Today a new element was added to my bath time routine. Trudy brushed my teeth and cleaned my ears. I really did not understand the usefulness or necessity of these procedures.
Why do I need to be clean anyway? I’m a dachshund puppy. My job is not to smell like a flower. I don’t want to be that ridiculous show dog, Rover, who always prances around in TV commercials with a mouthful of sparkling white teeth and promoting dog food. Let’s face it. I’m not really going to be a doggie model any time soon. Not that I couldn’t be. I’m cute and I can prance like the best of them. The fact that I’m a puppy and a master of the deep, soulful “love me right now” look are assets, too. But considering that I live in a quiet neighborhood with a family of three and my mother, Schatze, I don’t really see fame and fortune in my future.
Which once again brings me to the whole question of why my personal hygiene is such big deal to the people I live with? I don’t smell as bad as that stray dog down the street that eats two day old garbage. And I’m particular about what I eat. Bad breath is not something I care for which is why I watch what I put in my mouth. I only eat my dog food, and occasionally, I clean up after Olivia when she drops snacks or food crumbs on the floor. But I’m only being a good helper at those times. I can’t help it if Fritos make my kisses a little hard to take.
But it’s no use protesting these things in my house. Trudy is like Attila the Hun when it comes to keeping things tidy. Her kitchen is spotless, smelling like lemon and oranges. Their clothes always have a starched perfection to them. The carpet never smells musty or dirty. If there is a smidge of dirt anywhere on the premises, that woman knows about it instantly.
I think Trudy could use a bit of counseling on this issue.
Anyway, at bath time today, Trudy scrubbed my coat pretty good. She has nice, long nails which are excellent for back scratching and one of the few things about taking a bath I find enjoyable. The bubbles in the tub were popping like crazy, fascinating me with their scent. I wondered what they would taste like so I stuck my tongue out to see. One of the bubbles popped in my mouth, leaving behind a very unpleasant taste.
“Yuck,” I said, but to Trudy’s human ears it came out as a sneeze.
“Don’t eat the bubbles, goof ball,” she said. “Soap doesn’t taste good. Believe me, I should know.”
Olivia had been walking by the open bathroom door, but she stopped when she heard her mother’s words.
“How do you know what soap tastes like, Mommy?” she asked, leaning against the door frame.
“Well, when I was about your age, I had to wash my mouth out with soap because I said something bad.” Trudy grinned. “Your grandmother was trying to teach me a lesson.”
“Yuck! What were the bad things you said?”
“I can’t even tell you because it was so bad that I swore never to say it again.”
“Wow. What did the soap taste like?”
“Terrible! I will never buy that brand of soap in the store because I still remember how bad it tasted in my mouth.” Trudy began rinsing me off. “I was just noticing that Oliver was trying to eat the soap bubbles.”
“Will that make him sick?” Olivia came closer and smiled at me when I wagged my tail.
“No. He’s just being curious. He can be so cute!” Trudy finished rinsing. “But it did make me think about another good habit we need to get into with him.”
“What’s that?”
“Brushing his teeth.”
“You mean, like I do? Will he have to floss? Does the tooth fairy come and visit him?”
Trudy picked me up from the tub and starting drying me off. “It’s sort of like how you take care of your teeth, but we’ll have to brush them for him. He doesn’t need to floss or anything like that, and I don’t think the tooth fairy likes to get dog teeth.”
“Too bad,” Olivia said. “He could have gotten a cheesy treat under his pillow instead of the dollar that the tooth fairy always leaves me.”
“Yeah, that’s a real shame.” Trudy grinned. “But it’s important we start brushing his teeth now so that he doesn’t get an infection. Infections can be bad for dogs, making it so they don’t want to eat because it hurts to chew. Sometimes they even have to take a dog’s tooth out.”
“I’ll go get my toothbrush!”
“Whoa! No, no, we don’t need to use your toothbrush. The vet gave me a special one to use on Oliver’s teeth.”
I looked at the brush she pulled out from under the sink with interest. It looked soft and chewable, almost like a glove for a finger. I’d watched Olivia brush her teeth lots of times and remembered how minty her breath smelled afterwards. Would mine be the same?
Trudy put the brush on her finger and then pulled out a tube of toothpaste.
“This is dog toothpaste, Olivia. It’s special for Oliver so if you run out of your own, don’t use this.” Trudy squeezed some of the paste from the tub onto her finger-brush. “Okay. Here we go.”
“Is he going to bite you?” Olivia asked.
“I hope not.”
With one arm hooked around me so I couldn’t move, Trudy put the brush into my mouth. A weird taste caused me to salivate a little,and the way her finger pushed back against my jaw made me gag. She scrubbed my teeth diligently, even though I tried to pull away. Eventually she took her finger out and gave me a chance to like off the paste from my teeth. Yuck! That tasted terrible. Why can’t they make meat flavored toothpaste?
“Good boy, Oliver,” Trudy said and kissed my head. “That was very good!”
“Good boy,” Olivia crooned and patted my head.
At least I was getting something out of this experience that was worthwhile.
“Now, there is one more thing we need to do,” Trudy said. “Can you get me the cleanser we use for Schatze’s ears?”
Olivia left the room, returning a few minutes later with a small bottle. She handed it to Trudy who had gotten out some Q-tips from under the cabinet.
“Dogs are prone to ear infections, and dachshunds can get them a lot if their ears aren’t taken care of.” She squirted a good amount of the liquid in my ear, rubbing it down just a little. It was cold and I quickly shook it out. Then she picked up the Q-tip and swished it around in my ear.
It tickled!
“I know, boy,” she said, as she cleaned my ear. “But we need to make sure you don’t have dirt and grime built up in there.”
“Do dog ear infections hurt like people ear infections?” Olivia asked.
“I don’t know. I know it makes them uncomfortable. Have you ever noticed how Schatze will sometimes shake her ears? That’s how I know something is bothering them. Usually, I try to clean them, but if I find lots of nasty gunk in them or if she keeps shaking her head, then I know I have to take her to the vet,” Trudy said.
“Why?”
“Her head shaking usually means she has an infection and needs medicine for her ears.”
I listened to this conversation with great interest. My ears had felt a little weird the past few days. Perhaps I had an ear infection.
“Uh-oh,” Trudy said. “Look at this.”
She showed Olivia some disgusting gunk on the Q-tip. Had that really come from my ears? I shook my head, suddenly realizing that my hearing had improved.
Trudy dug around in both of my ears, and while I can’t say that I enjoyed the procedure, my hearing was much better by the time she was done. I gave her a lick on the nose to show my appreciation.
“His breath smells good now!” Olivia said when I gave her a lick, too.
As soon as I was free from Trudy’s grasp, I darted into the living room. I always feel like taking a quick run around the house after a bath! After all, physical exercise is important, and I want to look good for Bonnie Belle.
Speaking of Bonnie Belle…I figured I’d better go outside and show off my freshly groomed appearance.
“Oliver, you smell so good!” Bonnie Belle barked at our hole in the back fence.
“Thank you, my dear,” I said, smiling extra wide to show off my new pearly whites.
“Wow…and your teeth. So beautiful!”
“Like that? Well then check out these!”
I shook my ears at her, loving how clear the tinkle of my collar sounded now.
“What am I looking at?” she asked, puzzled.
“My ears! They’re super clean!”
“Oh. That’s nice. You look just like that dog, Rover, I always see advertising dog food on TV.” Her voice was so sincere that I started envisioning myself as a star on a dog commercial.
I liked what I saw.
Maybe there is something to this hygiene thing. Maybe being a well taken care of pet would pay off in the long run.
Maybe I could be a super model after all!
****
(…to be continued)
Related posts:
- Puppy Tails – Oliver Explores
- Puppy Tails – Oliver Protects His Family
- Puppy Tails – Oliver Digs
- Puppy Tails – Oliver Trains Olivia
- Puppy Tails – Oliver Gets Fleas
