Well, my dog hardly complains when it comes to anything.. Not his dog clothes that I'm known to dress him up in.. Not his dog crate that he sometimes has to hang out in.

But one thing that is extremely difficult, is trying to clean/bathe him. For some reason, he is scared to death of sprinklers and hoses. And he will NOT get into a bath tub.

Could this mean that he was abused with water sometime in his past, or do some dogs just not like water?
And is the only solution taking him to a dog groomer and having them deal with it?
Would appreciate any input on this..

Maybe he has developed a fear of water simply because you have tried to bath him and it's not a natural process for a dog?

I would guess that you have tried to hose him down instead of bathing him as well?

Some dogs do take to the bathing process but others simply hate it and then learn to fear it.

Does he have a fear of water in other circumstances, like if you take him to the beach or on a country walk? My guess is that he doesn't. This is a more natural environment for him. Although some dogs just don't like to get wet, full stop.

My husky acts in a similar matter, but his is with all water. He's especially afraid of hoses because the person we got him from had a daughter used to 'play' with him with a hose. It was more like hitting him with it though... but he's gotten used to getting a bath with the hose. He used to run away as far as the fence would let him, now he stands there and lets us bathe him. We only bathe him once or twice a month, and those are flea baths. So it's not a very traumatic experience anymore.

I had a dog jump off of my deck to get away from a bath. He even broke a tooth during the getaway. I had never seen anything like that before.

I think we only ever tried to bath one of our staffies a couple of times in his life.
The second time we did it, he leapt of of the bath and panicked that much he trashed the bathroom.
Never again.

Yet he loved water in a natural environment. He would run into the sea or throw himself into lakes on walks.
Mind you that type of water isn't warm and full of shampoo!

Originally Posted by spike

Could this mean that he was abused with water sometime in his past, or do some dogs just not like water?

Not necessarily. Like what dopeydawg said, some dogs don't like to get wet. My dog cucot hates being dragged into our bath area for the cold wash. It's always like a wrestling match with him trying to get him used to the idea. But he automatically turns into a sheep as soon as he's wet. And yeah, he hates the hose, and the blowdryer. I guess he just hates being intimidated.

Instead of bathing your dog may like showers better. This is true of my own dog... he hates BATHS... but showers? He tolerates that a lot better... no fighting or refusing to get in the bathtub. He will just hop in on command and wait until I am done before hopping back out.

My dog hates to get into the bath, and she seems to know when it is bath time - she tries to disappear.

It is like a wrestling match getting her into the bath, and a battle to keep her in. It is even harder to understand, as she likes to go out in the rain, and loves to swim in the river..........strange.

Maybe it is the fear of being in an enclosed area?

My dog does not like baths, but it seems to be more of an annoyance than a fear for him.

I think in general dogs do not like getting wet against their will.

Dogs generally do not like getting a bath. One of my dogs waits at the sink to get one on bath day. The other runs upstairs and hides under the bed if she even hears the sprayer running.