Baths and brushing!

[cjrey87]

As I've mentioned in a few other posts, I am used to ankle biters. Ones that you can easily bath in the tub yourself....

Maverick is obviously a *little* too big to put in the bath. And, from the little bit I've seen, doesn't much care for water. In you guys experience, is it easier to just take them to a groomer for baths? If so, have you had any good experiences at Petsmart centers? I had a trusted groomer back home that I took my poodle to but just do her myself now. I've heard so many horror stories that it makes me leery to trust just anyone with my babies!

Also, brush recommendations for the inbetween touch ups at home?

[llombardo]

I just had my oldest dog(non GSD) groomed at Petsmart. They did a very nice job. As far as my GSD, she is 14 months and when she was small I gave her a bath in the tub twice and when she was 9 months I took her to a do it yourself place. She walked the ramp and in she went I'm lucky because mine doesn't require lots of baths, she is never dirty and she doesn't smell. As far as brushing, honestly I think I have brushed her only a handful of times, she doesn't require much more then that.

[doggiedad]

in the summer i hose him down in the yard. i mix the
shampoo in a bucket of water and pour it all over him
and then i rub it in and hose it off. i taught him to "shake"
on command. if he needs a bath during the cold months
he hets bathed in the tub. i wet towels and lay them in the tub.
i tell him "get in". he steps and i support him when he jumps
to get his rear legs in the tub. when he's in the tub i normally
squirt the shampoo directly from the bottle. the hose connected
to the shower head is long so i don't have a problem risining him off.
place towels all over the bathroom floor and then tell him to "shake".

i think there's plenty of good groomers available. are there any
of those places near you that you bathe your own dog?

i brush my dog 3 to 4 times a week. i use an under coat
on his chest, sides, back and tail. i comb him in all
directions then i comb him in one direction to smooth him out.
i use a pin brush on his head, legs and underneath him.

[breyer08]

Ever since Ava was a baby, I have bathed her in the bathtub, maybe about once a month or a little less. In order to get her to like it and not fuss (since I knew she would eventually get big!), every single time I have bathed her I cook some chicken first on the stove, and then cut it into tiny bite-sized pieces. I put towels down on the floor, get the water ready in the tub, and then call her in. The first couple of times I had to lift her into the tub, since she was too small to get in by herself, but now all I have to do is tell her to get in, and she walks right in, turns around, and waits for me to bathe her. As I'm doing that, my husband dispenses the chicken to her little by little. She loves bath time because of that routine, and I highly recommend trying it!

[pyratemom]

I'm lucky enough to be able to bathe Raina outside all year long. I use the hose water which never really gets cold since it runs down a pipe for a 100 or so miles and has plenty of time to warm up. I also use the Zoom Groom to suds her up. It helps get the soap into all that long hair. It comes in handy when rinsing also. She then gets conditioner to keep her hair shiny and an antiseptic on her skin where she gets itchy spots. Then we do the blow dryer. She loves being wet so the bath is never a problem. It is almost impossible to get the hose out around her without her noticing it and running over. She will even drink out of the hose even though she has a drinking fountain and water bowls.

[Capone22]

We still bathe our 95 pound pit/mastiff mix in the tub during winter. So it's possible, if that's what you prefer.


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[Cassidy's Mom]

We either go to a self service dog washing place, or we bathe them in the tub. I've never taken my dogs to a groomer and I've never bathed them outside. Why can't you put him in the tub?

My favorite brush is an undercoat rake.

[Freestep]

Honestly--and I'm saying this as someone who bathes dogs for a living--it's going to be much better if you let someone else do it. Trying to bathe a large, shedding dog in your bathroom is back-breaking and messy; dog water and hair goes flying all over the place and it's really hard to clean up. It's also really hard to get your dog dry, especially in cooler weather--if your dog has a very thick coat, it can take days, and it's not good for their skin to be wet for that long.

A groomer has equipment set up to bathe and throughly dry that dog within a couple of hours. You pick up the dog, it's done, there is no cleanup on your end, and the result will be worlds better than what you can do at home. Your dog will look like a million bucks, and you only spent $50 or whatever. Well worth it, IMO.

If I didn't have access to a grooming shop, there's no way I would try to bathe my GSD at home. As a matter of fact, there was about a year where I didn't have a grooming shop and I *did* take my GSD to a groomer. She was great, my dog looked amazing, and I didn't have to get wet and hairy.

[Mikelia]

I have a stand up shower and I bather my two male gsds in there. They do have to kind of stand on an angle but it works. They were trained in a full sized tub so know to stand still for a bath so it is possible in the shower. Just have lots of towels on hand. When it is warm enough outside I always bathe them with the hose. Much easier and no mess to clean up.
I use a comb and a slicker brush for the most part. I recently found the worlds more effective pin brush and it actually works so I like it now too. And when I cannot stand the hair any longer - I use the furminator. Usually by that point I don't care if they're bald - I am sick of the hair lol.

[SummerwoodSoaps]

Sooo true!!