Charli and Bathtime

Charli doesn’t get baths very often. As dogs go, she really is clean. Dirt just doesn’t stick to her and we’re lucky that she doesn’t smell. Some dogs, well, let’s just say that it’s not pleasant being around some dogs…they smell. They smell bad. Even if they’ve just had a bath. That’s not the case with Charli. Sunday, however, she needed a bath. She’d had an “anal gland” issue and the smell wasn’t good. And we didn’t think our Super Bowl party guests would think it was good either. We didn’t think they’d want to be confined in a room with a dog that had anal gland problems. So, after a run in the Fetchin’ Fields, I announced to Charli when we got home that she was going to have a bath. She is a smart dog and she does know a lot of words. Bath is one of those words. And as much as Charli loves to swim and run in the water…well, she really doesn’t like baths; in fact, she hates bath. So, at the word bath, the ears dropped, the head dropped, and the tail dropped. I told her I was off to fill the tub with water and that she should stay there. I smiled to myself as I walked away…I knew she was high-tailing it for the theater room without even looking back. The theater room is Charli’s hiding place. She thinks we don’t know where she is when she goes down there. Okay, so maybe she’s not quite as bright as I like to think. After I started filling the bath, laid towels on the floor and got the baby shampoo out, I headed out to find Charli. I asked Randy if he’d seen her. Just where could she be? I grabbed the camera on my way to the theater room…and there she was. She’s not really good at hiding. The shiny eyes kinda give her away. But she’s got this other thing; she thinks that if she doesn’t look at us, we don’t know she’s there and she can pretend she doesn’t hear us. Anything to avoid a bath! Her next move was to roll over on her back so I couldn’t lift her up. That didn’t work either. When we got to the stairs, she just stopped and decided not to budge. I had to lift up the front feet while pushing from the back. And yes, eventually, we did make it up to the bathroom. She’s actually very well behaved in the tub. She doesn’t squirm or shake (until told) or try to get out. She just stands there, head down, humiliated at having to have a bath. But the real indicator that she’s unhappy…it’s always the tail. When she’s happy, the tail is curved up and wagging. This is how it looks when she’s unhappy. Sorry, Charli. But you needed the bath. Hopefully, you won’t have to have another for a long, long time!