Ghost and the Bathtub

So we’ve discovered that Ghost is afraid of the bathtub. And not just a little bit.

I was having a nice relaxing oatmeal bath the other day (my skin’s been really itchy lately) and she came into the bathroom to see what I was doing. Now, Ghost’s been in the bathroom before, but she’s not been that interested in it. She’s cautiously approached the empty tub with the curtain drawn across it and then beats a hasty retreat.

So now I’m in the tub. In water. She was curious about what I was doing, and quite happy to lick the oatmealy water off my fingers, but then I shifted. The water in the tub sloshed about a bit and she RAN out of the bathroom like something terrifying was chasing her. She ran to get Nathan and then was whining and pacing and generally fretting. Nathan came into the bathroom to show her that I was okay, but she would have none of it. She started to stare at him accusingly, like HE had put me in there and MADE me stay there. She was very anxious for the rest of my bath and not happy till I was out and all the water was gone.

So now the question is, how the heck are we going to bathe her?? It’s a good thing she’s not a naturally smelly dog that needs to be bathed frequently. I don’t know what we’d do then. I think she’s probably afraid of it from when she was at the shelter. I think when she first came in, they bathed her and clippered her quite severely, so she probably associates all of it together as a bad experience.

People have suggested the dog wash, but I don’t know if that would be just as bad as the shelter, since it would probably look and smell similar. I think we may just end up getting a kiddie pool and bathing her in that in the yard. I think that might be the best (and easiest!) option. Time will tell I guess. Once it’s warmer, we’ll have to find out if she enjoys standing in or swimming in water. Then we’ll be able to figure out whether it’s the water or the environment that she doesn’t like.

In the meantime, thank heaven’s for non-smelly dogs!