Lucy's first bath

We took Lucy out to her grandparents' back deck, filled up a plastic baby pool with water and introduced her to it. She was hesitant at first, but we waited and gave her some treats. She reluctantly craned her neck over the edge to get the treats that we had tossed in. Finally, we picked her up and put her in the water. Don't worry, it was only a few inches deep.

We gently wet her fur with water using 2 small watering buckets and massaged the dog shampoo in her fur. She didn't look that happy, but was calm and stayed still. I kept praising her and gave her treats when I could. Here's Lucy all lathered up with doggie shampoo:


Once we were done, we didn't hose her off, for fear the water pressure would be too strong and scare her. Instead, we gently washed off the suds with the watering buckets. Once out of the "bath", Lucy was dried by a few shakes and few rubs with a towel. Her fur looked brighter and she smelled so much better. Her white fur looked so much whiter.


I was trying to really be in the moment and focus on how she looked and felt, but this big black labrador came prancing by the backyard and Lucy almost jumped from the deck to go chase it. So much for her savoring her first bath. I got a few snapshots of the bath time.



Lucy earning a much deserved treat for her good behavior at bathtime:

Lucy's favorite (and almost indestructible dog toy)

Lucy's pink spot on her forehead.

Lucy has this pink area on her forehead. I noticed it about 10 days ago and figured it was some sort of allergy. I then observed her more carefully to see if she were uncomfortable or itchy. However I realized that she was not scratching it, so it was probabaly not an allergy. Thankfully I decided to take her to the vet, especially after the lady with the German Shepherd commented on it and how it was so close to her eye. She was right - it was something. The Vet said that it was an infestation of mites that she might have picked up in the garden in one of her digging escapades. She instructed us to give her drops on her tongue 3 times a day. I also got a 3 day package of granules something to put on her food to ensure that she does not have any remaining ring worms. She had ring worms when I adopted her back in April, despite having received a clean bill of health from the aspca.

Anyhow, Lucy is overall very healthy and happy. I love her expressions and the twinkle in her eye. This week was very exciting for her and for me as well as my nephew Alexander was visiting. He is just in love with Lucy. It's "Hello lucy!" when I stop by my parent's house to visit, not "Hello Marissa!" But that's okay with me. Lucy loves the attention. She loves playing fetch with him and even wrestling a little. I have consistently reminded him that "Lucy is not a large dog like Katie" (their German Shepherd) and to "not grab her by the collar".... I took a few great snapshots of Alexander with Lucy. Here are 2 cute pics: