Three dogs in the tub

I had taken Bremo to the vet on Friday due to dry, flaky skin, coarse dry coat, and generally not looking very good.  The results of the thyroid blood test will be back tomorrow, but in the meantime I was told to bathe him with a medicated shampoo, which I did this afternoon.  Bremo is 104 pounds and he's a downstairs dog.  He does not do the steep wooden steps that lead to our upstairs where the only bathtub in the house is located.  When rotties don't want to do something, they plant their butt on the ground, and look you in the eye with an expression that says "make me." 

Bremo is very food motivated but I was unable to cajole him beyond the bottom step with treats.  I put a harness on him and basically lifted him up the stairs, very much against his will and with no assistance from him.  I had to just scoop him up and lift him into the tub as well, but once in, he was good about it and wasn't constantly trying to get out. 

He had a good, long bath with a lot of scrubbing and we removed a lot of dead hair and skin.  He had an infection in his ears so I gave them a good washing out.  The spray is gentle and the water warm, so he really was rather good about the ear cleaning.  I left him in the bedroom while I did the next two because it's warm and sunny up there today.  The trip back downstairs wasn't much better, still no assistance from the dog but at least gravity was on my side.  

Zachary was up next.  He doesn't have any apparent skin problems, but he was shedding excessively.  Well, maybe not excessive for a shepherd, but the bathroom was already a mess so I figured I might as well clean another dog or two. 

Zachary is scared of me normally, so the terrified look on his face isn't anything new.  He was really rather cooperative about it all, although I did have to lift him into and out of the tub.  He actually sat down for much of the bath, which really isn't all that helpful.  I took him outside later and gave him a good brushing as well, so he's looking pretty good.

Molly was the most active in the tub, but again, Molly is the most active anywhere.  I swear, the only settings on this dog are sleep, run, and fly. 

She needed a bath because she's constantly in the water tank in the dog yard and has that wet dog smell to her.  She also had a lot of loose hair on her.  I really need to make routine brushing a habit around here--keep the rake by the door and give two or three of them a quick going over whenever they come in. 

Trooper and Cabell aren't that dirty and can wait for another day.  I just can't put Gypsy in a slick tub with her rear end being so weak, and besides, I'd have to carry her every inch of the way.  We will start doing some more regular brushing on her, however.