Go Figure

With a few notable exceptions, like my daughter's little girl who has to be locked out of the bathroom when anyone is using the tub, most Lhasa Apsos hate to be bathed. They will struggle, continuously attempt to escape, scream as if they were being murdered and, as a last resort, sit and stare at you with piteous eyes as if they cannot comprehend how you could treat them in such a hideous manner when they love you so much.

This would not be so annoying if these same Lhasa Apsos did not love any other form or water. They will sit in their water dish, or play in it for hours until nearly every last drop has been splashed onto the floor. They cannot be kept out of a running garden hose, immersing their heads, bodies, feet and other Lhasas with gleeful abandon. They will chase the water, bite at it slap it and pounce on it. They will grab the hose, dousing themselves and anything or anyone within squirting distance. They will leap into mud puddles, rolling in them until they are entirely coated with mud. They will dig in the mud or, if no mud is available, they will diligently search out some source of water with which to wet themselves so they can roll in the dirt and create mud.

You can pick up a sopping Lhasa who has just spent an hour happily playing in the mud and water, carry her directly in to the sink and bathe her and she will immediately go from ecstasy to misery in a matter of seconds. It is not because she is getting wet, she was already as wet as she could be. It is not the rubbing because under any other circumstances she loves to be rubbed. It is not the shampoo because she is screaming before you even get to that. So what is it? Why is it so different to be bathed than it is to play in the mud and water?

There are many dogs that do not like to be bathed, but many of them also do not like to be wet at all. The Lhasa Apso attitude reminds you of that of a small child who will make mud pies all day but throws a tantrum at being put into the tub.

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