Scared of water?

[SSSTaxidermy]

I have a 5 month old black lab pup that is acting very strange around getting a bath lately. Almost to the point I might think she is scared of water? The past 2 times I had her in the tub, she didn't want to be in there and did nothing but struggle to get out. I tried to calm her down during these times, but she didn't want anything to do with it.... Nothing changed in the way we did things in the past. As before, I had to literally drag her OUT of the tub or when my 4 yr old daughter was taking a bath she would want to jump in with her...And I had her in pond water before this and still no problems. Not sure what the problem is now...I got her spaded 3 weeks ago now, and you are to wait 2 weeks before you are supposed to expose them into any water time, so after those 2 weeks expired, I went about bath time as normal and she didn't want anything to do with it. And just the other night, same reaction...I took her out for the simple fact I didn't want to traumatize her. I even brought her in the bathroom while my 4 yr old was taking a bath last night and all she wanted to do was sit by the door with her back do us. No part of it...I finally was able to coax her to sit by me near the tub but she was very hesitant. Due to the cold temps of lakes and rivers right now, I can't put her in those...Is this something I should be concerned of? Is it just a phase? Could something happend during the spading operation have something to do with it? Or do all dogs come to a realization that bathtub time isn't fun, but are fine in the outdoors? I am puzzled...I am a first time owner / self trainer & my hands are up in the air. Any information, tips or similar experiences would be helpful.

[jigging-matt]

Did anything happen to her after the spading where she might have gotten water on the incision or something caused her pain. I have had dogs that hated baths and loved the water otherwise. Give her some time and probably by next spring when you take her to a lake or pond she will jump right in.

[SSSTaxidermy]

No, I religiously kept her out of any water for the 2 weeks like I was advised to do, plus for the first 5 days, I had her kenneled more than usual so she could rest and heal. The whole incision looked just fine...And before I brought her to the tub that first time, she didn't want to go in, so I know it wasn't something I did after the operation.

[bergie]

I'm curious about why you are bathing this dog so much, you shouldn't really bath a dog more than maybe once a month, and I don't bathe mine unless he has gotten into something I can't brush out, and this is a dog that lives in the house. If you bathe your dog to much you will wash out the oils that protect the dog, a lab shouldn't have any trouble going in the water now, I have had labs that broke ice to retrieve.

[SSSTaxidermy]

I normally or wanted to only give her a bath maybe every 3 weeks or so at best. Which I thought would be ideal. But of course during her puppy hood we had to give her a few extra, being she is allowed in the house. For example, we were away at work a little too long and she just couldn't hold it long enough and peed in her Kennel, both hind quarters were wet. She smelled to say the least...And another time was, while she was outside playing with my daughter, she rolled (played some too I am sure) in her own [PoorWordUsage]. I didn't see it...But she didn't smell very pleasant that time either. I know what you are saying about giving them a bath too often, but sometimes your hands are tied, especially when they are a pup and allowed in the house...

Just last night when I was out in the yard doing some work, I had the garden hose with me, water was on, she came over, got a drink from me on the end, then wanted to play in it....So hopefully nothing to really worry about and just like Jigg-Matt said, she maybe won't like baths but will love the lakes/ponds.

[anchor man]

Can't keep my lab out of the lake, but can't get her in the bath tub. I don't think they relate bath water to a lake or pond. It's perhaps the environment. If I could start over again, I would have gotten my dog used to a light spray from the hose to clean her off after hunting, but that drives her nuts. She'll drink from the hose, but won't let me spray her. Again, it's not the water, it's the feeling of being sprayed with something or dumping a pitcher of water on her in the tub.