Today was one of those days – time to bathe my dog. My dear Buddy, if you haven’t met this little furry gentleman yet, is a purebred German Spitz. He is four and a half years old, and I can tell you that he is a real charmer! He is kind, obedient and incredibly smart. You may think that I am biased because he is my dog, but believe me, Buddy objectively has a character that conquers everyone who meets him.
However, all these wonderful qualities disappear when it comes to one, in his opinion, the worst thing in the world – bathing! Buddy simply does not like water. He does not like being wet, and he perceives the bathing process itself as the biggest challenge in his life.
When it comes time to put him in the bathtub, the situation changes dramatically. From a relaxed and happy dog, Buddy becomes nervous and restless. Despite his small size, I feel like I am bathing a dog twice his size!
The bathing process itself is not easy at all. It takes me between half an hour and 45 minutes to lather him up twice and rinse him off. During that time, Buddy manages to "tell" me all his grievances - from a sad look that says "Why now?" to the occasional attempt to jump out of the tub.
In the end, after it's all over, Buddy looks like the cutest, most fragrant and fluffy dog in the world. And as he dries, his personality slowly returns - he's ready to play and enjoy himself right away.
Although bathing is stressful for him, and a marathon adventure for me, every drop of water is worth it when I see how happy and clean he is. Still, I admit, we're both glad we don't have to repeat this "ritual" every day!
This is the brush I use to comb my dog's hair. The metal pins on the brush are used to comb the undercoat, to comb out tangled parts of the hair, I use that side most often, because it's the fastest and easiest way to comb Buddy's hair. While the black, softer side of the brush, that side is made of horsehair, it's used to gather hair and I use that side much less often, almost never.
If you thought bathing my dog, Buddy, was an adventure in itself, then you haven’t heard what comes next – drying. Honestly, if I had to choose between drying and bathing, I don’t know which I would choose. And unfortunately, there’s no choice. Buddy seems to hate drying even more than bathing.
While bathing ends with nervous jumping around in the tub, drying turns all those emotions into one big battle. He becomes extremely restless, twitching, pulling, and it’s almost impossible to hold, blow-dry, and brush him at the same time. This task really does require two people.
When I have help, the process is usually much easier. One person gently holds Buddy’s head and scratches his ears – it’s his little “safe space” that calms him down. Meanwhile, the other person blows-drys and brushes his fur. Teamwork is crucial here.
But today, I wasn’t so lucky. Both of my sisters were busy, so the entire process fell to me. And what does it look like to dry a restless but extremely hairy dog when I’m the only one on duty?
First, I took a brush and tried to comb him thoroughly to remove as much excess hair as possible. Buddy sheds a lot, and when I start blow-drying, that hair flies everywhere – all over me, the room, and of course, Buddy, who is constantly twitching. Due to the cold, I had to dry him inside, which only added to the “fun.”
After brushing, I alternated between using the blow-dryer and the brush. I would hold Buddy with one hand and the blow-dryer with the other, then set the blow-dryer aside so I could take the brush back and go over the dried areas. And so on – dry, comb, dry, comb – until he was completely dry.
I’ll just say this: drying a dog with so much hair, who doesn’t want to be dried, requires the patience of a monk. In the end, it’s all worth it when I see how beautiful he looks – his fluffy, shiny coat and that playful look put a smile on my face.
But I admit, when it was all over, I just took a deep breath and thought, “Thank goodness we don’t do this every day!” 😊