Always soooo much fun!
During Sunny’s last trip to the vet’s I was reminded about doing a monthly ear cleaning. Apparently Sunny has very waxy ears and Azar had quite a bad ear infection a couple of years ago, so not doing regular cleanings is very remiss on my part. Anyhow, today was the day (decided that the end/beginning of the month is the easiest time to remember) and everyone is recovering well – including me. 🙂
With Azar I have to sneak up on him when he is sleeping and get at least one ear done before he fully wakes up and starts doing his Tazmanian Devil thang. Sunny is easier to deal with and is so doggy … although he squirmed a bit, as soon as I finished doing his ears he went directly to his food dish and waited for his ‘after trauma treat’ (it’s just so cute and trusting when he does that!). Meanwhile, Azar has just come out from sulking under the bed.
Well, that’s it till next month. It’s one of those things where the anticipation is actually worse than the reality (especially now that I’ve improved my technique) and this post is to remind me of that so that I won’t put off the regular cleanings anymore.
casa azahar 
We’ve had our own version of this trauma lately. Mrs. Ombud decided the dogs needed baths last week, and decided to try out a nearby facility where you can bathe them.
Our black lab, Edie, reacts as if she is in danger of drowning. Mrs. Ombud made the mistake of washing Ernie first, so Edie saw what was in store and resisted valiantly, but vainly. My wife was equally drenched when it was all over.
It isn’t easy for me to heft an 85 lb. german shepherd into the tub, or a 70 lb. black lab, as they each resist desperately. But I believe the next time they are to be bathed I’m going to be enlisted again.
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Yeah, I’ve always got to do Azar first. Once he knows something is up it’s impossible to catch him. For this reason, every day for the rest of the month I have to make sure to give him a big snibble when he’s having his after-brekky snooze on the duvet (which is where I caught him napping) so that he doesn’t suspect anything next time.
I always thought dogs liked baths.
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Our german shepherd mix, Ernie, has this amazing radar. I swear, sometimes I try to be sly and get ready to pick him up to go in the tub, and his ears go back, his head goes down and he slinks off to his bed in the living room.
I’ve been rather stunned — how did he know? I can’t think of an overt signal he picked up on (giving dogs credit for physical as opposed to verbal awareness) but he sure sensed something.
Edie, however (black lab mix) is easy. Just offer her a treat, scoop her up and put her in the tub, poor thing, where her tail tucks all the way up and around, pointing at her chin in wet misery.
With their love of all that’s smelly, I think dogs like to stink. Also, I’ve noticed after a bath their fur is cooler when it’s clean. It might lose some insulating properties when the oils are out, and they might dislike that.
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I never bathe my cats – in fact, I was told long ago that this was not a good idea because a cat’s skin is very sensitive and they are quite good at cleaning themselves.
BUT … the thing I can’t ever understand is why they always smell so fresh and clean when I nuzzle up against them in bed, because, well, they are basically covered in cat spit, right? And neither Sunny or Azar has what I would call ‘fresh smelling breath’ (I do check from time to time because really bad smelling breath is a sign of a health problem).
Edie sounds just like Sunny … the tail tucked away, the sad look on his face … but then the treat makes it all better. Doesn’t that just tug at your heart?
Ernie sounds more like Azar … he can tell the difference between when you are just coming to give him a snibble or are about to squirt icky stuff in his ears (which is why I havev to catch him when he’s sleeping). It’s also impossible to ‘med’ Azar’s food – he sniffs it out in an instant and walks away. Happily it’s just Sunny that needs the daily pills – he snarfs down his teaspoon of meds in paté without a second thought. So doggy!
Aren’t Labs more smelly because of the extra oil in their skin, because they are retriever/water dogs? Is Ernie as smelly as Edie?
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