Aha!

From "In the Company of Dogs"

Jim and I have been wracking our brains for a good year or so now about how best to bathe Indiana.  You see, we have three bathrooms in the house, one of which only has a toilet and sink, one has a shower and whirlpool tub, and the other is on the second floor.  None of these is an option for a nearly-thirteen-year-old arthritic dog.

Starting last year, Jim and I (courtesy of a grand idea from my Mom) started bathing Indiana in our utility room, in a kiddie pool.  We run an RV hose (because you can drink out of an RV hose, but not a regular garden hose--I have this idea that it makes the water purer for Indy) from our utility sink and bathe her in the pool.  It kind of works.  I mean, yes, it works, but there are a lot of drawbacks.  Like the fact that the pool is a little slippery, and mostly, that the pool is way too large to fit through the door outside to empty the water (since it doesn't have a drain) without oodles of water ending up on the floor in the process.  So I've been searching high and low for an alternative.

I don't mind a stinky dog, so don't think I'm bathing Indiana simply because I require a clean dog, because I don't.  But Indiana has had horrible seasonal skin allergies most of her life, which means she is itchy, itchy, itchy from about April until October.  Baths help ease that itchiness. 

I ran across the inflatable tub pictured above last night, while perusing a new copy of the In the Company of Dogs catalog.  (I love this catalog--the products are cute, high-quality, unique, and not terribly overpriced)  Anyway, when I saw this tub, I got really excited.  It's a much better option than a kiddie pool.  The sides unzip, making it easy for a stiff dog to walk in.  It has a drain (and is smaller than our kiddie pool), making it easy to dispose of the water.  And it has a nifty wash nozzle that will attach to the sink via our RV hose.  I have to take some measurements of Indy first (because she lays down when we bathe her--she can't stand for long periods of time anymore) to make sure she'll fit, but I'm fairly sold on buying this tub already.  I'll be showing it to Jim this afternoon to see what he thinks. 

I thought this was a pretty brilliant invention.  It's easy to look at it and say, "Why would anyone need that?  Just bathe your dog outside with a hose--why do you need a fancy bath?"  But if you think about the product in terms of an older dog, for someone who needs a portable indoor option, it's nearly perfect.  Here's to hoping it works for Indy.