Advice needed, please! Bathtime woes...

[kermitf11]

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I recently (about 5 weeks ago) adopted a rescue chow named Stewart. He did not have a great life before we got him. Things have been going reasonably well with him. He has bonded with us, enjoys his walks and seems to be settling into a life in a house, instead of the great outdoors.

On Saturday, we took him to a self-wash pet spa. We gave him a bath, and he was NOT happy about it. We bathed him, then towel dried him, and followed it up with a high velocity no heat dryer. He really hated it. He hasn't been the same since. He's not affectionate like he was... he's been very cranky and standoffish. We don't know what to do!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated- thanks in advance!

[Sarahloo]

The bath must have been fairly traumatic for him. With shelter pets, you never know what triggers bad memories. Getting wet might have very unpleasant associations for Stewart. And dryers are very scary for rescues (and some non-rescues). You'll win back his trust, I am sure! Just do what you were doing before that bath and things will get better again.
It's great that you adopted a shelter pet!!! Do you maybe have a picture for us?

[kermitf11]

Thanks for replying-- I guess it was more traumatizing than we realized! I wonder if there's a less traumatic way to freshen him up when he needs it? I'll attach 2 pictures- one of the aforementioned trauma-bath, and a profile shot. He's a beauty!!

[Sarahloo]

He is beautiful, no wonder you couldn't resist him!
Dogs aren't usually bathed. You brush the dirt out when it's dried and they'll always look beautiful. I can see that Stewart has beautiful fur, all soft and shiny. Brushing their hair regularly is much more important than bathing (which isn't good for their skin or fur). You'll find a way to keep Stewart clean, I'm sure. Maybe if you just use a towel to dry him off or if you bathe him on a warm day and let him dry in the sun, he'll be alright with it.
It's probably a good thing he got that bath though, after his stay at the shelter.

[wturnes]

Just chiming in - I'm the boyfriend. If you want to see more of stewart, I set up a tumblr for him at http://chowstewart.tumblr.com/

He's come around a lot since the bath incident. Before we got him, he had been staked down outdoors for quite a while before he broke his chain and was picked up running free. (He was the victim of a broken family, where he was seemingly used as a bargaining chip by an ex-spouse who didn't really want him) . His fur was very matted and sun-bleached, which is why (as you can see in the pictures), it was clipped down so short. He still has a bit of bleached fur, but we're hoping that will just fall out and be replaced naturally. Given that background, it's kind of amazing just how affectionate and trusting of people he is. We got really lucky

[maikinda]

What a beautiful boy! He may be a little miffed about getting a bath, but he'll get over it. I always try to do something special with mine after a bath. Take them for a ride, different toy, or a special treat. They soon forget the bath!

Laura

[creepnail]

i usually the one who brings my choknat on bath,tho i only did it twice,saw that the water flow is so strong on the pic, i think if u can adjust it a lil less would be better since you only need to make him all wet, shampoo will took care of the dirt and you must rinse him/her well..most important thing, never let the water goes to his ears and eyes, and same on shampoo.. never ever let it goes there coz its irritates chowchow most of all.. and on drying him up, blower is a must if u want the overcoat to stay shine and huggable but i only notice one thing with choknat, he hates superhispeed or whatever you call it dryer. i use low on him with lil heat and sometimes he even fall sleep when im doin it.. one trick why drying him with blowdryer, let him play with his chewbone.. hope it can be a help