Three Kids and a Dog

Monday, August 28, 2006

Adler at Bath Time


Ever see a dog who walks around or jumps over puddles or one who can’t stand going out in the rain? Well, if you do then you know Adler and you can just imagine what she’s like when we try to give her a bath.

In fact, after her last bath, we vowed that we will never give Adler a bath at home again.

After trying to coax her into our bedroom bathroom with treats and then putting on her leash and trying to walk her into the bathroom, she decided she’d rather be choked than get wet. Of course I don’t like seeing my dog in any type of pain even if she was faking it, so we gave up on the leash and let her roam around a bit. We thought she’d forget about bath time, but it still took us another 20 minutes with us pushing and pulling her into the bathroom. Once she’s in though, she’s okay despite the heavy breathing and shaking.

We know that she hates it and vowed to never wash her again…at least in our house because it was too traumatic for us and her, but it was really what she did when she got home from vacation that had us confirm our commitment to let someone else do the washing. You see we bathed Adler the night before we left for vacation and when we returned home a week later she refused to go into our bedroom even if we were in there. We couldn’t figure out why she was so scared and then Tom remembered the night before we left that we traumatized her in our room by giving her a bath. Needless to say, she finally did come into our room, but it was only after we turned off the lights and were in bed and she was sure there was no way we were going to get up and throw her in the tub. So much for dogs not having a long term memory!

I guess it was destiny too because the week we got home, a new pet bathing and grooming place, Clean Dog, opened right around the corner. She’ll be trying out that place for her next bath.

2 Comments:

  • Dogs must have a long term memory. How else would they remember to Sit, Stay, or Speak when you tell them.

    My dog was afraid of string. This was because when she was a little puppy I had one of those string pop-its (you pull the strng and it makes a loud snap). I held the string in front of her and just as she was sniffing it, I made it snapped. She ran away and after that whenever I'd hold my hands up in that same position, she'd always cower away.

    They remember.

    By Blogger Perry, at 2:02 PM  

  • Good point, Perry. So much for that philosophy!

    By Blogger Adler's Mom, at 12:02 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home