We can increase a dog’s comfort level with bathing by encouraging family members to help out at home with the training. This plan lays out specific steps that, over time, will make your dog to enjoy bath time, making it less stressful for everyone. This procedure can help create a positive emotional response that associates good things happening in the tub (treats) with the experience of being in the tub and bathing.

• Put a towel or rubber mat inside the tub and start to feed the dog his meals right there in the tub. For a puppy, a towel may suffice; however, a rubber mat really provides a solid footing. An issue with porcelain tubs is that they can be very slippery.
• At various times throughout the day, gently put the puppy in the tub and just give him some high-value treats there. This will help to prepare your puppy in two ways. First, visually: The tub becomes a cue that good things occur there (food and treats). Next, emotionally: By the family’s building this positive association at home with the tub, the puppy should already have a good feeling about it when he arrives at the groomer’s for his first bath.

A preliminary bathing process at home can result in an adult dog feeling more comfortable in the tub as well. And, whether or not the dog is frightened of being bathed, it is never too late to employ desensitization and counter-conditioning to help him feel more relaxed about this part of the grooming routine. In either case, you would proceed as follows:

• Begin by starting to feed the dog near the tub.
• Next give the dog a treat just for looking at the tub.
• Then, give the dog a treat just for looking at the tub, but now place the treat on the ledge of the tub so that the dog has to get closer to the tub to retrieve it. In this way, we are reinforcing the dog’s voluntarily moving closer to the tub and associating good things (the treat) with the tub. Make sure the mat is positioned safely inside the tub so that the dog is not in danger of slipping.
• Repeat this process many times until the dog is actively looking for the treat on the ledge.
• Next, when the dog looks for the treat on the ledge of the tub, click (or use another marker if you like) and provide another treat inside the tub for the dog to retrieve.
• Gradually, over time, you will change the placement of the treat so that you position it inside the tub with the ultimate goal of getting the dog to jump into the tub.
• Once the dog jumps into the tub, and you have clicked and placed another treat in the tub, you can then click for his being inside the tub, and place the next treat back on the outside of the tub. The goal here is to get the dog used to going in and out of the tub by himself.

Once you practiced the above at home, the plan below can take place at the groomer’s shop.

Groomers and bathers can ask families if they have done the recommended preceding practice at home. Once that has been confirmed, it would be a good idea to repeat steps a few times at the groomer’s just to generalize the dog’s comfort level to the shop tub. This means that you’ll want to back up to a couple of the easier steps to “warm up” the process for the dog.

If the shop tub doesn’t have steps or is raised up off of the ground, an interim step might include shaping the dog to comfortably allow being picked up and placed in the tub. Be sure to pair treats with the experience to create a positive association.

Once the dog will go in the tub expecting treats, you are ready to start to turn on the water. This might require you to repeat the picking-up process several times in order for the dog to feel comfortable. It may also be advantageous to break this step up into several sessions where you repeat this piece as well.

Bathing at the Groomer’s Place

• With the pup now in the tub, turn the water on and off.
 Treat for the dog remaining calm as you turn the water on
 and off. Continue turning the water on and off, and keep 
treating for calm, relaxed behavior. The goal is to get a
 high rate of reinforcement going, as we really want to
 create a great emotional response to being in the tub.
• Once the dog is comfortable with the water being turned on and off, the groomer or bather can start to wet the dog. This part of the process should be done slowly, and care should be taken not to startle the dog.
• Now that the dog is wet, if not using a bathing system, put some of your shampoo mixture on the dog. A recommendation is to mix the shampoo with water in a bottle or container prior to bathing. This way, the shampoo will immediately rinse off the animal because it is in solution, which makes this part of the process much easier.
• Prior to putting shampoo on the dog, it is recommended
 that you use SafeEye drops. These drops are a mineral
 oil ophthalmic that protects the eyes from the burning
 sensation of shampoo, which can be very irritating.
• Next, apply the shampoo and work it into the dog’s coat. If the dog seems stressed, you might be rubbing too hard. Keep in mind that dogs are very sensitive to this as there are many neurotransmitters located in the hair follicles.

As a final note on bathing, the Meet and Treat may be a good time to assess the dog’s reaction to being in the tub and/or to also being picked up. Depending upon the dog’s level of comfort with this, you may or may not be able to proceed at this point with introducing the above tools and situations related to the bathing process.