# Harry, the bath time terror!!



## harrysmom (Sep 28, 2007)

Today I gave Harry a bath and every time I bathe him I swear it takes 10 years off of my life. He is a terror!! He cries like I am actually hurting him and all of the other dogs run to see what's happening. He tries to get out of the water repeatedly and I get soaked, the room gets soaked, and he doesn't get a very good bath. And today I found one flea on him. (I hope it's not going to be a bad flea year!!! )

Harry also hates being dried, so that's another battle. And forget trimming his hair. He's been like this his whole life. My others have no problem with bathing, but Harry causes trouble enough for everyone. As a result of this, you don't see many pictures of Harry because he's constantly a mess. It's amazing what chaos a five pound dog can cause, lol. Anyone else have a bath time terror? Any tips, lol?


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## panancy (Dec 4, 2012)

My Lily is a terror, too. The best tool we found for bathing is a bathing loop that suction cups onto the side of the laundry tub. When grooming, I use a grooming table and loops.


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## Kathleen (Aug 4, 2011)

Oh no - how stressful!
Have you tried bathing him in the kitchen sink? Or maybe put a smaller basin in the tub? Sometimes they are better in spaces that are smaller than the whole tub.
But you have to be careful in the sink that he doesn't jump out.


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

Kathleen has a good thought, I know my daughter just bought a laundry basket, the plastic ones that have the holes in them. To put my grandson in since he has almost outgrown his baby tub. This is an idea for Harry. You may be able to put him in the basket to help contain him??


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

I know how you feel, Hardy is not crazy about his bath either. He doesn't cry, but constantly tries to get out. I'm always soaked by the time I'm done with him! I always tell the groomer Good luck with him, and do what you can!


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## harrysmom (Sep 28, 2007)

panancy said:


> My Lily is a terror, too. The best tool we found for bathing is a bathing loop that suction cups onto the side of the laundry tub. When grooming, I use a grooming table and loops.


OMG thank you so much!!! I wash Harry in the kitchen sink and the fact that I have to hold him with one hand (sometimes two) and wash with the other, limits what I can accomplish. I had no idea they made these suction cup tethers!!! I went right to amazon and ordered them [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Rinse-Ace-4058-Bathing-Tethers/dp/B0002IJR9U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1397759176&sr=8-2&keywords=dog+bath+suction+cups]Amazon.com: Rinse Ace 4058 Pet Bathing Tethers with 2 Straps: Home Improvement[/ame]

Thanks again!!!!!

BTW... the picture of your babies is so cute!


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## harrysmom (Sep 28, 2007)

Kathleen said:


> Oh no - how stressful!
> Have you tried bathing him in the kitchen sink? Or maybe put a smaller basin in the tub? Sometimes they are better in spaces that are smaller than the whole tub.
> But you have to be careful in the sink that he doesn't jump out.





IzzysBellasMom said:


> Kathleen has a good thought, I know my daughter just bought a laundry basket, the plastic ones that have the holes in them. To put my grandson in since he has almost outgrown his baby tub. This is an idea for Harry. You may be able to put him in the basket to help contain him??


I do wash Harry in the kitchen sink and I worry about hi jumping out and off of the counter all of the time. I'm going to try to harness him to the sink, lol. I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks.


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## harrysmom (Sep 28, 2007)

Furbabies mom said:


> I know how you feel, Hardy is not crazy about his bath either. He doesn't cry, but constantly tries to get out. I'm always soaked by the time I'm done with him! I always tell the groomer Good luck with him, and do what you can!


I wish that I could bring Harry to the groomer. With all of his health problems, he can't have the rabies shot, so no groomer for him


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## Chardy (Oct 30, 2008)

harrysmom said:


> I wish that I could bring Harry to the groomer. With all of his health problems, he can't have the rabies shot, so no groomer for him


Isn't it funny how some of our fluffs just take charge over us? If it isn't in one thing, it is in another. Harry just doesn't like a bath- and I bet his 5 lbs feels like 100 lbs of strength!! My two hate teeth brushing... I can't win with them or do it. Totally impossible!! 

As for the groomer, I would look for another one and explain the situation and ask if it is possible that you bring him when no one else is there. For some unknown reason, when it isn't Mommy doing the bath or brushing the teeth in our situation, they are much better.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Calming cap?


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## Charlie'sMom (May 12, 2012)

Yeah, Charlie definitely belongs to this group :w00t:, lol.
He hates water...no matter what he does, the second he sees me pulling his dryer out, he runs for cover...usually in my husband's lap.

He does not cry and he's pretty good, when I work on his body, but the second I want to rinse his head....oh Lordy....the whole countertop swims...
I used to give him a bath in a tub, but my back was killing me, so we do a kitchen sink bath and that way I can control his wiggling a bit better.


Here's the older picture of a tub struggle....I had to literally hold him under the water in order to rinse the coat...(please excuse the tub - it was a rental and no matter how I cleaned or bleached, it still looked hopeless).
Now when we moved to our new house, the huge kitchen sink comes handy...


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## Maglily (Feb 3, 2009)

I didn't realize Harry was so small, and such a handful LOL. Good luck! Jodi is easy to bathe but brushing and drying are a struggle, his legs are not well brushed. And he's often curly after a bath because he's so hard to dry and usually air dries (gasp!)


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## harrysmom (Sep 28, 2007)

Chardy said:


> Isn't it funny how some of our fluffs just take charge over us? If it isn't in one thing, it is in another. Harry just doesn't like a bath- and I bet his 5 lbs feels like 100 lbs of strength!! My two hate teeth brushing... I can't win with them or do it. Totally impossible!!
> 
> As for the groomer, I would look for another one and explain the situation and ask if it is possible that you bring him when no one else is there. For some unknown reason, when it isn't Mommy doing the bath or brushing the teeth in our situation, they are much better.


I have a great groomer, and I'm sure that she would groom him if I asked her to, but if her ever nipped her, I would feel awful, so I haven't asked.


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## harrysmom (Sep 28, 2007)

jmm said:


> Calming cap?


He gets very upset with anything on his head, so I don't think so.



Charlie'sMom said:


> Yeah, Charlie definitely belongs to this group :w00t:, lol.
> He hates water...no matter what he does, the second he sees me pulling his dryer out, he runs for cover...usually in my husband's lap.
> 
> He does not cry and he's pretty good, when I work on his body, but the second I want to rinse his head....oh Lordy....the whole countertop swims...
> ...


Awww.Charlie is so cute, lol.


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## harrysmom (Sep 28, 2007)

Maglily said:


> I didn't realize Harry was so small, and such a handful LOL. Good luck! Jodi is easy to bathe but brushing and drying are a struggle, his legs are not well brushed. And he's often curly after a bath because he's so hard to dry and usually air dries (gasp!)


Mine air dried the other day, too. And yes, Harry is pretty tiny :wub:. He and Sprite are the same size.


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## N2Mischief (Aug 18, 2013)

Also, if you get one of those cheap leashes that has a small D ring at one end, and you slide the other end through the D ring to make the part that goes around the neck. (I hope I'm making sense). Well instead of putting the loop around the neck, put it around the neck and under one armpit. This way if they freak out and jump around it protects their trachea. Then the other end is tied to the suction cup thing.


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## lydiatug (Feb 21, 2012)

I don't have that problem with the bath, but holy moly, try to clip Bayleigh's nails...she goes totally bonkers and hubby has to hold her and help calm her down. It's been 4 1/2 years and every time is just as bad! She does a bit better with the grinder, but it's still a battle 

Georgie's pretty awesome with most of the grooming, but when I first got her she fought like crazy when I rinsed her face and head. I just took it slow and put light pressure on the top of her nose with the V of my thumb and finger while rinsing her beard. I hold my hand over her eyes when rinsing her head and that seems to help as well and now she's not bad at all. Hope the loop helps!


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## NYCHelloKitty (Jun 28, 2013)

A tip I've used and not sure if it will help is to not have them sitting in water like in a little pool but to have the sink/tub empty and just pour water from an already waiting bucket of water. Using a cup and not a hose like a sink hose or hose period as water shooting from a snake like looking thing might help. It helped with my big dog and my cat. Hope it helps.


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