Ruby just had her first bath

The whole thing was a great deal less stressful than I expected it to be. She rolled in something horrible on our walk a little while ago, and I tried just washing the affected areas but she still stank. Julie has warned me that I needed to put her into the bathtub and give her a real bath, just to get her used to it, while she was still young enough to think it was fun.

I was prepared to concede that she might be right. That it would be a bummer to find out she hates baths when she's filthy and I'm on my way out the door. But it's like me to put things off.

I needn't have worried; she liked it just fine! I brought her into the bathroom & closed the door, sudsed her all up briskly with a warm washcloth and then picked her up and put her into the tub. I had put an old towel on the bottom of the tub so she wouldn't slide around, and once I shut the tub enclosure door (and, well, I got in there with her -- no photos, it's Christmas), she was completely calm and happy about the whole thing.

Ruby: "Wow! I'm in the tub! This is fun! I love it in here! Mom, look: a washcloth! I'm taking it! It's mine!"

Me: "Awww, who's a good puppy? Give me your other foot. What a sugar bear." etc., ad naus.

And I sudsed her up a little more, turned the handheld shower thingy on and rinsed her off and we were good to go. No panic, no attempts to escape, and a whole lot of tail-wagging when I dried her off. I did underestimate the number of towels it would take to get us both dried off, but that was a small problem, easily remedied. Plus the bathroom floor is clean now, too. The whole event took about six minutes.

Number of seconds it took for her to leap into my bed once I opened the bathroom door? About 4, but I had put a clean sheet over it in anticipation of that very thing. At least she smells good.

She's sleeping all curled up on the sofa now.