The Vizsla Bath

There are so many positive things of owning a Vizsla.  One is the low maintenance grooming.  I give Ralphie a bath about 4 times a year and in between just rinse him down with a hose outside.  However, sometimes in the summer I need to give him a bath treatment to get rid of the allergens on him that makes him lose hair.  Vizslas are low or no odor dogs, pretty much keeping themselves clean like a cat.  I know Vizslas all have different degrees of shedding.  Jazz, my last Vizsla shed quite a bit.  I would always see short red hairs on my clothing and furniture.  Ralphie on the other hand, I never see a hair!  Even when I bathe him there is minimal hair left in the tub.

This morning was bath day for Ralphie.  He is so different than Jazz, my last Vizsla during bath time. Jazz was downright nasty...LOL  She did not want to get in the tub.  We actually had to put a towel over her head and then lift her in the tub.  The towel would calm her down for the lift in the tub.  Ralphie, on the other hand, isn't really fond of the bath at first, but he will step into the tub on command.  He stands still as I scrub him down, actually savoring the full body scrub.  I wipe his face down with a wet washcloth as he purrs, loving the attention.  After washing him, on command, he will jump out of the tub onto a towel on the floor.  Then I rub him down dry with another towel, and oh my he sure loves that part of his bath. I'll try to end the drying session, but he stands there with a look in his eyes that says, "more Mom more!"  I give in and continue rubbing him down with tons of kisses in between.  Afterwards he curls up on the couch, I cover him with a blanket to keep him warm.  He kisses me, I kiss him.  LOVE.

After bath, all cuddled up. Look at that sweet face!

The Piggy Vizsla

I know I'm guilty and now I'm paying for it.  I feed my Ralphie my food when I'm eating!  He's become a beggar!  He's become overweight!  He's become a food thief!  Always looking for food!

Lesson learned.  I never had this problem with my last Vizsla, Jazz.  She was a food grazer.  She ate until she was full.  Actually she was quite thin, which always concerned me.  But now I realize that was just her normal physique...skinny.  LOL  Ralphie is the opposite...chubby, but it's not a normal physique! LOL

Now I'm in the process of reversing this piggy behavior of his.  Ralphie is just too focused on food...he gobbles his food up, then hovers over Ollie waiting for him to walk away from his bowl of food, he eats his leftovers, then he heads over to the dinner table, waiting for me to share my food!

The problem is me!  I feel he's a part of the family and should partake and indulge in some good human food.  So I share.  I'm starting slowly, I'm beginning to only share small pieces of my food and less often.  Before, I would take a bite, then give Ralphie a bite, back and forth.  It's not like that anymore...maybe a couple bites during my meal.  Eventually I'll stop all together.  I've also been giving him less kibble in his bowl knowing he will be eating Ollie's leftovers.  I'm adding green beans to his food to cut his calorie intake.  Ralphie is still gobbling sticks on our walks.  I wonder if their are calories in sticks?  That's been a real challenge teaching him, "leave it".  We're working on it.  Treats ... this has been cut substantially.  I just can't stop treats completely.  It would be like me stop eating dark chocolate or ice cream...impossible!  Just as I feel I deserve my 'treats' so does Ralphie!

I'll blog on Ralphie's progress in a month.  Let's see if I can change his manners and maybe lose a pound or 2.  He now weighs 70 pounds.