Snow Day video

I'm just now getting around to posting this video that I took of Greta and Cassie the morning we woke up to snow a couple weeks ago. We are literally walking out the door just after waking up and eating breakfast. Forgive them for taking a pee break toward the beginning of the video. But I think you can get an idea how much Cassie loves the snow as you watch her bound through it.

Bath time

Sunday was bath day at our house. The last several baths have fallen on my husband, so this time I was given the task of bathing Greta and Cassie.

Greta is scared to death of the bathtub. We don't know why. Is it the tub, or the water? Who knows. But once she knows we want her in the bathroom, she does everything possible to stay away from us. I decided to get all "Dog Whisperer" on her and try not to force her into the bathroom or tub this time. So I got a pocketful of treats. And Greta is highly motivated by food, so I figured this would work. I would offer up a treat, she would come and get it. But we were starting in the living room, not anywhere close to the bathroom. Eventually I would move closer to the bathroom with the treats. Treat, after treat, we moved closer to the bathroom. Eventually, she was in the bathroom. Score 1 for the team. But that was just a small hurdle.

Once in the bathroom, she huddled up in the corner furthest from the tub. I placed two treats in the soap dish on the opposite side of the tub, hoping that would be some motivation for her to get in the tub. No go. And they were my last two treats. I really didn't know what else to do. So I went back to Plan A, shove her in the tub. Which isn't easy, she's 60 lbs. of muscle. But once in the tub, she ate her two treats.

Greta freezes in the tub, her legs so stiff she won't move. I bathed her pretty quickly. When the water started to drain, I grabbed a towel and started drying her off in the tub. Then she slipped and fell. There she was ... wet, defeated and shamed. Greta wouldn't even try to get up. She just sat there on her butt in the corner of the tub, with a towel around her. It was the most vulnerable I've ever seen her. She wouldn't even look at me. I quietly dried her a little more, then nudged her to stand up. She quickly jumped up and out of the tub and shook off a little. Then it was outside to dry off in the sun.

Cassie is completely different at bath time. She isn't scared of the tub, just isn't sure about it. Once we rounded her up (which is always the hardest part), she decided to play like Greta and huddle up in the corner furthest away from the tub. But then she started wandering around the bathroom, sniffing and carrying on. I knew she wasn't scared, so I didn't want to force her in the tub. I wanted her to go in there herself, if possible. I hopped in the tub at one point and tried coaxing her in there. No go.

So I hopped out and tried shoving her a little, but she dug her feet in the ground. Then a lightbulb went off. The tub is like a hurdle, one of the hurdles she used to jump in her flyball classes. The command to jump over the hurdles is "over!" So I decided to give it a try. I tapped on the side of tub and said "Cassie, over! over!" And what'dya know, she hopped right into the tub! I gave her lots of loving to let her know she did so well. I wished I'd had some of Greta's treats then.

Bathing Cassie is never easy. She has so much hair, and she never stops moving. She's always looking for an escape route. I have to hold her in the tub with my legs and one arm most of the time. I worked up a sweat by the end of her bath.

But for now, we have clean dogs.