focus on something, anything than Lassie.
Lassie will probably check out the first few treats that aren't too close to the tub. Still don't say anything or make any eye contact. Lassie will keep looking at you to make sure that your not approaching to throw him into the tub.
After a few minutes of debating and making sure your not nearing, he'll probably run in grab the hot dog and back away. That's fine.
Work on this as much as you can! ANd DO NOT throw "Lassie" into the tub anymore. Take your time. Have patience.
I guarentee if you are patient, and give Lassie some time, he'll at least be able to stand the tub for the few minutes it takes to give a bath.
After Lassie, is regularly going towards to the tub to get the treats, starting throwing the treats INTO the DRY tub. Once Lassie seems less stressed, and more relaxed about jumping into the dry tub you can start using water. While Lassie is in the tub, you can approach with a handful of treats and for the first few times, just feed, feed, feed!
Let him know that the bath can be a happy, fun place!
Hope that made sense
This is a revised method of how I did it for those that have thrown poor Lassie into the tub, and we've all done it at least once.
Make it a session, like Salem said without water to begin. (A session of about 10 minutes)
It's kind of like training for the big day!
Cut up hot dogs are great. Take the dog into the bathroom, perhaps even leading him with a treat. Close the door. Ignore the dog completely, and leave a trail of hot dogs into the tub. Lots of hot dogs!
Than sit as far away from the tub as you can. Why? Because poor Lassie's problem is: you+tub=afraid. So by taking you out of the equation, Lassie can meet the tub on his own terms.
No eye contact. No speaking. Look at your nails, read a book, focus on something, anything than Lassie.
Lassie will probably check out the first few treats that aren't too close to the tub. Still don't say anything or make any eye contact. Lassie will keep looking at you to make sure that your not approaching to throw him into the tub.
After a few minutes of debating and making sure your not nearing, he'll probably run in grab the hot dog and back away. That's fine.
Work on this as much as you can! ANd DO NOT throw "Lassie" into the tub anymore. Take your time. Have patience.
I guarentee if you are patient, and give Lassie some time, he'll at least be able to stand the tub for the few minutes it takes to give a bath.
After Lassie, is regularly going towards to the tub to get the treats, starting throwing the treats INTO the DRY tub. Once Lassie seems less stressed, and more relaxed about jumping into the dry tub you can start using water. While Lassie is in the tub, you can approach with a handful of treats and for the first few times, just feed, feed, feed!
Let him know that the bath can be a happy, fun place!
Hope that made sense
Oh.. I forgot to say. The dog that has this problem is named Diver. And he was named that because the first day I brought him home I set him down in the backyard. I've got a little koi fish pond in the backyard where he was wandering toward curiously and went to sniff the water and just Fell In! I yanked him out really quick and dried him off but chuckled at how silly he looked. And thus he was named Diver.
But.. the point of that little story.. do you think he's afraid of the water because of his experience?
But.. the point of that little story.. do you think he's afraid of the water because of his experience?
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When Diver is walked in the park where they had ponds and shores he only likes to go ankle deep. It's kind of funny and weird because I thought hunting dogs liked to swim more than others. Heh, and although it has nothing to do with the bathing; he's quite afraid of loud noises too. No guns for this dog.
When bathing your dog, if you plan to wash him in your tub, get him used to going in and out of the tub area by making a game out of it. The tub should be empty at this point. Once he’s comfortable with entering the tub, slowly get him accustomed to being around water by having him hear the water running and then have him enter the tub with very little water in it. Dipping your dog in warm water and towel drying him is another way to help get him accustomed to bath time.
This is from my website's dog bathing page. You can find a step by step process on how to accustom your dog to bathing.
Cheers,
Nancy
http://www.happyk-9.com
This is from my website's dog bathing page. You can find a step by step process on how to accustom your dog to bathing.
Cheers,
Nancy
http://www.happyk-9.com