Just as Choppy’s life is full of things she loves, there is also a fair bit you could say that she hates. For example, while she loves chasing squirrels, I’m pretty sure she hates (or at least has a healthy dislike of) the squirrels themselves. As with the things she likes from yesterday, this is not meant to be the top three things she hates; instead, it’s just three random things she hates.
1. Baths
List of ways Choppy enjoys water:wading & drinking.
List of ways she doesn’t enjoy water: everything else (see, e.g., rain, swimming, hose, etc.).
I have no idea why this is the case (though over at The Dog House Blog, she discusses the rain thing in particular in this post). While Choppy doesn’t like most water, she does save a special hatred of water for her baths. While an increasing number of them recently has meant she is becoming more tolerant of them, the sad look on her face when I ask her to get in the tub tempts me to never give her one (I could totally invest in a nose plug…). Unfortunately for her, I am pretty sure baths are a part of her life, whether she likes them or not.

2. The Vet
At this point, I am not sure who hates trips to the vet more: Choppy or me. It has become a fight every time we go to the vet to get her out of the car (guess what? She knows how to slip out of not just her collar, but her harness and leash as well! File this under “things Sarah learned while attempting to get Choppy out of the car at the vet”). I am glad I have Paul around now, because the task has become one that requires two people (note to Paul: file this under “things you didn’t expect you would have to do once you got married”).
And the worst part? You can’t explain to Choppy that it’s for her own good. She doesn’t understand why someone pokes her with a needle and sticks something in her nether regions. I don’t really blame her for the vet hatred.

3. Shutting the Door to the Bathroom
The first two things Choppy hates are pretty standard for dogs. I’m not so sure about number three – you see, Choppy hates it when I shut the door to the bathroom.

I’m not sure what Choppy thinks is going on while I am in the bathroom (after all, she has seen it many times, because (TMI warning!) I was single for a long time and there was no reason to close the bathroom door). Does she think I will fall in? That I might be eating something without giving any to her? That a black hole is going to open up while I am in there? I have no idea, but if I close the door, she’s not a happy camper.

On the plus side, at least no one will accidentally walk in on me if Choppy is around.
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Great story, some things sounds familiar when I still had my dog around, like getting washed. But I also gave my dog a treat when it was done:))
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Even the promise of treats won’t make her like baths, I’m afraid – she definitely gets them afterward, with no change in her opinion. Now, if I bathed her in chicken broth…
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Aw. I love Choopy’s bath cap though! 🙂 Have you tried giving her treats WHILE you bath her? When we got Cooper he clearly had no idea what this bathing thing was and was terrified. On the advice of our trainer we took little steps every day over a few weeks to get him to like it (or rather, to get him to not hate it with terror!).
Slowly giving treats at the bathroom door, getting him close to (but not in) the bath with treats, giving him a treat if he follows one of us into the bathroom, Lifting him into an empty bath with treats, sitting in the bath with treats, having him in the room and giving treats as he watches Phoebe get a bath, and then as water ran on him for 2 minutes giving him treats etc etc. Basically it’s a looong road of building positive associations with baby steps to accept the situation. Like I said, it’s still not his favourite thing to do, but his love of treats and the fact that he’s marginally more comfortable has definitely helped us all after those muddy walks and playing in puddles!
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Thank you for all the awesome advice! I think she’s not really afraid of the baths, so much as she just doesn’t like them. She reluctantly gets in the bathtub on her own and just stands there and looks at me like I am the worst human being on Earth for asking her do it. And then she looks so sad the whole time. I feel absurdly guilty!
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So adorable!! I know that pose very well, with the nose glued to the door. Lisa does it as well 🙂
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I wish I could see it for myself with Choppy – I usually only catch the end of it, or the view from pictures!
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