Is it possible to bath a dog single handed?

[SoupDragon]

I've always bathed Dill when down at my parents so one to hold the dog, one to shampoo and one to rinse with the shower :) He now smells baaaad and I need to do it on my own. Is it possible??

I'm guessing i have to strip to a swimsuit and lock myself in the bathroom with him.

I'd rather they washed him on someone elses driveway :o

@ the dog-o-matic

Have a walk in power shower in the downstairs bathroom. Perfect dog / muddy kidwash

Depends on the dog...

One of my springers would just stand in the bath looking glum, resigned to his fate, and let me do it.

Washing my current springer is a 3 person effort. First of all I cover as much if the bathroom as possible in towels, gather dog and people and treats and shut the door firmly so there can be no escape.

Then I lift the dog into the bath, dh holds him there in a vice-like grip with both hands, I wash him, and ds1 plies him with foodie treats. Given half a chance the dig will break out of the bath, go berserk, and spread dirt and water everywhere!

I was going to suggest a power hose, but that's mean. WeI wash the dogs outside with a normal hose, and I have a selection of luverly doggy towels before they dry themselves on our bed

Agree with Maryz and Elastamum re the walk in showers downstairs - put dog and self in shower, shut shower door and apply warm water and shampoo. Works best if DH is positioned just outside shower door to grab wet dogs and throw pile of towels over them.

I do Lab in shower to save having to lift her. She sits there looking reproachful and lets me. Takes minutes only, almost as quick as doing myself.

Possible as long as the dog can't climb out of the bath. I can do our dog myself; he's smallish and can't go anywhere so it's quite easy to wash him, although I usually leave it to DH because of the carrying upstairs factor.

We put ours in the bath then use the shower attachment to shower him down, smother him in shampoo then rinse off. He stands there nicely now, but when he was a puppy he would be climbing up the sides trying to clamber out

I do all of mine (3 large dogs), on my own, in the bath. Not together though

I spread lots of used towels all over the bathroom floor, and use a rubber mat in the bath so they don't slip and get scared.

Often blow dry them too (single handed). Great way of getting lots of dead hair out.

Though I often have to blow dry myself a bit too

Sadly, I won't fit in the shower with Dill and i don't think i can trust him to wash properly if I let him in there alone.

I'm disappointed that you don't bath all three at once bella! that would be impressive :o

Tomorrow will have to be bath day. My new car is arriving and he isn't getting in it smelling like he does right now.

At Hendrys Beach in California there is an open air dog wash station, its open air, self service with environmentally friendly shampoo fed through the water lines. It was very sweet to watch all these dogs having a lovely wash and dry after romping on the beach.

at 'I just tell them to 'stand' and 'stay''.

When the eau de fox gets too much to ignore, I wash my hounds in our bath, with a rubber mat in to stop them slipping; the big girl likes the warm water so much she reclines on her side as if she's in a spa and actually lifts up her paws for me to get to her armpits. (legpits?) The hardest part is heaving them in and out, at 30kg a go. They're like a pair of seals.

If I'm on my own, I tend to rely heavily on babywipes to minimise the daily pong.

I tend to end up absolutely soaked through when I give my Labrador a shower (with the garden hose, I can't get him into the bath or shower upstairs). He runs around like an idiot and is determined to get me as wet as possible. There is a reason it only happens a couple of times a year! It is possible by myself but I honestly look like I jumped into a lake fully clothed by the end of it! I'm lucky that I have a dog that doesn't like rolling in anything unpleasant!

Dh reminded me last night how when we had our little sheltie whippet cross it was like trying to bath an overactive eel. I used to have to get in the bath with her (kept a special set of leggings and vest top just for the occasion ) hold her really tightly with both hands and also grip her between my knees and she still used to escape and charge around the bathroom spraying everything in sight. Ah - memories, those were the days ...

Back to my life as it is now and ...

I have just bathed my stinky old Wheaten girl - again and in the process, dropped the shower attachment and given myself a head to toe shower.

I have ds2 home poorly from school and put the baby monitor in his room, as he is really only fit to sleep all day. Mid dog-bath he started yelling and screaming for me. By the time I'd got the dog out of the bath, stuck a towel on my dripping hair and run upstairs he was hysterical. Poor thing had been very sick all over his bed, the floor, everwhere - sorted that, came downstairs to find the whole kitchen dripping wet where the dog had shaken and dripped because I hadn't had time to dry her off, cleaned that up, turned around and dd had filled her nappy and was covered from head to toe in snot.

Shall I just give up now do you think?

And I have a sore throat and a cold

[snigger]

I hope your DS is better soon.

I haveDill has had a reprieve as it's p!ssing down outside and very cold.

I bath my 2 JRT's together on my own IFYSWIM. One of them jumps INTO the bath! I do close the bathroom door though, just in case! Once, one jumped OUT and ran around the houe dripping wet!

Crikey - wouldn't let my springer anywhere near the bathroom. He gets hosed down outside when muddy. Doesn't need tying up, just stands there looking very miserable. I like to try out the different nozzles - the one like rain for his head when he has been searching for something in the mud at the bottom of the pond. He stinks at the moment and is due a bath. He swims in rivers and canals most days. When it was -9 last winter he would insist on gonig in the river and would come out with all his whiskers and ends of his ears frozen. Therefore I have no qualms about washing him in cold water outside

Thanks SoupDragon. In retrospect I think its quite funny too. Wasn't exactly smiling at the time though.

Just remembered, years ago I clicker trained my old boxer gsd cross to jump into the bath for me (he was too big for me to lift). He used to run upstairs and jump in the bath if we said 'bath' to him. Unfortunately, he then jumped out again and legged it if we switched the shower or taps on.

:o

I wasn't expecting such a supply of hilarious tales. I can visualize them all. not many of them are filling me with confidence though!

Downstairs shower room for ours - have to take my trousers off though!
Someone we know has installed a hot tap outside and they attach some kind of mixer hose thingy to it so theirs doesn't get cold - ahh!

My dd (10) does our not-quite-puppy-any-more in the bath. They both get very wet but seem to be happy with the process. He does get lots of treats as a reward and she gets money, so it's a win win I guess. We only ever washed out family dogs when they had mange or had rolled. Neither were happy occasions - the only time I have ever been scared by a dog was when washing our Collie - he panicked and almost bit me. I think that the shampoo (from the vet) probably hurt :(

Dill was unexpectedly well behaved. He's now tearing through the house Ike a loon and there is the pervading odour of wet spaniel but he's clean.

OMG the only area of dog ownership I can be smug about. My dog pulls, jumps up, chews, and does not always come back with re-call. But bathing no problem. I cant lift so he has been trained:
in

stay
turn out .

Then he goes out in the garden to dry usually I always do him alone.