Saturday was bath day, it had been several weeks since their last bath and I was itching to get them both in the tub and cleaned up.

We put in a dog shower last year. It’s in a big open area in the basement.  We really needed it because Annie had skin conditions that required weekly allergy bath treatments and she hated going into small spaces. I was giving her treatments in the kitchen with lots of towels and a bucket which is not a good way to wash a large dog! (We brought her home in the middle of winter, bathing her outside was not possible.)

Maisie has always loved a bath.  She knows when we return from the beach, we go straight to the basement and get in the shower. (The old shower was a tiny, concrete space squeezed into the corner of very small, dark, creepy basement bathroom.) She’s been doing that since she was a puppy and she adapted immediately to the new shower once it was finished.  Now when she hears the water running down there she goes right down and hops in.  Annie is more reluctant and needs a bit of coaxing.

I had been running the water to get the temperature right and when I turned and looked, there was Maisie, sitting pretty and waiting for her bath.I went to find Annie and she was lying at the top of the basement stairs, watching and listening but not terribly eager to head downstairs for her spa day.

I got her to follow me, but it took a lot of coaxing to get her in the shower.  I don’t force her into anything, but I do hold onto her so she won’t run away and eventually she will get in when she’s ready.  This time took a little longer, I think because it had been a while since we had done this, and at one point I got in there with Maisie in an effort to get her to follow me.  That didn’t work since there isn’t really enough room for all three of us and Annie just stood there staring at me like I was a fool.  Once I awkwardly crawled out and got back down beside her, she let out a moan and then climbed in.  If she could have rolled her eyes at me, I think she would have.

Once they were both in, I washed Annie and quickly dried her to get most of the water out and then let her hop down.  I then turned my attention to Maisie and got her washed and dried.  She’s a lot easier because she will stand and turn when I ask her to so I can get both sides done without too much effort.  Maisie really doesn’t like the dryer, but this time she put up with it for about 45 minutes which is a record for her and she was pretty close to dry by the time she hopped down.

Annie had run away and was resting in the “safe zone” by the couch, but after about 10 minutes I felt a nudge and there she was, watching me dry Maisie.  I think she came back for moral support and she plopped down right there and waited till we were done.  They have bonded so well, Maisie always gets in the tub with Annie and now Annie came back and was nearby while Maisie was tolerating the dryer.  Sweet sisters, taking care of each other!

They will get their brush out and trim today, we were all exhausted and ready for a nap…