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Bathing is an important part of grooming your dog.

Bath your dog without conflict.


I laughed at Rogue this afternoon. The moment she got out of the shower, she pointed to the treat bag! I thought it was a great idea for a blog post. Hope you enjoy it. Beef Tenders (not available in the US) are a favourite in our house! See more about our dog’s favourite treats here!

The dreaded B-A-T-H, or is it?

Do your dogs know the word B-A-T-H? And do they run from you when they hear it? Even some of our craziest water dogs are reluctant to get into their shower. But they do it anyway. We don’t bathe often as shampoo and other coat products can actually strip the natural oils and cause other problems. But when needed, there is no getting out of it.

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Eventually they are tall enough I can work on them at walk-in level. In the transition period between the bench and the voluntary walk-in, there is inevitably the need for a grooming noose; it gives you something to get a hold of while you coax said dog into the shower.

Our dogs don’t get treated for many specific exercises, and I certainly don’t lure them into the shower with a treat either, but they learn in short order the words “good shower” earn them a reward afterwards.

Give a command, praise the command, and reward the command.

The command “Shower” is spoken multiple times both getting into the shower, and during and even after the bathing process. “Let’s go shower” in a upbeat and confident tone tells the dog what’s about to happen. Ideally the bathroom door should be closed first. 😉 Be prepared before you even speak to the dog. Have your towels handy, and your shampoo and grooming tools at hand so you don’t risk losing the dog scrambling for those things. For bathing, there’s nothing as effective as these rubber bath brushes for getting the dead hair off your dog.

Once the dog is in the shower, pat and praise the dog for the action, “good shower”. Shampooing, massaging, and chattering with your dog during the entire bath will make the process a positive experience. Afterwards, drying off your dog with a good rough going over, and even a little bit of tug play on the towel, will end things on a good note. As soon as you’ve got the worst of the water off of them, then it’s treat time. “Good Shower” coupled with a favourite treat, instills the word and phrase into the dog’s memory for the next time.

Happy Bathing!

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