Happiness is a Warm Towel--and a Curry Comb

Bath time is not Maggie's favorite thing. I try to wait until the weather is kind of warm, but a warm day does not mean warm water!

This week, the weather broke and it was time. Maggie watched as I collected things. When I changed my shoes and put on my jacket, she started to get excited."Walk??" her eyes and ears asked. "Sorry, girl. Not yet." I answered.

We headed downstairs and I opened the garage door. She ran out and waited hopefully. Then I found her 'bath' leash and shampoo and threw them in the grass. I noticed a curry comb hiding under some stuff. It was left over from Janice's equestrian days. We had used it on Maggie sometimes but I had forgotten it.

The 'comb' is actually a hard rubber disk with a hand-hold on one side and rubber 'fingers' on the other. Ours is like the pink one in the top right corner of this picture. When used on a horse it picks up the dirt embedded under the coat. It feels like a massage for a horse...or a dog! I picked it up and laid it next to the shampoo.

When I started to pull out the hose Maggie stood in the corner of the yard and watched. I called her over. She stood in the corner of the yard...and watched. I gave her my cheerful "Come on!", excited voice. She stood in the corner of the yard...and watched.

Now I don't really know what it is about a bath for a Lab. It could hardly be the cold water. I've known Labs to jump in a stream in the middle of winter, even if they might break through a thin layer of ice! Perhaps they see it as some sort of humiliation--tied to a leash and hosed down. Whatever it is, I AM the boss. Time to exert some authority!

"Maggie, Heal!" The tail drooped. The head went down. But slowly she walked over. She finds it harder to ignore some commands than others. "Heal" almost always works.

I attached one end of the leash to her collar, and stepped on the other end. I turned on the water, and lightly sprayed her coat and added the shampoo. She leaned away from me. I picked up the curry comb and began to rub her back with it. Suddenly Maggie changed direction. She leaned into me. Her tail went up in a slow wag. She stretched out her neck. I couldn't see her face, but I'm pretty sure she was smiling. This was way better than my fingers. It made the shame of a public bath well worth it.

After her bath she raced around the yard and rolled in the grass. Then I held up the towel. Joyfully she galloped over to me and threw herself broadside against my legs and into the towel. (She has always loved the towel rubdown!) I rubbed her down, turned it over to the dry side and she turned around so I could rub her other side.


Every time I've watched a baby get his first bath he cried miserably. As soon as it was over and he was wrapped in a warm towel the sigh was audible. He hadn't learned to smile yet, but if he had, it would have spread across his face.

Yep...nothing like a massage and a warm towel to take away your troubles!