My dog is suddenly afraid of the bathtub?

Does he like bathing previously? If I got it correctly, you used to hose him outside but changed to the bathtub recently. If that is the case, it is likely that he recognise the bathtub as a bathing place that is why he refused to barge. One thing strange about dogs is that while they like swimming, they hate to bath.

Hello kris182_2000, I think your dog is not used to be with water that most of the dog act like my dog.I didn't find a solution for that because my dog don't really like dealing with water. I just only force my dog to be in bathtub that's all. Have a nice day and Happy mylotting

I used to have problems with my 100lb Labrador but he's ok now. Oh sure he makes his "dont kill me face" and I have to help him into the tub, front legs first then the back legs. He used to slip and slide and he didnt like it at all until I installed 2 rubber mat in the bottom of the tub. Now he's secure and not slipping and he's more relaxed but not to the point of enjoying it lol. So get 2 rubber mats, cover the whole bottom of the tub and he'll be alright. Hope this helps!!

Why knows why dogs act the way they do? I certainly do not understand my dog most of the time! (and he is really scared of the tub too) I would not worry about it too much, there is nothing you can do about it anyway, since you can't talk to and explain things to a dog anyway.

Getting old may be a cause, but this is not sure. Think back at the last baths he took since you moved. Maybe you'll remember anything that made him change his attitude toward bath time. Maybe you changed the shampoo and he doesn't like the smell, maybe you accidentally put some shampoo into his eyes last time you gave him a bath, maybe he slipped and fell in the bathtube last time he had a bath, maybe the water was too hot or to cold, there can be a lot of causes that made him be afraid of the bathtube. Or there is a chance that he didn't want to do what you asked him, because you left him in the backyard the whole day. Though, it's nothing strange about a dog that doesn't want to take a bath. I think there are too few dogs who enjoy bath time. Anyway, you should take some safety measures for him now, that he got old. You should put an anti-slip mat in the bath tube, his joints could suffer if he slip on the slippery surface of the tube. (in fact this must have been the cause that he didn't want to stand while you gave him the bath) If he were younger, you could have reinforced the association bath tube = reward, but he's old now and jumping in and out the bathtube could harm his old joints. Take him as he is now, anyway you have experience in bathing animals against their will (I think about your cats, and I'm sure they don't like the bath time either).

Dogs are weird. Nothing left to really say. Lol. My Mastiff used to love the vet. Mostly because of all the treats and pets he gets once he's there. Now I have to literally drag him in through the doors. And last time we were there, we couldn't even get him into the examination room. Nothing happened to him before that. The trip prior to this behavior was a routine exam. Nothing traumatic. He was fine during the exam, and fine when we left. What worked for my dogs, when it came to training them to accept pills, was LOTS of praise and pets and "good boy"s after they took the pills. Even though they were fighting me every step of the way, and practically taking my fingers off when I shoved the pills down their throats. Now, even though they're not too happy about it, they allow me to drop the pills into their mouths and they swallow them. With only a little fuss. No more clamping their mouths shut. No more shoving the pills down their throats. So, my suggestion, start placing your dog into the tub every day. Even if he makes a huge fuss about it, once you get him in there give him tons of praise and rubs and maybe even treats. Then let him leave. He may start associating this unsavory activity with the things he loves: treats and praise.