# Bath time



## ns.accp (Jan 27, 2019)

My pup is 3.5 months old and he hates taking bath. Do you have any suggestions on how i can make it better ? He keeps jumping on me, trying to get out, and starts shaking while I wash him. I want to make it a pleasant experience for him, but it seems like it will not happen. Does it change when they grow older, is it just a puppy thing where they don’t like to take bath ?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Be gentle but firm. Bathing is not optional... for baby humans or baby Havanese. He may never love it, but he will eventually accept that it is part of life.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Perry hates his baths too. One thing I do, for my convenience and i think it helps support him, is that I sit on the edge of the tub with my legs inside the tub (if you use a tub for baths), rather than me kneeling outside the tub and leaning in. This way I can use both arms and legs to keep him in one place and for him to lean on. It also gives him more support - a leg keeping him in place, one hand on the water and the other on him. I also make sure there's a slip proof mat in the tub. He still hates them (but as Karen says baths are non-negotiable) but that position prevents him from trying to jump out and possibly slipping and hurting himself.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

My dog has never really liked baths. After he’d been home about 1-2 months he contracted giardia and our vet recommended giving him a bath every other day for about 10 days to prevent reinfection. This really got him over the hump with baths! Now he is very good, although he tries to escape towards the end if bath time is a little too slow. One thing he does that seems to keep him relaxed is he sticks his face in my elbow. I never have sprayed directly in his face, but I think he likes the spray on his head and he positions himself this way so it sprays on his head without spraying his eyes. It gets me pretty wet but it’s much faster because he’s really calm and still, so I don’t really care. 

If I was doing it again, I’d do quick baths twice a week in the beginning rather than a longer bath once a week, which is what I do now. It’s not like he needed super deep conditioning with his new puppy coat, so a quick bath would have been easier then. I think he would have adapted to and accepted baths earlier. 

At first our Hav did better with baths, but the bathtub was way too big to manage him well so I used the kitchen sink. When he was bigger I still found it was easier to use the handheld shower attachment instead of the bathtub.

One thing I keep forgetting to do is buy a few extra towels! I use at least 3 every time I give him a bath and since he gets his bath towards the end of the week it seems like I always have to wait for a load of towels to dry.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

*towels*



EvaE1izabeth said:


> One thing I keep forgetting to do is buy a few extra towels! I use at least 3 every time I give him a bath and since he gets his bath towards the end of the week it seems like I always have to wait for a load of towels to dry.


Oh the towels! We use 4 every time Perry gets a bath -- 1 for immediately out of the tub (and then on the floor to rub all over), 1 to carry him out to the living room and dry him off more, and then 2 to cover the couch so that he can jump around snorting and rub and dry himself off . He has his own set so I don't have to worry about waiting for towels to be washed/ dried  He air-dries so I end up using more towels.


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## ns.accp (Jan 27, 2019)

Thank you everyone. I am going to start with twice a week and hopefully he will get used to it. Regarding drying - is it okay to use hair dryer to dry them or is it not good for their coat? I am thinking of starting to use hair dryer but if its not good for him then I don’t wan to use it.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

The coat is delicate so you have to be careful not to let it get too hot but a human hair dryer works. I use the Hot Tools hair dryer I keep in DD bathroom and it does get very hot so I keep it on low. I only blow dry in the winter, the rest of the time I air dry. 

My routine is kind of weird! Right after his bath (well, after a few minutes of zoomies) I spray detangler and slather on some Warren London hydrating butter and wrap him in a towel. I turn on the hair dryer with a diffuser pointed at his face to warm him up and I hold him for about 5 minutes. With the diffuser still on his face, I comb through his body and add more detangler or the butter if he needs it. Then I take off the diffuser and brush and dry until he’s about 80% dry. Then I put the diffuser back on and we hang out on our comfy chair with the hair dryer pointed at him for 5-10 more minutes while I tackle any mats or tangles and comb his face and ears separately. 

No idea how I ended up with this routine, but describing it makes me wonder why I don’t have a dryer stand!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

*dryer*



ns.accp said:


> Thank you everyone. I am going to start with twice a week and hopefully he will get used to it. Regarding drying - is it okay to use hair dryer to dry them or is it not good for their coat? I am thinking of starting to use hair dryer but if its not good for him then I don't wan to use it.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


A lot of people use a dryer - human or specific for pets. I think for the human one just make sure it's not too hot (I think some have settings so you can turn it down OR just be careful). I live where it's 75-85 every day and Perry's in a puppy cut so I don't dry him, I let him airdry -not because you shouldn't but because I don't want to  and the weather here means I don't have to. If it happens to be a little too cold/ rainy one day then I just do it a different day or wait til the following weekend.


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

Good point maybe I should sit on tub and put my feet in and bathe my havs. Must try it!


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

I always use a dryer on my havs as they will chew their feet if they are just towel dried.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

ns.accp said:


> Thank you everyone. I am going to start with twice a week and hopefully he will get used to it. Regarding drying - is it okay to use hair dryer to dry them or is it not good for their coat? I am thinking of starting to use hair dryer but if its not good for him then I don't wan to use it.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


It is absolutely FINE to use a hair dryer. Just make sure it's not too hot. Set it just on "warm". And you don't have to bathe him twice a week unless he gets into something gross. That's probably OVER doing it a bit.  Take your time. He's a puppy.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I wash my dogs in the kitchen sink! I'd break my back bathing them in the tub!!! LOL!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

*tubs*



krandall said:


> I wash my dogs in the kitchen sink! I'd break my back bathing them in the tub!!! LOL!


Sitting on the edge of the tub with my feet/ legs inside the tub leaning down is sooooo much easier than kneeling or standing outside the tub leaning in to bathe him! There is leaning involved but it's a much better angle/ better supported than trying to do it from outside the tub. That being said, if I had a kitchen sink that had a hose and was big enough I might do it there (well, except that hubby would be totally grossed out about bathing Perry where dishes were washed even though the sink would get thoroughly scrubbed after the bath - on second thought, Perry will remain in the tub OR if we ever have a laundry sink them maybe there).


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