Forest’s First Cabin Bath

The Iowa cabin doesn’t have any bathtubs, which is just fine and dandy with me. I don’t like tubs. I understand that hot water and soap will technically kill any germs, but I can’t help but feeling like in the end, you’re just lying in a pool of your own filth. It’s the same reason I don’t fill a sink with water to wash dishes.

Anyway, after an especially dirty play session in the Iowa sandbox last year, we needed to bathe Forest. First, we attempted to wash him outside using the hose, but the water was way too cold for the puppy. After some discussion, we decided to wash Forest in the bathroom sink (this was back when Forest was just a tiny puppy and could actually fit in a sink).

Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to hold Forest down and scrub off dirt to take photos. By the time we were done, Forest was shaking with cold and fear (the sink was a little too far off the ground for the height-fearing puppy), so we brought him out to warm deck to dry him off. Finally, we had an opportunity to take some adorable photos.

 

Forest was still a tad cold, so we wrapped him in a dry towel to keep him warm.

 Little puppy was exhausted after his ordeal and took a short puppy nap.

Forest’s First Cabin Bath

5 Month Old Puppy

Forest was born on May 30^th, so Friday was his 5 month birthday! We didn’t do anything special to celebrate, just gave him a well needed bath. God that puppy gets smelly at doggy day care. I don’t know if it’s from playing with other dogs, or sleeping in the vet’s crates or what, but by the end of the week Forest sometime has a strong funk on him. So on Friday we gave him a bath, which unfortunately terrifies the puppy. We’ve only had to give Forest like three baths since we’ve owned him (the vet and groomers have had that pleasure several more times) but I think Forest remembers our baths because he won’t willingly enter the bathroom where he takes his baths. It’s all worth it though, he smells so much better now!

In honor of Forest’s birthday (and a nice smelling doggy) here’s a bunch of Forest photos covering his short but sweet life so far.

Forest at 5 months:

Forest at 4 months:

Forest at 3 months:

Forest at 2 months:

Forest at 1 month:

5 Month Old Puppy

Clean Puppy

I was thrilled when I picked up Forest for the first time and didn’t smell that stinky dog-funk that accompanies most canines. I hate that smell, I don’t even know what to compare it to (although “moldy sock” comes to mind). Dogs sometimes just smell like, well, dogs. But during the first week we had him, Forest smelled good, clean, like a brand new puppy right off the lot.

Every since he started going to Doggy Day Care (which I can’t praise enough) he’s been coming home a stinky dog. So last Sunday, Nick and I decided to bathe Forest for the first time. Now Forest has had two baths since we got him: once by the vet on the first day due to medical reasons (long story, kinda funny but still painful to think about) and once by a groomer who got to complete other fun tasks like trimming the hair around his butt. We were hoping that these experiences would make our first bathing attempt a little easier.

We gathered our supplies (Dove body wash, a towel, and a pitcher previously used in a flippy cup tournament) and shut the bathroom door in case Forest tried to escape. Turns out that was unnecessary because Forest isn’t big enough to jump out of the bathtub yet, but Nick and I still had to sit on the edge of the tub with our feet inside to keep him from trying to. Nick would fill the pitcher with water and pour it over the puppy (with me nagging the whole time about not getting it in Forest’s face) and I would try to scrub Forest down. The whole time he whimpered and shook a little. At one point, I was trying to clean his underside when I felt this little trickle of warm water, which I guessed was Forest doing his business (but of all places in the house, the tub was really the best possible scenario).

We didn’t get any pictures of the actual wash since our hands were full of puppy fur, soap, water pitcher and dog piss, but we did get some photos of finished product.

Forest: What the hell did you just do to me?

I'm not sure if Forest is trying to lick himself clean or eat his own face.

Tada! Introducing a clean puppy.

Clean Puppy