Do basenji's love or hate water??

[Kalima62]

Hi…I've heard that basenji's either love water, or really hate it like my Duna...rain, hose pipe, sea, puddles, etc, etc...

Yesterday to get her a refreshing bath, i got wet myself and nearly scratched to death to get out of the bath tub!!! :mad:
She looked like a wild cat and her eyes were nearly popping out for the fright!!! I
prepared some luke warm water in the bath tub..about 10cm high, and gently put her in.
At first she let me wet her legs and her chest gently always talking soothly to her, then as i added some dog shampoo, she started wanting to fly out, grabbing me and clawing at the bath tub sides and at my arms!!!
As she did so she slipped and panicked to death!! A fright frenzy took over her, so there were no sweet words that would calm her, she just wanted to get out!!!
So, as she had soap on her belly and front, i needed to rinse her so i had to hold her still by the neck skin and quickly do the job!!!
I felt so sorry for her...now she'll never want to be washed again!!! I only wanted to give her white parts a bit of brightness as i was taking her to a dog show and wasn't intended anyway to was her compleatly!!

Can i clean her in other ways in the future of will she always have that negative reaction to water???
Have i scared her for ever now????:eek:
Thank-you

[moetmum]

I don't bath my for dog shows very often, probably only twice a year, I tend to just wash the white bits. I have a spray shampoo (No rinse) that you massage in and rub off with a clean towel, it is very effective, I have even used it at a very muddy show, I rinsed the mud off with clean water from a bottle and then used the spray shampoo.

I had a crossbred once that hated baths and behaved like yours, my b's don't like it but do put up with it (apart from jumping out and having to be put back in)

[Elscodobermann]

I always bathe Tilly two days before a show, to give her coat time to settle. She doesnt mind it - but i dont put her in the bath - find it is much easier if i get into the shower with her. luckily we have a big walk in shower which gives me plenty space - she doesnt panic, and just stands there and lets me wash and rinse her - during the show season my leg hair is in wonderful condition lol..

[Basenjimamma]

Otis hates baths too, so I have only bathed him twice, which is a lot in a three month timespan, but he had rolled in something dead..so I had to clean him off, or he wouldn't be aloud in the house..he stunk. I also use a spray on dry-shampoo that works really well and sometimes I use babywipes..they clean very well and are gentle. Otis in the bathtub is like bathing a giraffe, he litterally tries to stretch and climb up my arms, it is no fun for him or me.

[Kalima62]

Basenjimamma….Duna and Otis seem to me are very similar arent they??? Ha-ha!!! Yes..I'll try baby wipes!!! Thank you!!!

[jonny b.]

My son gives both B's showers…. We have the enclosed kind with doors. Neither one complains a bit. He uses shampoo, lathers them up and rinses them. They must know they cannot escape. They both HATE to walk in the grass if is has morning dew on it, but they will so they can do their business. They both will walk in the pouring rain endlessly UNLESS there is lots of thunder. They will not swim in our pool. Stinkers.

[Shaye's Mom]

I guess the best answer to your original question is "yes" and "no" - some like it, some hate it, some can deal with it but don't love it - they are all different. Mine will play with other dogs in the water, and will run around the dog park in a pouring rain, but hates it when we walk in it for her usual walks - at least for the first twenty feet, it's a drag, literally, then she decides "better get it over with," does her stuff quickly, and heads home. Each dog is different, and sometimes, each dog is different every time…..

[Shaye's Mom]

PS - if you bathe your dog in the shower with you (provided you have an enclosed stall) she may deal with it better - mine hates a bath, but will tolerate the shower because I'm also getting all wet, just like her. The drying off is a bit awkward, but it helps keep the bathroom floor clean….

[Kalima62]

I'll have to try that…showering with a basenji seems so funny to me....but now and again all dogs need a total plunge and a good lathering up dont they??? Thank God basenjis dont smell and have such a short fur!!!:)

[Shaye's Mom]

True, they do not smell or stay dirty, except sometimes when, like mine, rolling in mud is one of their favorite things at the dog parks. Of course, her shampoo is vet sold aloe and oatmeal, so I wash her first, and sometimes my husband will take her out and dry her.

[Basenjimamma]

I ususally throw all my dogs into the shower with me as well, it is easier and I am bound to get wet anyway. The very few times I had to give Otis a bath was because he simply smelled of dead worm guts that him and the other dogs just had to roll in…

[Kalima62]

:D:D:D ha-ha!! Petra…you make me laugh!!!
I can imagine you flinging from one leg your Otis under the shower, Like that sport, how do you call it in english..there's a disk on a kinda rope that you hurl as far away as possible!! Boh...cant remember:rolleyes:
ciao
ps...cant imagine what worm guts smell like
but i can tell you how a millepede stinks like!!!!!:eek:
Revolting!!!!:mad:

[Basenjimamma]

YEs revolting would be a good word to use for it..
I don't know waht sport you are talking about, but yes, washing Otis is like 4- wheeling though gelato…very hard to do..

[nobarkus]

@Shaye's:

I guess the best answer to your original question is "yes" and "no" - some like it, some hate it, some can deal with it but don't love it - they are all different. Mine will play with other dogs in the water, and will run around the dog park in a pouring rain, but hates it when we walk in it for her usual walks - at least for the first twenty feet, it's a drag, literally, then she decides "better get it over with," does her stuff quickly, and heads home. Each dog is different, and sometimes, each dog is different every time…..

I concur with this.

[Basenjimamma]

Originally Posted by Shaye's Mom
I guess the best answer to your original question is "yes" and "no" - some like it, some hate it, some can deal with it but don't love it - they are all different. Mine will play with other dogs in the water, and will run around the dog park in a pouring rain, but hates it when we walk in it for her usual walks - at least for the first twenty feet, it's a drag, literally, then she decides "better get it over with," does her stuff quickly, and heads home. Each dog is different, and sometimes, each dog is different every time…..

Very true..I never know how Otis will be, it all depends on..how knows, different every time..

[Kalima62]

Hey folks…this morning i took Duna and Pimpa ( mini pinscher) for a run on the beach. My hub got Pimpa and took her in the water...as Duna is very fond of Pimpa and will go beserk when we pick her up, with jumping up and down to get at her little feet...anyway she didnt realize she was following hub in the water, until she couldnt touch the sand under her feet.
Then Hub let Pimpa go and they both swam to the beach together!!! They were so cute, and Duna seemed to love that swim!!! So it was a good positive water contact day today!!! Ha-ha!!!:D

ps...i will never know what's in that little basenjis mind!!!!:D

[Basenjimamma]

So cute. I realize you didn't get pics but those would've been great. We are goingtoth beach for a week in a few days and I will try that with our other dogs and see if Otis is obliged to follow..

[SNA]

I've only washed Jessie a couple of times to be quite honest, but I do it outside. I have her on her leash, and I get my son to feed her a steady stream of liver treats while I quickly get it done (with a hose). Not a method that would probably work in a cold climate I suppose. She doesn't seem bothered much by it at all. She will also walk by herself in the waves at the beach too, so I don't think she's a dog that hates water though.

[Kalima62]

:pPetra…I DID take some pics...I always take my camera with me in these occasions..so when i've got some time i'll uplaod them...and i managed to take a short video where Duna is going in the sea, but changes her mind as soon as a wave covers her!!!!:D

[Kalima62]

@Basenjimamma:

I ususally throw all my dogs into the shower with me as well, it is easier and I am bound to get wet anyway. The very few times I had to give Otis a bath was because he simply smelled of dead worm guts that him and the other dogs just had to roll in…

You know the sport i was on about is called the discus throwing. Does it make sense over there???