Bath day

Otherwise known as:  How to traumatise your dog day!

Patch gets a hydro bath once every fortnight and our lovely, gentle, happy dog turns into a quivering mess.

He can run through and play in clean puddles, muddy puddles and any kind of puddles in between very happily (next photo case in point), but getting him into his bath is akin to torture.

We are lucky that there are plenty of mobile hydro pet grooming services in our area and Lynda turns up once a fortnight so we don't even have to leave our yard.

The fun begins before she arrives though as I have to work out how to trick Patch.  He KNOWS what day of the fortnight it is too.  Every other day he will come to me happily but on bath day he has some inner radar that tells him what day it is and he refuses to come anywhere near me.

He stays in his favourite spot of all, in the red dirt under the house by the front door (great door bell by the way, especially when strangers turn up and he barks at them right when they reach the steps).  I usually trick him into thinking that we're going for a walk and tie him in the back of the ute so he can't escape.  Then we put the lead on and drag walk him to the trailer when the bath arrives.  

It sounds so easy saying that but it's not.  It's not AT ALL.

Over the years I have tried nearly every trick in the book.  Some have worked but then he remembers what you have done and it won't work the next fortnight.  (Dogs definitely are NOT stupid).

We eventually get him into the bath, often by half dragging him because his bum is firmly stuck to the ground and sprouting strong roots.

Then the nice warm water torture begins and he turns from being a very dirty dog into a lovely and clean, nice smelling white dog again (I'm lucky if he stays like this for one day).

Of course we can't put him through all of that without some kind of treat and for him that's the best part of his bath.  The second he's out he turns into a quivering dog of another kind waiting (not very patiently) for his treat.

I'm pleased to say that Lynda has got away with still having all her fingers again this week.  Honestly, you would think his mother would have taught him some manners :)  

So bath day is done and dusted again and I now have two weeks to think up some more ways to trick him and get him out from under the house next time.

I did take him for a drive afterwards so he's happy now and likes his Mum again.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week.

xx Susan