Bath time.


Games are over, Elsa's pooped.


Luke and Elsa just had a bath.  I love it when they are all fluffed and smell amazing.  But getting them into the shower is a chore.  Elsa picks up cues when I am not offering any.  I work very hard at trying to make it look like nothing is going on; changing nothing but she still manages to know.  First I make sure that there is enough shampoo and conditioner in the shower.  I might do that an hour before the actual event so as not to clue her or Luke into what's coming.  Then the towels, there must be doggy towels in the bathroom.  So those come up well before the event as well.  Still, as hard as I try I cannot seem to outsmart the crazy smart Elsa.  Somehow she knows.

It is not that they won't go in there; I want it to be as stress free as possible.  They stress at the idea of a bath and the initial onset but once in and lathered up they don't much care.  It's like brushing or grooming; they don't love it but are very good while being done.  With flea season upon us I try to get them into the shower at least once every two weeks; but preferably every week to be sure we are staying on top of things.  That means that they may have drier skin than normal.  So rinsing is very, very important.  A good conditioner needs to be used; plus it makes them smell amazing. I use what is in my shower, organic shampoo or something special just for Luke and Elsa.   Adding a bit of extra oils into their food also helps with dry skin.  I'd rather deal with a bit of dry skin than put toxic chemicals on them.  Regular bathing and vacuuming is a must for keeping fleas at bay.

So it was Elsa first and Luke in after her.  Unfortunately whoever is done second knows it's coming.  Luke was stressed, trying to run away from me, so that Dad could save him from his Mom who wanted him clean.  But there is no escaping Mom; it's into the shower in the blink of an eye.  Once in there he's fine and takes no time to be rinsed and squeezed.  After their drip and squeeze it's immediately to the balcony where they shake off much of the water.  Depending on their coat length at the time, really factors in on drying time.  Being that they are both nice and short right now it doesn't take long in this warm weather.  After the initial shake off and towel dry they are set free in the yard to let the sun do it's work.

When they are outside, the dog door is shut to make sure that they don't come in and shake everywhere while they are drippy.  I get out more dry towels, the grooming box and the forced air dryer.  Now this is also when I typically get out my camera but I skipped the wet dog shoot this time.  I opted to wait and shoot after they were all done.  A half hour passes and they are now ready for some human intervention.  Elsa was in the shower ahead of Luke so she is already on her way to being dry.  So, she gets officially dried first with the forced air.  Being that I let the sun do much of my tedious work; she is dry in a matter of minutes.  Next is Luke which takes even less time than Elsa because his coat is much thinner than hers.  Using the forced air dryer allows me to check out skin condition. The dryer blows so hard that I can see any new bumps, marks or scratches that I might not see otherwise.  I take this opportunity to give them both a good going over, look see.

A quick brush through next for both with my amazing brush and they are done.  Now I get out the camera, sit back and watch the fun.  They feel good, really good.  It is obvious by their behavior after it is all done that they love the way that they feel.  Grooming time is a good time.


Freshly groomed and feeling spry; Luke initiates some play.  


Luke was being a bit pushy; here Elsa tries to calm him a bit with a face cleaning.  


Looks like Elsa is telling Luke a great joke.


Luke in hot pursuit.


Like velvet, soooo soft.  What a happy face.


Using that tail again, she is truly the biggest flirt.


Not bad at all for almost 13.