after bath antics
No kidding about the dingle berries  ! |
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| i cut jack's arse fur, it limits the dingling of berries
also, i've found if you put your feet in the tub with the pup, they take baths a bit better, if she won't calm down in there, maybe you could pull the door and leave her in there alone for a few seconds? the last thing a dog wants is to be alone. also try treats and stuff. |
| Max is the same way, after his bath he runs wild through the house, he does not nip or bite though. I think he is just trying to dry him self off with the running and rolling around. Try giving your pup a great treat afterwards, such as a pig ear (Max loves these!) or a greenie. That may get him to settle down............. |
| Thanks for the responses. Samantha is shaved down except for ears and mouth area. She was like that when we got her and will stay that most of the year as we live in Florida! I have been washing her outside with hose since the temperature was in the 90's. The last two washes (early am and late pm) were done in the walk-in shower so I am in there with her. Last night, after her bath, I had her on her leash to walk around some, but she kept on turning on me. It is a bit scary, but I try not to show it. I think if I kept her in the bathroom it might make it worse.
Other than that, she is a sweet dog. Loves to play and take walks. I am just waiting for the day when she can hit the 3 hour mark in her crate without any "accidents". |
| Both Baxter and Cassiopia also go "nuts" after getting a bath. Baxter grabs one of the (many) drying towels and dashes through the house trying to kill the towel. Cassiopia does her vertical leaps through the air bouncing off of the furniture. Fortunately they calm down after 15 -20 minutes...but it gets real exciting during that time. |
| When I rescued Henry at one year he had clearly never been taught not to bite people and I had black and blue forearms for the first month. Then I got a soft muzzle for him. It is not painful, he can drink and pant with it on, even bark. Whenever he got nippy I put the muzzle on him. I did not reprimand him in any way, just put the muzzle on -- in fact I wore it pushed up on my arm for months so my response could be immediate. I am a firm believer in positive reinforcement training, but you also must consider your own safety and you cannot be terrified that your dog will seriously injure you. I also put him in time outs when he got nippy: whatever we were doing I quickly left him alone for a minute or two.
My trainer also suggested we play tug regularly, Henry's favorite game. This helps to teach dogs that they can have their teeth right next to your hand but not touch you. The rule is any teeth touching your skin means you immediately stop the game. Henry can go forever now and never touch me at all with his teeth in our VERY vigorous tugs of war. Patience is key, Henry has learned not to mouth me or anyone else. I just heard recently it takes 1,000 repititions to be sure a dog has learned a command. |
| Make sure the water in the tub is about ankle deep, too---it made a huge difference with ours in his second bath. I think the water is less shocking once they get used to it. By the way, if you are planning on bathing youe Sheepie once full grown, you may want to invest in a wetsuit. |
I would say this is relative to an experience she had in her previous home. Take it in baby steps - getting her used to the bath time and reward her when she's cooperating. I think enrolling her in obedience will do alot of good too (positive reinforcement only). In the mean time, when she acts like this - try and get her to SIT - and when she does reward her. Give her something else to chew on (other than you or your son) and always reassure her that she's a good girl (when she's being a good girl). Other than that - I'd avoid giving her so many baths until she becomes more settled and comfortable with you and your family! 
I recommend two great books - especially when dealing with a dog with an unknown past - The Dog Listener: Learn How to Communicate with Your Dog for Willing Cooperation, by Jan Fennell, and Second-Hand Dog : How to Turn Yours into a First-Rate Pet, by Carol Lea Benjamin! Good Luck! By the way - Congrats! Kristen |
| Again, thanks for all the advice. I really like the gentle muzzle idea, as she hates when I hold her muzzle and say "no bite" (I guess I must of said it the required 1,000 times!). She is no longer biting my son. The bath itself is not the problem. I was told that she likes them and so far, she stands still for it. I wish I didn't have to wash her every other day, but until she learns to not poop or pee in the crate (and then sit or play in it).....well, you get the message. She knows 'sit' and today I worked with her on 'stay'. I think she would do anything for a sliver of chedder cheese or treat!
Any advice on crate training? What do you say when the dog goes in the crate. I've had dogs before but never crate trained them. |
| I Have to add to this discussion, 'cause mopsey goes NUTS after the bath! Not bad nuts... she runs around like crazy, grabs the towel and runs all over the house with it, she jumps on the bed and rubbs all over the comforter trying to wipe herself off!!! LOL Its really funny to see! She looks like a wet mop!! |
| That would be fine by me, however, Samantha has more of an aggresive attitude toward me, not a towel! It has been the only time I have heard her growl.
And I do own a wetsuit !
Keep your fingers crossed for tonight, I would really like to get a few hours sleep... |
| How long have you had her? When we got Mopsey she did the same thing with brushing. Granted, she was only 8 weeks, so the growling and biting was not as intimidating with a little pup, but it was still unsettling. So, we brushed her every day for a few minutes and then rewarded her for good behavior. Maybe have a toy ready for her when she comes out of the bath and throw it for her, so that her aggression is taken out on the toy, and then reward. Or have a chewy treat, like a marrow bone, to divert her. Just some thoughts... Hope you get some rest tonight! I have no experience with crate training, so can't offer advice, but many other's on the forum do! Keep us posted! |
| Good idea with the toy. She has her own catch of them, but also manages to get a few of my son's stuffed animals....It will be 2 weeks Saturday since we adopted her. It was the day we thought we were going to have to evacuate for hurricane Ivan. She is 7 months old and got her from a rescue center. I think she lost whatever training she had when she was at the center
Argh, she just threw up in the crate. I am really not liking this crate. |
| We've actually taught our dogs to go in their crates with the command "go in your room" (we used to use "go TO your room" but our first sheepie learned the difference between "to" and "in" and would just stand outside of the crate looking innocent). Once they went in the crates, they quickly received a treat.
However, when we first started crate training, our American Eskimo HATED the crate and would refuse to go in. We found that we had to move the crate to a better spot. Once we got the right spot for the crate, he went in without a problem. He still loves his crate and goes in it when our two sheepies want to play - and he doesn't. Good luck. Jennifer |
new owner wrote: Any advice on crate training? What do you say when the dog goes in the crate. I've had dogs before but never crate trained them.
I used to say "Time for Bed" or "Time for the Crate" and they got the hint! Sydney didn't need to be told (she's deaf so she couldn't have heard me anyway) - she knew when it was time and would go in automatically. Actually, to this day (she's been out of the crate for 1 1/2 or more )- she goes to the spot in the kitchen where the crate was and waits for her treat when I'm getting ready to leave for work. At night, Sydney slept better with a sheet over the crate - it was more of a cave like atmosphere and she seemed more secure/comfortable. When she woke up in the morning - she would remove it herself (by grabbing it and pulling it down!) You should give her things to do in the crate (during the day) to keep her busy - toys, treats, bones (none that she could choke on of course), stuff a Kong (great recipes on the Kong site). I avoided putting food or water in the crate with them. I also used to give them a comfort toy and/or blanket with them - Sydney had a teddy bear that she slept with for quite a while until she decided it was time to rip it's stuffing out. Each of them had their special blankets too.
Try not to use the crate as a punishment either. In terms of her being crazy after a bath - that's typical - it's the aggression she's showing at such a young age that would concern me and I would be worried that if it happens after a bath - it's only a matter of time before it will occur at other times as well. I strongly encourage a training class! Best of Luck! Kristen |
| I had to weigh in on this one....
I'm not sure on the crate training- we had it pretty easy with Chelsea, but she was a puppy, one thing we did do when she was really little and still not completely able to 'hold it' we would put her in the crate for short periods when we were home, we would lavish her with praise when she got out, and use treats to entice her to go in, pretty soon she learned that she got the praise for behaving in the crate and that she got let out becuse she had behaved well - no barking, etc. I'm not sure what you would do if the dog is soiling in there though, you don't want to be negative. Also- the after bath insanity is total OES! I agree with the poster who suggested the tug toy- I know some people think the tug toy leads to aggression, but I've seen the opposite with the OES. I use the tug toy routine to establish my dominance over Chelsea. I NEVER let her win, I get really close to her face with my face, and she never bites me, when she has those moments of aggression, she runs to find the tug toy and brings it to me- you may want to have it at the ready when the bath is over, you may also want to give your girl the towel and let her "kill" it for a few minutes until the after bath crazies have subsided. Good Luck - you have chosen to rescue a fine animal- so don't give up - dingleberries and all they are hands down the most wonderful pet! Up. |
| Jack and Annabelle also have a blast after bath time. They tear through the house going 90 miles an hour and do a lot of wipe outs when they go from the carpet to tile. We now let them go out and run and shake some of the excess water off. Then they come back in and we have a grooming rug that they know to directly come in and lay down on it for brushing and drying. They get lots of praise and treats.
And I agree with Uppety, they are by far the best dogs even with the klingons. LOL
Stormi and co. |
More great replies...thanks so much. She is getting better as time goes on, we only got her 2 weeks ago. And 4 hurricanes ago  . I think the reason she gets agressive is that is she is tired and that is her meltdown time. Maybe. I will monitor it. |
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