At the risk of embarrassing our beloved Food Guru Karen, I’ve got to give her a huge shout-out for her fabulous homemade shampoo! After hearing about Batman’s skin itchies post-kennel, she sent over a special concoction. The ingredients are natural and simple: Castille soap, glycerin, lavender essential oil, and citrus essential oils. It lathered beautifully, rinsed clean, and smelled DIVINE. It left Batman’s coat super soft and shiny. Thank you, Karen! You’ve got to get this product on store shelves!
Until then, find Karen’s shampoo recipe on her website, here.
Thank you, Karen! Batman gives your shampoo four very shiny paws up.
I was actually just on the “things I can’t live without” section of your blog, Jennie. I had looked up your post about using a prong, to reread it, and then looked to see if you added to your products list. I also wanted to see how old batman was when you started using it. Kai is just over 6 months. My 17 yr old, 6’2″ son called me at work the other day to tell me how Kai spied a squirrel and took off after it, pulling Sam across the yard. He was amazed at his strength. (I guess I’m always the one holding the leash so I know how strong he is)
I started using the prong collar when Batman was 7 months old, after being knocked off my feet a few times by the big boy. I haven’t added it to my products list yet, but here’s the link to collar I have, Herm Sprenger curogan medium (3.25mm): http://www.fordogtrainers.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_78&products_id=3948
I also use a stainless steel small version of the Herm Sprenger prong. It’s pinchier than the curogan medium size, so I alternate between them.
I think this was the original post on the prong collar for Batty: http://batmanimal.com/post/21759453075/the-transformation
Thanks for the pictures Jennie… he is such a handsome boy! Plus you can embarrass him now when he is older by bringing out the “naked in the bathtub” pictures like all the other parents seem to do.
Batman is such a handsome dog. He really knows how to strike a pose, even in a bathtub shot!
Jennie, you are tooooo funny! 🙂
Tell Batty that Aunti Karen says he’s a perfect model and hugs to you both for the endorsement! The nice thing about making your own shampoo is that you can use whatever Essential Oil smells the best to you and it’s all synthetic free!
Oh Batty, you are the happiest dog I have ever seen getting bath.
Hi! So we just came from a place where they allowed us to bath Aslan. It was a huge struggle to get him to settle under the water hose. He honestly looked like he wanted to kill the hose. What was worse there was an option to air dry him which he hated even more. I was just wondering is this a normal first response for formal bathing. Any tips for bathing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Ed and Mary
I honestly don’t give my dogs an option to be a PITA while getting a bath, I make them stand and gives them lots of praises when they are doing what I asked them to do.
I dry Koda with a leaf blower, now every weekend when we do the lawn and he sees me using it. He will run to me and stand there wanting to be blow dried. LOL.
I am so jealous! Batman is insufferable with the air dryer.
I bring a ziplock of really good kibble and make sure he’s on an empty stomach, and just toss a few pieces for him while I’m using the hose. A few times, I’ve had to muzzle him because he kept biting the water, and there are time limits for using the tubs, so I didn’t have time to put up with him doing that. He can still get kibble through the muzzle, but after 2-3 times of using it, he didn’t need it anymore for the water. It’s important to be firm and not to baby him. You don’t want him to learn that if he makes a big enough fuss, he gets out of bath time.
The air dryer is a whole other story. His prey drive goes on overload, and all he wants to do is bite the air. He is a HUGE pain in the butt about it. Since I have a pro dryer at home, I’ve been practicing using it on him, with him in a slip collar and short drag line, for a minute or two at a time. It is still very tough, but the goal is to use the dryer on MY terms, not his. I hope one day he gets to be like Koda! It’s sooo much faster and more effective than towel drying.
Thanks for the great advice! So my take home point is don’t let the monster win. 🙂
Yes, that’s it! A little kibble and praise will go a long way, too.
That, or get Josie to wash and dry him!