[maerc24]

I know that any baths should not be given until they are at least 8 weeks old. Well, Riley (exactly 8 weeks) is not dirty at all, she smells very good actually (with the help of puppy wipes/grooming). However, I want to get her introduced to water at some point, for my own entertainment and for her psychological benefit. So, when should I go about bathing her, and what is the best way to introduce her to the water without scarring her for life! lol I cannot possibly move on until you experts answer me, so unless you want to think of Riley dirty indefinitely you need to guide me!!! lol
Thank you in advance,
Rachel and Riley

 

[FlyingQuizini]

I'd go ahead and start small at this age. Put him in the tub (put something underneath him so he won't scramble and slip. Feed treats. Lift out. Repeat many times. Then do the same thing with an inch or so of water in the tub and gradually progress to an actual bath.

 

[Sammie's Mama]

I'd introduce her to water and the tub as soon as you can. She might not like it at first, but do it slowly. Don't just fill up a tub and throw her in. Haha The first 2 times I gave my Golden a bath, she was so pissed and wanting to get out of the tub. Luckily, we have sliding shower doors, otherwise, she would've been running around the house sopping wet. Anyways, my husband turns the bathtub and water into a game. He wasn't trying to make our Golden more comfortable with water, but he was just playing with her. Anytime he's in there, he cracks the shower door open and sprinkles water on her nose and she just loves it. Now, she can hardly wait to get in the tub and get a bath.

 

[lovemydoggiesx2]

I say get them in ASAP as well. When my puppies were smaller I used to bathe with them so they knew there was nothing to be afraid of. People on here said it was a bad thing for me to do, but I did not care. I didnt want my pups to hate the bath or be afriad. They are now 6 months and love bath time. Bobbie lays on her back and thinks its spa time! I also say when they are little once a week. Others say thats too much and can dry their skin, but it was best for me. I now bathe about 2x a month or when they are dirty.

Cngrats on the pup.

 

[Maxs Mom]

I put my pups in weekly if I have time, of course I call it their swimming pools. I don't give them baths, I let them play in the water. Toys etc. I start out with nice warm water, and as the play time progresses over the weeks make it cooler to prep them for real swimming outside. Of course, you can slip in a bath after play time.

My breeders like to introduce their pups to water at 6 weeks if the weather permits so bath tubs are not a bad thing.

 

[paula bedard]

My Breeder gave Ike his first bath the morning we brought him home. He's always enjoyed his baths that I've given him...maybe because he was introduced to them by the Breeder at a young age.

When the weather warms, I use a baby pool outside and make it a play activity.

 

[Golden123]

I think Sadie got her first bath around 8 1/2 weeks old. I gave her a bath every friday, before puppy class on saturday. It really got her used to the tub. Now she will hop right in herself.

 

[Limerick Main]

Our breeder had the pups playing in a few inches of water from about 5 weeks or so. As a result, Limerick absolutely loves getting a bath. We gave them to him in a large plastic tub for teh first few months, now he gets a trip to PetSmart for puppy baths (11 bucks up to 6 months old). He goes about every 2 weeks, and he absolutely loves it. He also considers our shower to be a great game of 'catch the falling water and scare the heck out of Mommy in the process'. Needless to say, my wife was not amused the first time a wet, furry head rubbed up against her, but she now finds it funny.

 

[tobysmommy]

I gave Toby his first bath at 8 weeks as well, because I wanted him to get used to water, handling and grooming right off the bat. I used treats and toys and started gently...and in the shower rather than the tub. Easier for him to get in and out, and not as slippery.

I also trained him to like his baths via a happy accident. You see, during his first few weeks with me, mornings were a little tricky. I had crate trained him from day 1, and every morning I would let him out, take him potty, feed him, take him potty again. Then I needed to have my shower and get ready for work. I didn't want to stick him back in the crate, but I also couldn't let him roam unsupervised while I was in the shower. So I took him into the bathroom with me.

He sat and watched me showering, then tried to lick the water drops from the outside of the shower door. And then, I am prepared to swear, he had a light bulb moment. It was like he thought: "Ok, mommy gets all wet and sudsy, so that must be a pack thing to do." After a couple of mornings of that, I kid you not, he walks right into the shower when I open the door - even when I'm intending to shower myself and not him!

I'm not saying this is the new method for bath training, but it sure worked with my little guy.

 

[maerc24]

Thanks everyone for the advice and your experiences! Sounds like Riley and I have plans today *evil grin*!! I don't think I will "bathe" her as she's not really dirty, but I think I will follow your advice, Max's Mom, and play with her in the tub with toys and treats.

I will update later today and let everyone know how she liked it (or didn't), and maybe pictures if I'm able to talk my husband in to playing photographer!

 

[Maxs Mom]

Good luck... Gabby is not "thrilled" to play in the tub, but I keep persevering. She is definitely intrigued when she is in the bathroom before and after my showers. She practically climbs in by herself. LOL

I also trained him to like his baths via a happy accident. You see, during his first few weeks with me, mornings were a little tricky. I had crate trained him from day 1, and every morning I would let him out, take him potty, feed him, take him potty again. Then I needed to have my shower and get ready for work. I didn't want to stick him back in the crate, but I also couldn't let him roam unsupervised while I was in the shower. So I took him into the bathroom with me.

I did this with my first pup, before I "believed" in crate training. I had one but that was for night sleeping only... She came in the bathroom, and started HOWLING while I was in the shower. The acoustics were HORRIBLE, my ears HURT. LOL I put her in the crate after that.

I hope you can get a photographer...

 

[Pointgold]

I know that any baths should not be given until they are at least 8 weeks old. Well, Riley (exactly 8 weeks) is not dirty at all, she smells very good actually (with the help of puppy wipes/grooming). However, I want to get her introduced to water at some point, for my own entertainment and for her psychological benefit. So, when should I go about bathing her, and what is the best way to introduce her to the water without scarring her for life! lol I cannot possibly move on until you experts answer me, so unless you want to think of Riley dirty indefinitely you need to guide me!!! lol
Thank you in advance,
Rachel and Riley

Why should baths not be given until at least 8 weeks of age?
My puppies have generally had their first bath at 5 weeks. I would not dream of sending a puppy to it's new home without having a fresh bath and feet and nails trimmed. Mine love the water, and their baths, right from the start.

 

[maerc24]

Oh, I didn't mean they shouldn't, I just looked around on the 'net briefly and most things I read suggested to wait until they were 8 weeks. I don't know of any hard rule, just brief research, some sites said the puppy may get chilled. lol I'm overly paranoid, and she wasn't filthy, so I just held off.

 

[RKA]

Definitely get pictures!!! Chili's First Bath - Raj Ashar's Photos | SmugMug

In our case, he pee'd on his bed while laying down and that pretty much mandated the evening's activities. He was not thrilled about it and I don't recommend this method. After a few, he tolerates it reasonably well, but you can clearly see he'd rather be playing in the snow. The hair dryer though...goes right up there with the vacuum cleaner. Treats haven't changed his opinion of the hair dryer.

 

[awesomesauce]

We gave Wrigley a bath at 8 weeks after he took a dump in his crate one night and rolled around in it.

He's a super brave puppy so we figured he'd be alright. We made it a game, playing with him and distracting him while the water turned on and then when the water was warm we put him in the tub while it was filling and he proceeded to attack the faucet and water stream.

The only time he got nervous was when his fur was completely lathered with shampoo over his entire body. As soon as we started washing the later out he calmed down and started having fun again. I guess the feeling of being completely inundated with lather kinda freaked him out.

Afterward he did the shake thing and then we towel dried him as much as possible then put him on our lap and started up the blow drier outside of the bathroom and gradually moved it in closer to him until we were blow drying his fur. He enjoyed biting at the air stream. haha

 

[Sally's Mom]

One of my pups probably had a bath daily when I initially got her at 7 1/2 weeks of age due to the mess she would make in her crate. I also wash my pups when they go to new homes as they can be very stinky no matter how much you clean them.

 

[Mssjnnfer]

We started Mojo out in our sink. Much easier on my back. He didn't mind them too much, he got treats the entire time. When he was too big for the sink we put him in the tub. He used to get weekly baths, now it's every other week.

(This was when we figured out Alpo treats were really bad. They were also liver flavored and gave him terrible gas. You live and you learn.)

 

[Moxiesmom]

Start with water play and DO make sure you keep the genitals and feet clean. I introduced the shower wand at 8 weeks and the tub just last week at 15w, b/c she didn't seem to need a full bath. There was a ton of dirt left in the bottom f the tub, so I'm glad we did it and she was so soft afterwards! Use a soap-free cleanser and don't wash too often. You want those natural oils to coat the fur.

 

[maerc24]

We have yet to put Riley in the tub, I was going to do it yesterday, but our chihuahua Max fell ill (a bout with the cat litter box, he has an affinity for cat "biscuits"). So I was nursing him back to health the last two days, he's doing better now thank goodness. I have to work the next two days so Riley's bath is slated for Saturday! Thank you everyone for all the good advice, I just want to make sure she isn't traumatized to water/baths, I knew I could come to the experts for good tips.

 

[Tucker'sMama]

A Toy

The toy part worked great with Tucker... we live near a lake and I take my other dog all the time in the summer. so I wanted him to think water was fun no matter what situation... I tossed in a toy and we played before he got his bath, and now runs in the bathroom everytime he hears the tub fill up!