During the summer time, bathing your Golden Retriever is a pretty simple procedure.  You have several bathing options for your pooch. If you have a dog that loves the water then he will be more the happy to splash around in the nearest river, lake or pond.

For the dogs who do not care for a swim in the nearest lake, you have the option of taking them to the backyard, where you either spray them with the hose or you get the kids to coax him into the mini pool. Either of these options can be fairly stress free and easy for the dog owner.

The third option is what many people have to deal with in the winter months.  The third option is the bath tub.  It is especially difficult for people who have rather large dogs, like the one in this blog.  A bathtub of soapy water and a half terrified Golden Retriever usually result in a drenched dog owner.

I had run a nice warm bath for Alex, our Golden Retriever, since he was becoming a tad on the stinky side.  He always seems to sense when the bath is for him, because he tends to hide out in the kitchen during these times. From time to time he will glance around the corner, into the hallway, with a worried expression on his furry face.

Once the bath is completely run, I called to him sweetly, but he is on to me.  I found myself blocking the hallway in a sumo wrestler stance while trying to corner him.  He thought he saw an opening, under my arm, so attempted to make a run for it.  This is when I nabbed him.

Grabbing his collar I pulled, pushed, yanked and tugged at him until I had him to the tub. Despite him digging his feet into the floor and putting up a struggle we finally made it to the tub.  Since he is fairly large and strong getting him actually into the tub is extremely hard.  It requires some time and creativity, but eventually all four of his legs and one of mine are in the tub.

While the hard part is over, coordination is key for the remainder of the bath, or at least until your dog submits to their fate.  There are some dogs that will fake giving up just so you lower your defenses. They then make a bolt for it, so be aware, this will happen.  An attempted escape makes for a major mess leaving the owner drenched, in stinky dog bath water.

For those who have an attached spray hose to your bathtub, I envy you.  The bathing is made much easier.  For the remainder of us, we’re forced to use a bucket and simply pour the water of the dogs back and head.

Once the bath is complete I generally will unplug the bath and let the water drain before I release my hold on the dog.  This decreases the amount of water that is going to get splashed and tracked out into the other rooms.

Quickly, I rub him down with the towel, as he looks at me sadly. This brings us to the second tricky part of this process.  Getting out of the way before he does the water shake.

What I do is simple.  When he least expects it, I let him go and run in the direction I don’t think he’s going to run for.  Many times I can get out of the bathroom before he jumps from the tub, but there are some occasions where he will catch me.  I believe it’s his idea of revenge, in case he didn’t get me wet enough during the bathing process.

While I love big dogs, its times like bath day that I envy the small dog owners.

Golden Retrievers come in on the top ten pure breed dogs in America as number four. Just as beautiful and the number one seated Labrador Retriever, a close relative, it is no wonder why the Retriever family débuts twice on the AKC top ten chart. The similar built stature and facial structure makes this breed family a heart stopping show. Tested with time, again and again the Golden Retriever is a beautiful beast. Also in comparison to the Labrador retriever, it is extremely intelligent as well. He or she will spend hours playing with adults and children alike, and as with most of the Retriever family is very gentle with the small children. This also is a breed that with proper training and dedication to success will bake any family a life long dedicated friend.