# Screaming puppy



## MilosMommy (May 24, 2010)

My sister adopted a Lab/German Shepherd puppy yesterday that needed a home.

We bathed her when we got back to my parents house and OH MY she screamed like I have NEVER heard a puppy scream before! Screaming at the top of her little lungs during the whole thing. The water was just luke warm and no shampoo got in her eyes or anything. My mom ran in and thought we dropped her :doh:

So I was wondering if we should keep exposing her to the bath tub and water daily? weekly? Give it some time? We really want her to like water and be able to go swimming with Milo this summer. Milo never acted like this so I am unsure what to do.

Here's the puppy. Her name is Riley. 

Oh and Milo loooooooves his new cousin


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Adorable*

Riley is an adorable little girl!! I'm wondering if it might not be "natural,' for a pup to be afraid of water.

How old is Riley?

I googled and found this:

http://www.google.com/search?source...enUS370US370&q=Are+puppies+afraid+of+bathtubs


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

She's adorable! Do you put water in the tub and then put her in, or do you just have her in the tub and wet her with the shower head or a cup?


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## MilosMommy (May 24, 2010)

We put about an inch of water in the bottom of the tub, then used a cup and got her wet, added some shampoo, and used the cup again to rinse her off. She HATED it. Milo was fine with his first bath.


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## MilosMommy (May 24, 2010)

Oh and Riley is almost 8 weeks old


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Some puppies are screamers. The best thing you can do is ignore it and keep working on what you're doing, without a lot of fussing. I don't correct them or praise/suck up to them for the screaming, just pretend they're singing away and get whatever it is done.

If you correct her she's going to be more stressed. If you praise or suck up to her (good girl, it's ok, poor baby) she's going to be convinced it is a bad thing. So just talk in a normal, calm voice. If you stop, she's going to learn that screaming gets her out of things and be ten times worse, for life.

I found GSDs and Labs to be horrible to groom most of the time. Good luck!


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

Aw, she's adorable. Love her little mask face. Ike didn't like his bath when he was a tiny guy either. He didn't scream but he sure let me know he wanted to be anywhere but there. He outgrew the fear and loves getting his baths now. His first summer I got a plastic baby pool and used it to introduce him to the fun side of water. My son's pup, a labby mix, hated his first bath too. He was leery of the baby pool too...until he saw that Ike loved it and then he decided to love it too. Maybe Milo can introduce her to the fun side of water.


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## amy22 (May 11, 2008)

What a cutie!!!!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Riley*

Riley is just precious-tell your Sister congratulations!


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## ruby55 (Mar 24, 2009)

While I love GSD's they have a tendency to be vocal. As in LOUD high pitched vocal. I was @ a dog show last year with a friend; GSD's were showing in a ring close by so there were a few in crates around the ring. They were all screaming & howling @ the top of their lungs. It was so bad that my firends bullmastiff puppy was a nervous wreck when she entered the ring; wouldn't pick up her head or tail. Came in last...


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## Lisa_and_Willow. (Dec 18, 2007)

Riley is adorable! I'm not seeing any GSD in her?? Looks like a little beagle! How big is she?

Diesel screamed for his first couple of baths. His breeder warned me that he was a vocal pup! He soon got used to it but that noise is terrible!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Riley is adorable. I think you've gotten good advice to just act as if this is the most normal thing in the world. You don't want to coddle her or have her learn that screaming gets her her way.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

Very cute puppy!!!


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## MilosMommy (May 24, 2010)

I don't see German Shepherd in her either, but her sister looked just like one. 

We have found that she is VERY vocal- she SCREAMS a lot. She doesn't like to be alone and when she is all she does is scream. We gated her in the kitchen for just a few minutes to contain her and she was howling and screaming and running then jumping into the gate. I was afraid she was going to hurt herself. 

When she came to my house I put her in Milos pen (just to see what she would do) and she did the same thing again.

My sister is worried that she won't get used to being alone and will always be like this.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Labs like water, but I don't remember any GSD we had liking it the way retrievers do. With the dog's brown coloration, and white face mask, there could be another breed in there as well, and that type of dog might not enjoy swimming. Just a thought.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

1) Puppies in a different litter can have different fathers....so while a littermate is like a GSD, she may not be a GSD mix.
2) It may be the water or the restraint. I would use a gradual process to get her like being in the tub (and also just avoid bathing for a while as it was so horrible for her).
3) Swimming: Give the opportunity and provide good experience. Consider getting a plastic kid pool. Twice a day, toss a handful of kibble into the empty pool. After 2-3 days, put the smallest layer of water, barely m ake it wet. Again, twice a day for a few days. Gradually (VERY gradually) increase the water level. And you have a start. Some dogs transition well from kiddy pools to real water, some do not. But you have a familiar framewrok to go off of so it tends to go better than without the kiddy pool training stage.


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## MilosMommy (May 24, 2010)

I didn't know puppies could have different fathers. That's interesting.

The mom was a Lab and apparently the neighbors dog is the German Shepherd that jumped the fence. The Labs owners just wanted good homes for them since it was a mixed oops litter.

There were 8 of them.

Here are the 2 that my sister got to pick from.

Riley goes to the vet this week so I am curious what they think she is. Any ideas? Lab and Hound maybe?


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