Bath Time for Dogs Who Can't Stand

[My Dog Nokee]

Nokee is a husky/shepherd mix around 79 lbs. She has severe arthritis in her hips and shoulders, Nokee is not able to stand on her own for very long and the last shower/bath I gave her was quite difficult. I was hoping to find out what techinques others use to bath their handicap or otherwise limited mobility dogs. Thank you for any advice.

https://www.facebook.com/NokeeGracieNok ... la?fref=ts

[Christine]

Nolie looks so sweet and tolerates her playful siblings (I watched the video). Have you ever thought of bathing her while she is standing in her wheelchair? She is secure and you have all hands free, not to mention no strain on your back.

Have you ever heard of Nzymes? I ran across this product years ago. Natural supplements with many testamonials. http://www.nzymes.com/store/pc/successS ... .asp?a=dog I always have to say that I do not work for them, I think you might want to check it out.

Good luck with your big beautiful girl!

[FYI]

Q: How do you bathe Duke and Misty?
A: Duke and Misty are bathed once a week, Duke we bathe in the bathtub and Misty is small enough to bathe in our kitchen sink. When the weather is nicer they can be bathed in their wheelchairs.

http://community.dog.com/forums/p/97344/777896.aspx

[My Dog Nokee]

Thank you for your replys. I just might try bathing her in her wheelchair if I can fit it in the shower. As for the nzymes, Nokee does take these and I agree they are good stuff.

[Christine]

You could prepare some buckets of warm water to pour over her and bathe her on the deck or in the garage or if it is warm enough outside, use a hose.

[My Dog Nokee]

Nokee does not like baths and bathing her outside is very hard since she tries to get away. It is best for me to do it in an inclosed area. But it is starting to get cooler so I wouldn't be able to try that for the next few months. And I was mistaken about the nzymes. Nokee takes petenzymes & probiotics.

[FYI]

I'm not sure whether this may be an idea or not, but I read this on a site for disabled people, where a wheelchair user explained the diffculties when travelling of finding adapted bathing facilities and made a "portable" shower to roll in in his wheelchair, very cheaply. I am pasting the full explanation below (hope they won't mind!).

I wonder whether a similar system would be possible with your dog. You would have to lift him slightly, but it wouldn't be the same as trying to lift him into a bathtub. You may need to put some kind of protection on his paws too, especially if he tends to scrabble, to stop him ripping the plastic. It might give you some ideas anyway:

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"Have Shower, Will Travel" by Brian O'Shea

I bought a 4 foot children's paddling pool (Argos £4.95), a submersible pond pump (garden centre £14.95) and a short length of hose (local hardware shop £0.95), and hey presto, a portable shower. Here is how it works. The paddling pool I bought has three blow up rings. I cut the top ring off, then if I blow up the bottom ring about three-quarters full I can roll my shower chair over the ring and it "bounces" back, providing a reservoir about 1 1/2 inches high and 4 foot in diameter. My shower chair fits neatly in this reservoir. I place it alongside the bath and I can then use the hand-held shower (or if necessary just buckets of warm water from the bath/basin) to have a proper shower. While showering I place the submersible pond pump in the reservoir, attach one end of the hose to the pump and place the other end of the hose in the bath or toilet. As the water level in the reservoir rises I turn the pump on and the water is neatly pumped out of the reservoir, leaving space for more if necessary!

After the shower, enough of the water has been pumped away to allow me to roll the shower chair out of the reservoir over the three-quarters inflated rim, and any residue in the reservoir can just be emptied into the bath. So, for under £20 I have a portable roll-in shower. Not bad hey?
***

Link to the website is below

Good luck and let us know if you find a good solution, I have a friend who is fostering a female GSD with paralysis and it could be useful!

Debbie



Portable shower for wheelchair users