Things normal dog owners dont say: Ugh, [dogs name] rolled in something and desperately needs a bath. I wonder if its going to rain tonight. My fearful foster McConnell hates physical confinement, social pressure, looming and water, so baths are one of his Ultimate Big Bad Things. But, he also fairly frequently pees in his crate and lays in it and soaks himself in urine. Until were at a point in his training where were able to bathe him normally, the solution has been to let him stand outside in light rain for 5-10 minutes to rinse himself off. He doesnt *enjoy* the rain like my water-obsessed aussies do, but he tolerates it comfortably, whereas a bath is seriously aversive enough to damage his trust in me for days or weeks afterward. I wish I could figure out a way to get soap into the equation without needing to lather and rinse (with more water than a drizzle provides), but for now, surprisingly, just rinsing lightly in the rain has been pretty effective for us. (Edit for clarity, because it has been pointed out that I wasnt clear: The peeing in the crate is an anxiety thing if the other dogs leave his sight before I get his crate unlatched. The laying-down-in-it is a superstitious behavior chain he has put together when I open the crate door -- he does this weird bow/down/shimmy/bounce-up chain as I open the crate latch, which drags his stomach and/or side through the pee if theres pee in the crate when Im opening it. Im not just letting my dog lay in his own urine endlessly. Cant let him out first to avoid the anxiety-pee because another dog has barrier frustration specifically toward him, so he has to be the last one out of the crates to avoid that.)
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 21:23:07 +0000
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