[Dailydrool] Bathing bassets

[Donna Lindy]

We have had a walk in shower since before we had bassets. Chuck and Bob preferred the bath tub and would both jump right in - no way was I going to argue with that.  Everyone else was bathed either in the walk in shower or perhaps a quickie bath outside in the summertime with a hose.  These we called back yard baths and none of the dogs really appreciated them at all. Sunny in particular hated them.  When we had the 16 paws I used to get them all in the shower since ours is very spacious. It was tiring but really so much easier than hauling them in one at a time. One very hard lesson I learned was that some dog shampoos do not rinse out of a dogs coat or off the tile floor very easily. I took a nasty fall while cleaning up the shower after bathing 2 of our then 3 hounds which put me out of action for a good while.  Once I was able to bathe dogs again I used a shower bench and that worked quite well.   But then there was that same dog Sunny who hated ALL baths and would turn into concrete under the bench.   Thankfully I had a good sized plant in the bathroom I would put under the bench to deter her efforts to avoid getting wet, much less clean.  I also put down several bath mats or towels on the floor which was something I really should have figured out before I fell.  DUH.  

The walk in shower is upstairs and as my dogs got older I made use of the doggie washes.  Some are definitely better than others and the freedom from the mess you have after you bathe your dog at home is well worth what used to be the $10 they charged at the time.  They did have lousy towels so I used to take my own as well as my own shampoo for certain dogs.  The best dog wash I found was inside a Pet Supermarket so if you have a newer one of those near you, check them out.  It was easy to get Maggie into the tub and it was a good height for washing her. She was not impressed but I was grateful to have found a good place to bathe her. 

On another note, I want to extend to my sincere sympathy to Sherrilyn in the loss of your precious Lola.  I remember when Suz got Isabella and the adventures of Holly Noelle and Isabella before you were able to come and get her.  I remember a very sweet picture of Holly and Isabella wearing hats and looking quite innocent.  I also remember a story about Lola and the maid!  Your girls were quite a pair and very obviously much loved. I bet they have already met up at the Bridge and are wreaking havoc there!  

I will do a separate post about $5 Friday coming up next week!

Donna, drool fueler for no one these days
Forever missing Chuck, Bob, Dudley, Pauline, Elmo, Gracie, Bosley, Sunny, YaYa and Maggie all ATB