How to bribe a dog into taking a bath???

Question

My staffy is not a huge fan of water, whether it be from her water bowl or the rain, she does not like it touching her, and getting her in the bath is one huge drama! Now that my mum has started working away, there is no way i myself can even get her near the bathroom let alone the bath tub. I have tried all kinds of treats and the bugger will snatch and run. What can i do? she is starting to smell like a dog again.hahaha

Answer 1

starve her and then put food in the tub.

Answer 2

Staffies aren't huge dogs. Put her on a leash and walk her into the bathroom (keep the leash short with her at your side so it doesn't turn into tug-of-war). Close the bathroom door behind you. Show her you have a treat and tell her it's for after bath. Pick her up and put her in the tub. Tie her leash to the towel holder or hand rail in the tub. Wash her, making sure to get under the collar. Don't stopper the drain. When she's clean, dry her off, untie the leash, get her out of the tub, show her the treat, open the bathroom door, give her the treat, walk her out of the bathroom, and remove the leash.

Answer 3

If there's a way you can do it without actually putting her in the tub, that might help. If you have to put her in, make sure there's something for really good traction, cause slipping and sliding around in a place she already is scared of will only add to the panic.

But if you can, have someone help you out. Have her on a leash that you can get wet and have someone help hold on to her. Make sure that everyone's calm and relaxed and try and make it seem like a positive thing. Best way for washing is not to bother putting water in the tub at all so there's less to be afraid of. Go with a shower type attachment (you can get ones specifically for dogs at most pet stores) on a very low setting. When you're shampooing try go nice and slow, almost like you're giving her a massage (this works miracles for nervous dogs). Doing things in a relaxed, pleasant way will help show her that's its really okay to have a bath.

As for getting her in... you could try taking her out for a walk to get her relaxed and tired out before you even try to get her to the tub. Once the walk is over keep the leash on and take her into the bathroom. Close the door and just hang out with her for a minute to keep her calm, and maybe give her a treat, then try and put her in the tub. Its all about teaching her that its okay, rather than trying to just force her in and giving her anxiety about it. :)

Answer 4

I have an APBT and he dislikes water as well.
I've done the getting in with him and it works, but I always get drenched, physically drained, and mentally drained by the time it's finally done and all over with.
The hose works but, not when the weather is cold and I sometimes have a hard time with that sorrowful face they can get when they think you are being so very mean to them.
If I really want a well done bath for my APBT I take him to the groomers. I asked them their tricks and they told me what works for them.
They said to have traction for their feet so they are confident with keeping their balance and footing. (Something like a shower mat would work).
They went on to say that the water should be a slightly warm temperature without being cold or too hot.
Lastly they told me that the when they use the spray nozzle they keep it at a medium low pressure as high pressure will frighten the dog and low pressure takes twice as long to finish the bath (also bores the dog so he/she thinks and most likely will attempt at bolting away).
Only thing I would add is give them plenty of praise when they are cooperating and even more praise as they race around drying off.

Answer 5

Make the bathroom and especially the tub a pleasant place for her to be.

Step1: I started off by taking my dog into the bathroom with me whenever I had to go and treating her when she was calm. As soon as she started to follow me on her own without having to be leashed I moved on to something a little harder.

Step 2: I started putting her treats (cheese cubes) on the side of the tub so she had to come close enough to it to get them off by herself. When she got comfortable doing that...

Step:3 I started turning the water on while she was getting her treat off the side of the tub. Letting her hear the sound of the running water without having to get wet at all, this prepared her for...

Step 4: Placing her treat inside the tub where she had to jump in and get it. At this point we switched her treat to a smear of peanut butter on the inside wall of the tub. No water was on for this part, just her getting in and out of the tub by herself.

Step 5: Began running the water while she was getting into the tub. Make sure peanut butter is high on the wall so it doesn't get washed off. We're still not bathing her yet, just getting her feet splashed, getting her treat and getting out.

Step 6: Actually getting the dog bathed. We didn't use the sprayer, just a cup or bowl to dump the water over her slowly. We figured out that the less splashing noises we made the calmer she would stay.

All of this was accomplished with my own dog ( an APBT ) within 2 weeks time. She's calm in the tub now, and much easier to bathe. Hope this helps and good luck.

Answer 6

Take her outside tie her up safely and then use the hose on her. She won't like it very much but its better than trying to get her in a bath.

As long as you towel dry her and take her indoors afterwards she won't suffer from the cold.

Don't be tempted to wash her too often as you will strip the oils from her coat that she needs.

If you are finding that she smells really 'doggy' rather than wash her all the time try changing her diet and giving her more exercise as those are factors that can make her smell more than she should.

Answer 7

my german shephard hate the bath too! But I win everytime.

I shower her. she has the mat in and also a towel on the bath so she doesnt slip. I used to pick her up and put her in the bath - which is hard work in itself!! But now she knows i'll win and just gets in herself (and still hates every minute of it) But I make a big fuss of her and say she a good girl and all that and give her treats while I dry her.

the only bit she does like is running out the bathroom and finding the kids so she can get them all wet too! lol

Answer 8

All my dogs have disliked the bath.
My present one is little enough to pick up and carry.
Those of my dogs I could not pick up and carry I tied to a post in the yard and washed them with a warm bucket of water with lots of warm water to rinse.

There are wipes you can buy now that may work on a short coated dog.

Answer 9

I give my dog a bath every week and I found this method to be very affective since he doesn't like to be soaked with water either.

First, get one of these:
http://grooming.petedge.com/Top-Performance-Suction-Cup-TP18140.pro?parentCategoryId=190&categoryId=191&subCategoryId=268&subsubCategoryId=352

It should attach to the side of a tube or a shower stall wall and it will keep her in place so she can't run anywhere.

Second: Get one of these:

http://grooming.petedge.com/The-Shampoozer-by-Petlift-PL4009.pro?parentCategoryId=190&categoryId=191&subCategoryId=268&subsubCategoryId=352

Get a mixing bottle that looks like the one in the pic. I usually do 1:5 mixture of shampoo and warm water.

Don't bother wetting the dog first and then apply shampoo, it will just make her more miserble and make it more difficult for you. Just start squirrting the shampoo/water mixing all over her while massage her coat so it will be all soapy, once her whole body is covered with shampoo/water mixture, start rubbing it in and massage. Then take the hose and wash off the soap. This way, she's really only completely soaked with water once.

p.s. always start from the back to the front whenever you use water or shampoo, it will make her more comfortable and she will shake alot less.

Answer 10

My German Shepherd just loves the beach and we can't get her out of the wate, but go near her with a hose and dog shampoo and she heads for the hills. I take her to the groomer at the vet and let her sort it out. What's so annoying is that she willingly gets into the dog bath for the groomer! Ridiculous isn't it?

Answer 11

buy a rubber mat for your bath dogs get scared if they don't have steady footing then put her in it and just pour water over her legs and paws and only do this a few times then gradually building it up till she finally lets you bath her praise her every time and reward her if shes good. remember dogs have very goo memories and they will just hate baths even more if you just go straight ahead. lengthy process but worth it in the long run good luck