Bath Time, Mud Time

People frequently comment about how white Denali is. The question I'm most asked, other than what breed she is, is how I keep her so clean. Huskies quite simply don't tend to stay dirty. Their fur repels dirt. That's not to say they never need a bath but a bit of dirt or mud will usually come right off. Sometimes a bath is necessary, as is the case for Denali after a beach day or an extra muddy stinky day.

Less than a week after getting Denali I introduced her to the bath tub. The previous 5 days I had played with her using a red rhino towel frequently. I'd toss the towel over her, play tug with the towel, hide the kitty under the towel, and most importantly I would rub her down as if I was drying her off. I always start with her face by tossing the towel over her then rubbing her face. To this day it's one of her favorite things!

Find that naughty kitty!

Many dogs hate baths. I didn't want Denali to. Baths should be fun, not scary or stressful! Before bringing the little puppy into the bathroom I first plugged the tub and filled it just a little bit. So little that there was still a dry side at the other end of the tub. I did this because 1) The faucet and pouring water is very loud and could startle my skittish puppy, 2) Going into the water needs to be her choice and not done by force, 3) Deep water is too much to handle for an introduction to water, and 4) By excluding her from the process she was extra interested in what I had been doing in there. I gently set her down on the dry side of the tub and was super excited for her to be in there, lots of praise and use of my high-pitched excited voice. I don't think I used any treats but if she had been hesitant I would have. I tapped the water to make little splashes and get her interested. She lowered her shoulders and head down and copied me, hitting the water with her paw. We played in it for a few minutes. I would get my hand wet and rub it on her legs, sides, back, and neck. She was having a lot of fun so I turned the faucet on a tiny little bit so a trickle of water came out.

She loved it! She bit at it, pawed, hopped around, and was having a blast. I turned the faucet on more to let the tub slowly fill as we continued to play. That was her bath. Play time. No shampoo, no making her stand still, only fun.


Then I drained the tub and dried her off. I tossed the towel over her and rubbed her face, then all over her body. We ran around the living room playing tug and she bounced on the cat and rolled on the towel and it seemed like the best day of her life. Zebulon is a good sport and while he didn't appreciate getting wet they snuggled up after their romp.

She didn't need a bath often until we started going to the beach every week, but she has always liked baths and has especially loved drying off. As her adult coat grew in it took longer to dry her and I started using a hair dryer. Maybe one day I'll get a fancy high power one designed for drying animals but for now mine works well enough.

Bath days are the worst, aren't they??

The best part is before the bath. The mud. Oh so much mud! Here are some of my favorite moments of mud. Click to enlarge.

The best of all was on a trip to Colorado when she was 7 months old. The case of the creeping mud. It didn't start so bad, but by the end she was brown up to her belly!

Did someone say bath?

R.I.P rhino towel. You are greatly missed.

Update

Pardon my absence, we've been on vacation!

First things first, here are some pictures. We visited my husband's parents in western Colorado for his 10 year high school reunion. We also went to the front range to visit my parents and some friends.

There's grass here!

Bitey face

Loving on my Grandpa

Squirrel!!

When will it come down?

In the neighbor's yard.

Back in our yard she taught my nephew to drink from the pool.

In other news, the dogs got heartworm meds today. I keep an eye on the weather and the low hasn't been under 57* F in quite some time meaning the larvae aren't killed off in the mosquitoes. We were also on vacation in Colorado recently and while I'm sure it was cool enough I neglected to check the weather for about 3 weeks. It might get under 57* some time this week but more than likely I'll be giving the dogs another dose in a few months to be on the safe side. I haven't seen any mosquitoes but that doesn't mean they aren't around.