We love our dog dearly but she absolutely refuses to take care of her own personal hygiene. We spend all week reminding her to file her nails and take a bath but she never does. If you are not an expert beagle washer the following information will enlighten you. Sadie's nails looked pretty good this week so we will save the beagle manicure and pedicure tips for another day.
To start, you must catch the beagle. It is easier to do before she hears the water filling the bathtub.
Always remember to remove the collar. It is very difficult to wash the dog's neck if you don't.
A very important step is to soothe the beagle before the bath. She looks pretty grumpy because now she knows what is going on.
Hopefully, it is obvious that you need something to hold the bath water to make bath time successful. We personally prefer our extra bathtub since Sadie is fairly small.
Soap is always very necessary for a successful bath. Sadie's shampoo smells like oranges. According to the back of the bottle, beagles are one of the breeds that tend to have a body odor problem. Luckily for us, we have given her a bath once a week since we've had her and have not had to find out if this is true.
Our rinsing device of choice is our cherished plastic MacArthur Cardinals cup. It has a tiger and viking on the other sides. We didn't go to those schools so we didn't feel the need to advertise for them.
Sadie attempted one last crocodile roll to make her get away. Mike didn't fumble the dog.
She also tried one last emotional plea. That didn't work for her either.
Once you finally have the beagle in the tub, you can start washing.
She actually doesn't ever try to get out of the tub. Once she gets in the water she is pretty well-behaved.
She always wants attention and someone to pet her so I think the actual washing is her favorite part.
We have done this enough times that she actually lifts each of her legs up to be washed.
To avoid doggie dandruff we typically rinse the shampoo off at the end of bath time.
Always make sure to drain the beagle over the bathtub for a few seconds. Most of the water runs right off of her sort of like a duck.
We like to lay out a towel as a beagle landing strip. I'm not sure if it really helps with anything but it does give us another towel to wash.
Before the beagle runs off, it is usually in our best interest to dry her off. I think they test dog intelligence by timing how long it takes the dog to find its way out from under a blanket. Our dog just sort of stands there and licks her feet.
Mike helped her out from under the towel. I think she likes being toweled off because it is kind of like petting.
No bath time is complete with out the classic violent dog shimmy to fling every remaining drop of water all over the surrounding area.
Finally, after much licking and rolling on the carpet, Sadie is back to her original post on her doggie bed. (Disclaimer: The information in this post was meant to portray the hygiene habits of one dog. Using this bathing ritual for other living things is solely at the risk of the bather. Please use good judgement and discretion. If questions arise, please consult a professional.)
