Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Bath Time!


I finally got the courage to throw Rocket in the tub. He trusts me well enough now and lets me pet him all over so why not add soap and water to the mix. And surprise: He didn't even growl! I think it was because he was too freaked out to even pretend to be mean. But man, I should have bathed him weeks ago! He didn't look dirty, he didn't smell dirty, but a bath was definitely long over due. I had to shampoo twice for god sakes. I was shocked to see just how dirty the rinse water was after the first shampoo. I wish there was pictures so I had proof of his dirtiness but anyone who has attempted to bath a dog knows water gets EVERYWHERE, and water and electronics don't mix. After the second shampoo he was fresh as a daisy, and I wrapped him up, rubbed him down, and let him loose to do the crazy after bath hyper fit that all dogs seem to do. 

Callie was next, but she's pretty easy. I just point at the tub, tell her to get in and she hops in - with a look of utter hatred mind you - but just hops right in like a good girl. I can usually even get her to shake off while still in the confined space of the tub which saves the walls, mirrors, and ceiling. After is Cal's favourite part - the towel rub down! She gets right into it, sticking herself right under the towel and leaning in to get all the hard to dry places. Then Revolution time! I'm supposed to start June 1st but I'm cheating a little because we're going to be moving into our new condo the rest of the week and I wanted to get it done before hand. It always leaves Cal with the stupid little Mohawk for days after ward. 

I read this article that claimed bathing weekly can actually help cut down on shedding. You can read that here at Dogster. I can't really see the whole wearing doggy clothes thing being practical but the other tips may work. I might bath Rocket a bit more because it also seems to help with his itching, but Callie generally gets dry skin and even with the soothing moisturizing shampoo I have now I think it would make it worse. I might pick up some dog conditioner and give that a try though. 


I ended up having to turn the A/C off because poor Rocket man was freezing his butt off. His bed is right beside the cold air vent so that may have had something to do with it. After they were dry I brushed them out a bit. Rocket's fur is slowing down the shedding thing, but of course Callie is still hairy as ever. 

For some reason I decided to take them to the dog park after they were all clean and dry, but thankfully it was pretty dry there. Rocket does what he always does when there's no little dogs for him to play with: picks a boy dog to follow around and constantly sniff them until they bark at him, quickly run away, sneak back moments later and repeat. Kind of a weird thing to say, but I think Rock is gay... I read a book last year by Steven Kotler called A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life - a great read by the way - in which the author devotes an chapter exploring the idea that maybe dogs can be gay, after observing his rescue Chihuahuas preferring rather intimate relationships with members of the same sex. I think I'll give it a re-read and pay more attention this time around. Rocket definitely prefers to intimately sniff male dogs, and even has a rather close relationship with a male Italian Greyhound that frequents one of our parks. 

Revolution Mohawk!

We had a little incident with Callie. I thought it was kind of funny but the owners of the other dogs felt so bad. Cal was playing a tug-of-war with this giant stick and two other dogs. Totally adorable. All of a sudden Callie and one other dog notice a squirrel getting a little too close to the fence and both drop the stick at the same time. The third dog gave a good pull at the last minute, and so as Callie and the second dog let go, the third dog wacks Callie right in the face with the stick. Pretty hard too. Callie squeals and comes barrelling over to me and hops into my lap she thinks she's somehow lost 30 pounds and is now a tiny lap dog (kind of adorable though). The other owners came over to make sure she was okay (she was more shocked then hurt) and give her some cookies and kisses (her favourite) and all was well, except she wouldn't leave my side afterwards. I decided it was best to take her home with the sliver of ego she had left and she was completely fine. 

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