101 Shelties in The Bath

By Becky Casale, author, Shelties: The Complete Pet Owner's Guide

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Shelties just love a bath, right? Ah, how about no! Bathing a Sheltie can be like wrestling with a hairy octopus. Eventually the forlorn Sheltie submits to your watery whims and then you get the look of absolute sorrow. We're sorry, Shelties!

When I asked Sheltie Planet readers to share their cutest, funniest and oh-so-sorrowful photos of dripping wet Shelties in the tub, this is what I got back. Whether they're shrunk by half, or giving you the side eye for making them smell like coconut, this photo collection is downright ridiculous.

Now there's a look! By Jenn Meirndorf.

Butter Cup-Snyder getting lathered up. By Rebecca Nicole Granstrom.

They are half their size when wet! By Jenn Gober Storm.

Our sweet Piper in the bath. By Sheltie Planet

Our sweet Piper. By Sheltie Planet.

My Ruby in the Bath. She really enjoys it, specially when I rub her belly. By Suzanne Mavris.

Juke is a farm dog. Every bath is totally worth it because he has so much fun getting muddy herding chickens! By Joanna Thompson.

Cocoa doesnt want to take a bath! By Aeryeong Lee.

If you want to see two sorry dogs... By Vanesse Reeves.

Baby Tako! Marybeth Johnston.

Love my Tuff man! By Jessica Frost.

I made her into a doggysaurus. By Claudia Scheepers.

Mmm... refreshing. By Sol Hanna.

This is Kovu. He gives me the side eye and long face. We both hate doing baths for him! By Theo T. Le.

This is Munch in his first bath. By Kelly-Louise Hopkins.

All washed up. By Amanda Ritchey.

Hazel bathing in the ocean. By Elizabeth Lee.

Small enough for the kitchen sink! By Anita Nerings.

Tiny Kali shrivels up. By Jenii Jro Robinson.

Georgia! By Liz Boananno.

Edward is not a fan... but he is a fan of being blow dried afterwards. By Gianna Salstead.

Puppy shampoo! By Emma McCarthy.

Six eyes. Three dogs. One look. By Jessica Jones.

Someone's loving their shower. By Michelle Thompson Cowgill.

Why is this happening? By Tammy Hanley.

Anubis! By Karen Camargo.

My sweet boy Ronny. By Nancy Vogtel.

My Ellie. By Julia Durant.

The day I brought him home from the shelter. He was underweight then, that's no longer an issue though! By Chrysti Hydeck-Nethercutt.

This is Bayler Goose! Although he is part of a fighter jet team, he couldn't fly his way out of the bathtub! By John-Ethan Seemann.

This is Jack Maverick, he had even less of a chance to escape! By John-Ethan Seemann.

During a bath... By Johannes Svanbom.

Pure tolerance. By Dave Zolo.

Kylo is always a good boy. He's less than thrilled about bathtime however. By Deb Hildebrandt Christison.

Rowan the deflatable Sheltie! By Sarah Easley.

One-year-old Arthur. By Ann Demegillo Sherwood.

Don't wash me away! By Carlson Vom Dach.

Little puppy Howard. By Sheltie Planet.

Chewy actually enjoying bath time. By Mike Schacht.

Jasmine tolerates it... By Peggi Mcgrath.

Splish splash. By Alexandra Gihbsson.

Is it over yet? By Holly Den Bleyker.

HSS Foster Rebel, getting ready for a Meet and Greet where he met his forever Mom. By Vickie Harris Machala .

Where did my Sheltie go? By Il Bay B .

The look of betrayal. By Eric Malmberg.

Foxy Fizzle in the bath! By Karen Massey.

Ty. By Leanne Ellard .

Poor Spanky! By Ashley Nichole Hall .

Get me outta here! By Sarah Murphy.

Missy gives me the look of the betrayal as well. She does put up with it quite well, but is SO happy when we're done with the dryer and she can be free again. By Christiana Rattay .

Our Sheltie puppy Jasper doesn't like baths at all! By Trish Simms.

Milo's first bath. By Colleen Waddy Joseph.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. And fluffy. By Heather Ann Derrickson.

Jaime won't even look at me! By Kathy Mills.

12-year-old Enzo. By Courtney James.

Zoe at 4 months. By John Granitz.

Not a bath photo, but shrunk just as much! By Lindsey Schultz.

Pippin's knee deep in the bath. By Jessica Laurel Houston-Murphy.

Toby's face is deceiving, because he actually dislikes baths. But about halfway through he always starts smiling because I think he secretly likes them. By Kim Zikmund .

He hates it but he's always a good boy. By April Moore.

My Sheltie puppy. By Johanna Åström.

Are you coming in or what? By Liz Rittenburg.

Ok, I'm done. By Ryan Aloia.

Luna loves bath time! Marion Teunissen.

Poor Moby. By Lindsay Cool .

I suppose you think this is funny. By Eugenie Lam.

Bailey's first bath... By Marie-Jose Blaesen.

Megs. By Eileen Brownstein Ostach.

Daisy, that's one remarkable tail! By Nicole Barrish.

They shrink when water hits them! By Deborah White Duffy.

One wet June. By Nelly Junet.

Happy Koolie. By Catherine Orr.

Sigh... If you must... By Hedvig Köver.

Curdie... after the first shake. by Wendy Hoadley.

Tucker! By Lynn Henneborn.

Tessie's first bath at home. By Jay Kraft.

Kayla. By Tracy Parker.

Skunker Butts in the tub! by Linda Smith Gierek.

Molly! By Martina Jakab.

Not Uno's favourite time! By Michelle Turner.

Unrecognizable. By Silva Lang.

Holly and Crystal are not big fans of the bath! By Gillian Wood.

In the sink! By Ainslee Monk.

You missed a spot. By Roger Morris.

Bear refuses to look at us while having a bath. I've never had a dog pout so hard. Once he gets the after-bath cookie he's fine though! By Jeanne Ostrom Halls.

After The Bath...

There's nothing quite like a wet Sheltie rubbing himself all over the furniture after a bath. This is all part of his bathtime revenge policy.

Of course, some of you are more sensible than us and take a few minutes to blow dry your Shelties. Whether they're wrapped up in towels or blow dried and poofy, the results are quite gorgeous!

Austin loves the blow dry! By Joi Keeling.

After a bath! By Johannes Svanbom.

I'm a dog with style. By Lori Carter Baer.

I suppose you think this is cute. By Ruth Brickzin.

The side eye after I gave her a bath just cracks me up! By Lauren Varner.

My big baby Jozie! She loves to soak in the bath tub... By Kristen Jo Kehrer.

Cute as a button. By Alex Cotton.

Let's never do that again! By Virginia Gallant.

Lizzy likes a bath, but doesn't show it. By Carolyn Burrell.

Not happy! By Julie Smarney.

My Fuji after a bath! By Christine Wong.

Where did my fluffy body go? By Marisa Oviedo.

Shake it out! By Timea Markó-Guba.

Simba's shower time ends in a wet hug. By Suds Toms.

Lady! By Lisa Ann.

Our puppy Howard wrapped up like a baby! By Sheltie Planet.

5 Tips on Bathing Your Sheltie

Tip #1. Bathe every 1-2 months

You don't need to bathe Shelties very often; like many dogs they lick themselves clean. Shelties also tend to avoid swimming and rolling in animal poop which are the main culprits of bad smells. So only bathe your Sheltie every one to two months. If you wash them too often you'll strip away their coat's natural oils, causing dryness, flaking and itching.

Tip #2. Shower with warm water

Even though you might love a scorching hot shower, your Sheltie isn't used to hot water on his delicate skin. So use warm water when you shower him in the tub. Part the hair, getting the nozzle right against his skin. Otherwise the waterproof outer coat will protect him like water off a duck's back!

Tip #3. Mind the ear holes

Be careful not to point the shower nozzle straight into his ear holes. Bacteria love warm, damp spaces like the inside of the ear canal and you could cause a painful ear infection. Pad them with cotton wool balls for protection if you're worried about accidentally spraying water into his ears.

Tip #4. Only use dog shampoo

Human shampoos have different pH levels designed for human skin, and they can damage your Sheltie's skin. So only use shampoo design for dogs like TropiClean PerfectFur Dog Shampoo for Shelties. Take care to wash the dog shampoo out thoroughly afterwards or the soap will leave him itchy and irritated.

Tip #5. Dry your Sheltie with care

After bathing, gently pat your dog dry with a towel. Don't rub him or you'll damage the under coat which is more prone to breakage when wet. Then allow him to dry off naturally indoors. If your furniture can't take a wet Sheltie rubbing himself all over it, carefully blow dry the coat on a low setting, parting the hair as you go.

This is Hazel when she's dry and fluffy!

Hazel all dry and fluffy! By Elizabeth Lee.

To learn more about the wonderful world of Shetland Sheepdogs, download my 160-page PDF ebook, Shelties: The Complete Pet Owner's Guide, now in its fifth edition.

The guide features hands-on advice on raising a Sheltie illustrated with 100+ photos from Sheltie owners around the world. It's much loved by those who followed the adventures of Howard and Piper Woofington Moon, the inspiration behind Sheltie Planet.

Click here to learn more.