Dionne bathes

Steve's been complaining for some weeks about how "doggy" Dionne smells and how her coat feels greasy. He's been lobbying for us to bathe her. To be honest, I have noticed neither excessive dogginess or greasiness. (I'm more impressed by how she can coat her entire snout with a crust of dirt, as in Wednesday's post, and then look sparkling clean an hour later.) Dog-bathing also tends to be a damp affair, and it's been too chilly to tempt me. 

But warm weather arrived yesterday (at least temporarily), so we took a break from our desks today to initiate Dionne into the art of attending to her toilette. 

First Steve set up the bathing station (out near the lower yard, where the clouds of dog hair can drift, far from access into the house.)  

Then Steve administered the blueberry facial.  (That is seriously what the bottle says. The blue goop inside it smells more like blueberry gum than actual blueberries, in my opinion, but it's touted to not sting canine eyes.)

I then took over the heavy scrub...

...and rinse cycles.

And we both instructed her in the drying process (a collaborative one). 

Our take was that she was distinctly underwhelmed by the experience.  But unlike her predecessor (Darby), she's shown no interest in swimming. That's sort of an alternative to bathing.