My Personal Experience

The first time I came over to my mom's boyfriend's house, I thought it would be a good idea to give his cat, Marty, a bath. She was really dirty. As soon as I walked into the bathroom, she started clawing at my back and trying to escape in any way she could. I finally got her in the bath tub and she started meowing and splashing around. It would have helped to know more about bathing animals at the time.  I didn't get the chance to wash her that well, and she jumped out before I could wash out all the shampoo. I ended up with several scratches all over my arms. I don't go near Marty anymore.

Response to this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frc7yHXNaOo Bathing animals is every owners worst fear. It has to be easier than this. Bigger animals are often harder to manage, but there are ways to bathe your pet without it freaking out. I think more owners should try to add fun into bath time. Play some tug of war with your dog for a little bit, or dangle some yarn to your cat. It's also good to take it slow and introduce your pet to the bathroom, even if you aren't going to bathe him. That way, your pet won't incorporate the bathroom only with the bath. Also setting the animal in the bath tub and giving him a treat, might calm the animal down, making it more used to the bathroom area. It's important for the bath giver to also remain calm, as animals can often sense fear. Baths should be regular and start when the animal is still young. That way, as the animal grows, bathing them will be easier and more efficient. A non-slippery, rubber shower mat may also be a good idea as animals often slip and feel even more uncomfortable. Teaching the animal to get in and out of the tub, can also make bathing animals easier. Instead of tugging, avoiding bites, scratches, and everything else, train pets to like baths from the start. It's a lot easier in the long run! If you have a smaller dog, using the sink might be more suitable for them, as it's not so big and there's less water pressure. For a more playful alternative, use a kitty pool and a hose (if it's a warmer day). Often animals enjoy chasing the hose. Conditioner will make less tangles, which will make everything a lot easier and the animal to brush out and handle after the bath is over.

Passion Blog-ASPCA

aspca.org/petcare, an amazing website that offers ways to make your dog feel comfortable, and maybe even like baths, shares broad ideas that owners would have never thought of. In fact, I am going to start using these techniques myself. ASPCA believes that associating bath time with positive things and incorporating this into a usual routine, will lead to a much happier pet. This web page states "If your dog learns that bath time reliably leads to wonderful stuff—like special treats, brand-new chew toys, the start of a favorite game, a walk in the park or dinnertime—he’ll soon learn to feel much better about it." Why did we not think of this sooner? By adding in a reward, and staying strong with repetition, animals feel much better about bath time and might even like it!

History of Animal Baths

Bathing: "A washing or immersion of something, especially the body, in water, steam, ect."-http://dictionary.reference.com. The most common animal we mostly see bathing itself is the bird. We even have man made bird baths for them, just to watch their behavior in our own backyards. "Just because tigers, monkeys, and birds don't roll out of bed, jump in the shower, and turn on the tap, doesn't mean they don't have serious and involved ways to get clean. Bathing has been a central ritual of human civilizations for nearly all of recorded history but many animals, too, need to bathe to maintain hygiene and body temperature."-treehugger.com.A good book to look into, Splish Splash Animal Baths, by April Sayre, written all about animal baths and their natural instinct to bathe themselves, gives a good insight on animal behavior also.

Evolution Supply

evolutionsupply.com published 2009, offers natural pet remedies for dogs with skin problems, hot spots, dandruff, and dog seizures. Amazing reviews are posted about Evolution Supply, such as, "We can't tell you how happy we are with your dog enzymes. We tried so many different products with no luck. Your kit cured our dogs dandruff and scratching completely within 3 months. Even in the winter there was no dry itchy skin. I can tell other pet owners that the Renuplex approach works and works great. Also, we love the smell and shine that your shampoo for dogs leaves! Thanks so much."-Ben J. Terrytown, NY. Owners of animals that require special care should definitely invest in Evolution Supply, because it would help in dealing with certain problems. Evolution supply's main purpose is to help animals that require special treatment.

www.hydrosurge.com, all about tips on bathing animals, offers the best shampoos and conditioners to use for the type of animal. Hydro Surge, a new brand for pet care, offers a unique system in bathing animals, which keeps animals coats more healthy and maintainable. Hydro Surge is a more natural way to bathe animals, without scrubbing to avoid harsh treatment. Also, hydrosurge offers sprays for animals with hard to manage coats.

A book all about animal behavior

When Elephants Weep, by Jeffrey Masson, written in 1995, consists of a table of contents, about the behavior of all animals, including cats and dogs. The organization is presented in chapters, and many praises are written in the front of the book, such as, "The authors make a convincing case that animals have complex inner lives that are constantly manifesting themselves in our world."-Outside (Santa Fe, N.M.) Animal owners would love this book offering an insight to animal behavior, and why they behave in a certain way.

My topic is on how to bath animals. I chose this topic because I have two cats, a husky, who all hate baths. My husky, Moose, sometimes enjoys water, so we'll see how he behaves in the bath tub. Every time I try to bathe my pets, especially the cats, I can expect to get drenched in water. I know that I need to try a different approach, and see what works best with bathing each individual animal. By the end of all of my trials, I hope to achieve a new, successful way to bathe my pets without having to get in with them.