Bath time

Diesel's feet are much improved, to the point that we haven't been soaking them lately. Yesterday's weigh-in seemed to show some weight gain. The swollen scrotum is shrinking and he's looking better than ever, but the dog still stinks. The smell is from a yeast infection on his skin, I think. His ears had it too, but I've been cleaning and medicating them. Today it was time to do the same for his skin so Diesel had a bath.

I had Clay to help me and I anticipated needing his help and maybe even a few more hands, but Diesel surprised us yet again. I led him into the bathroom and he stepped right into the tub on his own, without a fight, without even really being asked. He had obviously done this before. The former owners did some things right with this dog. He was the most cooperative dog I've ever had in the bath. He even let me flush out his ears with warm, soapy water. I used a shampoo containing both ketoconazole and chlorhexidine to attack both yeast and bacteria. It wasn't a very sudsy shampoo so I ended up using most of the bottle. I really wanted this stuff to work so we took our time and kept it on him for a good 10-15 minutes.

The combination of his height and his complete cooperation made it the easiest dog bath I've ever given. I didn't have to lift him and I didn't have to bend over -- the two things that usually make bath giving difficult on my back. His short coat dried quickly and easily with a few towels. And he smells much better.

Flushing the ears clean

I had a busy work day and didn't get out for a hike until about 4:30 this afternoon, but thanks to the lengthening days we still got in five miles with usable daylight.

Shaking the jowls

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Maya overlooking the river

Clean, shiny cow dog