Giving Shiloh his first bath here on the ranch was an experience. A good one overall!
First off, living like pioneers as we do, bathing Shi is a bit more involved than just turning on a faucet at the sink. We have to fill a large pot with water from the cistern, heat it on the propane stove outside, set up a table as a grooming/bath station, use a rubber livestock tub to bathe him in, and an old-fashioned granite-
ware pitcher to pour the water. Yes, it takes more time but hey, it still gets the job done!
Shiloh did fantastic, even with the Alpine goats as an audience! A lot better than I thought he would since he wiggles so much while just being brushed. Although to be fair, he is doing so much better about it since we started actually training him (as his breeder instructed) to stand for grooming. Having a Toy breed is a learning curve! His hair coat was definitely different to wash, almost easier than fur.
As cutely pathetic as Shi looked when dripping wet, once combed he looked even more adorable than usual! We let him air dry which went surprisingly quick.
The most difficult part was getting over my own hesitation in cleaning around his eyes. Since Havanese can get a condition called “cherry eye” which has to be fixed via minor surgery, I was really worried. I personally have an extremely tough time doing anything that might cause injury or pain. But I learned that when the hair is completely wet it is really quite easy to clean away any build-up using a small face and finishing comb. It also helped to have Tom holding Shi!
In all, it was an enjoyable bonding experience with Shiloh that I look forward to doing again and again. I just love this darling little boy!
