I Always Dread Bath Day

It's not so much the baths, it maybe takes me twenty minutes to lather up, rinse, and towel dry each dog - it's the prep that's a pain in the rear....

Let's see...

First, there's ear cleanings, nail trims, and grooming sessions before the bath to get rid of all that excess fur. Then, I need to exercise the dogs well, because they are NOT going out to dig and roll right afterwards, that's for sure. Oh, and the laundry involved is horrific...I need to have three fresh mats, three fresh bed covers, and newly washed throw rugs on hand because I just can't have clean dogs lying on dirty bedding. Plus I have to wash their collars, and scrub out their crates.

Might as well vacuum while I'm at it....sigh.

And, of course, after the baths, I need to wash all the dirty towels, and scrub the bath tub, and wipe down the bathroom. Finally, when the dogs are dry, three more grooming sessions are in order, to get rid of all the fur that the bath loosened up.

It really is an all day project! But, boy, how I love the results...three squeaky clean, (although somewhat annoyed), doggies.

I started with Leah, since she takes the longest to dry. I almost skipped her, to spare her the stress, but I am so glad I decided to just get it over with. Most of you would be horrified to have seen how much dirt came off of her. You just never know what's lurking in that dark fur.

Next, I washed Toby, although he really didn't need it. Lab fur is amazing, no dirt there. Instead, it's on my walls, my floors, his bedding, and the inside of his crate. Really, while 'wash and wear' fur sounds ideal, it's much easier to just bathe a dog than to clean up after a Labrador!

And last, but not least, little Miss Meadow. Although she looked clean, she is obsessed with rolling in dead earthworms, so I knew the truth. Unlike Toby and Leah, who are resigned to climbing in to the tub on command while fixing me with a truly devastating expression, Meadow had to be lifted in. But, we actually had a little breakthrough before her bath today....for the first time ever, Meadow laid down while I trimmed her nails, instead of standing and making me lift her feet like a horse! I'm so very proud of that accomplishment. Positive reinforcement is awesome for nail trimmings, I already have two dogs and two cats that SWARM me while waiting for their turn when it's nail trimming time...it seems Meadow isn't far behind!!

By the way, I just love how dogs look without their collars, don't you? Wish I could keep them like that all the time, but I'm a worrier, so no, that's never going to happen. Have to have those tags...