Why does my dog like a shower?

LOL! He actually turns on the shower himself? That’s hilarious. And no I have no clue why he does it. Because he wants too? Very smart dog and self maintaining. How many dog owners do think there are who would kill for a dog that bathes himself?

Border collies are very smart dogs. I suspect the reason why he does this is because 1) he’s smart, and 2) he’s bored, so he does it to amuse and excite himself, since border collies have so much energy and are so intelligent. Then maybe it’s because he thinks he’s a Portuguese Water Dog and not a border collie! Lol.

I know this is hard for you to believe. can you imagine coming into your house, hearing the shower running and a soaking wet dog greets you at the door? i know he is intelligent, but i never imagined him turning on the shower to amuse himself. we are installing a camera in order to catch him on film and for Americas Funniest Videos.

I can’t answer for your dog, but my dog loves to be in falling water – shower, rain, lawn sprinkler, or not falling such as swimming pool – whatever. He is a water lover.

My cats used to love watching the toilet flush. I don’t know why.

he’s dirty, he must have seen you shower, and he trusts you.

Such a lovely story. Collies are very intelligent dogs, and perhaps he is bored and seeking your attention. Good idea setting up a video, then you will know exactly how he does it.
My dog runs round in circles whenever I turn the hosepipe on in the garden. I don’t know why she does it. Perhaps they are just attracted to water.

I’m guessing that you’re now trying to teach him to turn the shower OFF. Sounds like a great dog. My cat only rings the doorbell when he wants in. Not so good at 3 a.m. I’m going to suggest he take a shower. Thanks, John.

loll..that is so cool @john65pennington ! As someone said earlier, the Border Collie arguably is the smartest dog, and they can figure out things that other dogs would have no clue. Maybe, some duct tape on the shower door would prevent that…would be interesting to see if your dog could remove the duct tape! Would be a great video….put a slow camera in the bathroom and make a movie on that…might win the $10,000 on “America’s Funniest Home Videos!”

I think that’s hilarious and adorable! My dog’s done his share of funny behavior, but I wouldn’t dream he’d ever start a shower for himself. (Although he opens pill bottles without chewing through the container- that was a horrible day.)
Do you think he might be hot? As far as preventing him from doing it in the future, could you shut the bathroom door before you leave?

Mikey is super intelligent. we have his teeth marks on the cold water valve. when we have a thunderstorm, he also runs to the shower. maybe, this is his haven for safety. we have watched him push the shower curtain back and jump right in. he also did this one day as i was taking a shower. Mikey is not hot. we keep the thermostat set at 74 degrees. and, another incident concerning water. we took Mikey for a ride in the car one day. it was not a hot day. we left him inside the car, while we went shopping. the car windows were about 6 inches from the top and no sunshine. there was a full bottle of water sitting on the floorboard of my car. coming back to the car, we realized that the bottle of water was empty. Mikey had chewed off the cap, drank the water and reset the empty bottle in the same position as before. not a drop was spilled! this dog is amazing.

John, is Mikey hyper or fairly laid back?

Mikey is a cool border collie. he is male and about 60 pounds. he is 8 years old. he never was a hyper dog. he comes from a family of border collies with excellent papers.

You got a very smart dog John. Sounds like you are not giving him a shower as often as he would like one. Shame on you…:)

Perhaps you’re not giving him the kind of soap he likes either. Maybe he needs a beer in the shower as well. Ya gotta pay attention to these things.

I love him. My dog is part border. yours is hot and tryin to cool off in this hot weather.
He takes care of himself. and his desires. Rock on Mikey

@john65pennington; I hope you let him choose his own, easily-opened, shampoo and conditioner.

Two of my friend’s three springer spaniels love to wallow in my stream and then roll around in the moldy leaves. The third dog sneers at the other two.

@lilycoyote: My cat rushes in when he hears a toilet flush. It means a clean source of drinking water, or so he thinks. Then he puts front paws on seat and head into bowl.

I also can lure him, if he is in earshot, into the tub by pouring a fresh cup of water noisily into tub bottom.

what a great dog! does he dry off with a towel too?

@Aster I’m sure John’s dog would NOT do one of those giant ‘shake me dry’ routines.

dang, is Mikey still in the shower!

Does Mikey have a bathtub with that shower? If there’s a bathtub involved, I wonder if he remembers that you bathe him there. Probably not though…he just seems extraordinarily intelligent.

Wow, you have a very smart dog! Some breeds just really like water (not sure if a border collie falls in that category, but if he likes it, then what’s the harm?). Is he trying to drink the water while he’s in there? If so, maybe he’s thirsty and needs more water in his bowl.

I just hope he doesn’t accidentally turn on the hot water faucet and burn himself. That would be terrible. Perhaps he’s smart enough to know that too! Cute.

I’d like to see the water lever. Surely the dog can’t use a TURN handle??

@Aster Actually, they can, depending on the faucet handle, they can hook their nails over most bulging or protruding edges.

That is hilarious I have never known a dog to do that. I wonder what the lever is like but no I have no idea how or why he does it.