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: