Bathing the Dog With an Assistant

I don’t know why my girls are fascinated with the process of bathing the dog, but they are.  They always rally to watch or help when I decide the dreaded event is necessary.  Normally I  distract them with the TV and then chase the dog upstairs, lock the bathroom door and do what needs to be done.

Today the Big One was at preschool, so it’s a bit more difficult to distract the Little One.  I figured she would be able to entertain herself with the box of hair clips, bows and headbands so it might not be so bad.

So I trick the dog into getting close enough so that I could catch her.   I heaved her up on my hip and ran for the bathroom.   As I was running with the dog, I was encouraging the Little One to keep up with me.  And then to close the bathroom door quick so that Gracie Lou couldn’t escape.

WHEW! We made it, the dog was in the tub and the Little One was in the bathroom with us.

Usually as soon as I get her in the tub, she just stands there humoring me.  She doesn’t try to jump out or run away, she just stands there like a 50-pound statue.  She will not turn when I want her to, she won’t sit when I want her to and she certainly won’t shake the excess water off when I want her to.

I was watching her eyes and she kept getting this look, like she was up to something.  I couldn’t figure it out until she made a move to bolt.  I peeked over my shoulder to see that the Little One had opened the main bathroom door.  Oh heck no! I thought .  So I grabbed Gracie Lou and told her to stay put, as I told the Little One again to shut the door.

Sounds nice and calm, huh? What I probably said was something along the lines of “if you value your life you will stay” although it probably came out sounding more like “don’t you DARE ” through clenched teeth and with fire coming out of eyes.

Now fortunately the way the bathroom is set-up, the double sinks are in the main part and then the toilet and tub and in a smaller corner with their own door.

There is no room between the toilet and me for the dog to really escape.  I was blocking the doorway with my body.  But I still had that moment of panic as the Little One continued to open and close the bathroom door.

Thank goodness, the dog has the fear of mom in her.  Now if I couldn’t only get the Little One to respect that same fear!

{It’s a joke, I of course don’t want my children to be afraid of me! With the number of times I’ve had to catch the damn dog, she had better fear me!}