Some dogs truly enjoy bathing. Others, however, run from water as if it was the devil himself. But, what connects the two groups is that they all sometimes have these frantic periods after a bath, when they chaotically run around and jump onto sofas.
Why they do this remains a mystery mostly, but their behavioral history and the body language just might help us reveal the reason behind this weird behavior.
It’s finally over!
Many of them fear the water and simply hate being drenched in it.
The feeling of being wet and sensing the added weight of water on their fur feels unusual for many dogs, so Buddy may simply be happy the horrific bath is over.
In these cases he’ll run around in order to release the stress and even celebrate the fact that bathing is finally over. Your ball of fur felt trapped, restrained and scared during the event and the moment you let him go, he will celebrate his regained freedom.
I don’t want another one
The craziness and going berserk may simply be his way of saying he’s done. Your dog probably knows what’s coming as soon as he sees you with the towel and the shampoos. He will perhaps play along but won’t be too happy about it.
When the whole ordeal is over, and as soon as you open the bathroom door, he will run out in order to escape from another possible bath.
This is awesome!
On the other hand, some dogs simply enjoy water and being wet. They’ll freely jump into the swimming pool, the lake or will start running and playing when the rain starts. These little rascals just love being wet.
My guy hates baths but he isn’t scared of them. He just doesn’t care for the water, even though he’s hairless so they take 5 minutes. He hops into the tub when told and stands patiently and will even wait quietly if we shower together to kill two birds with one stone. When he gets the crazies afterwards it seems like he feels clean and refreshed even if he doesn’t understand that that’s why he’s so happy. It IS a celebration of being free but I think part of it is the natural feeling of cleanliness a bath or shower… Read more »
I agree with your entire second paragraph. Whew! I wish my dog would sit and just take his bath. My dog doesn’t like baths. He constantly tries to escape. I try to blow dry him a bit afterwards, but he hates that too, lol. He tries to bite the air. He’s a pomapoo, and very energetic. As soon as I let him out the bathroom. He just runs around jumping on the couch and barking, running from room to room. It’s hilarious plus it helps him dry.
I think they might do it to warm up/dry off 🙂 My dog does it (and it is hilarious) but if I turn the hair dryer on she will come and sit absolutely still in front of it until she is mostly dry (especially if it is a cold day) and if she can’t dry off or run around she get very cold and shivers a lot.
Please don’t tell me that you bathe your dog on a cold day! That just seems cruel. Let her be dirty until the weather clears. Please!
My guess is that these guys are guessing. My dog runs around frantic, I think it’s built up energy (excitement) she is releasing once she is free.