{"id":3294,"date":"2005-11-08T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-11-08T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/bathing-sparky\/"},"modified":"2021-06-25T17:58:34","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T17:58:34","slug":"bathing-sparky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/bathing-sparky\/","title":{"rendered":"Bathing Sparky"},"content":{"rendered":"

A dog provides creative solutions for bathing a person with dementia<\/strong>
\nPeter was 13 when he had his first dog, 18 when he worked in the lumber camps, and 20 when he married. Peter, now 74, is pacing up and down the hallways of Tick Tock Manor where he is a resident. Peter always paces on this day, because today is Peter\u2019s bath day.<\/p>\n

Things are done right on schedule at Tick Tock Manor. The caregivers never forget Peter\u2019s bath day. Even more amazing, is that, although Peter has dementia, he never forgets the bath day either.<\/p>\n

This morning is different however. Peter is clutching a small book close to his chest. When the caregiver approaches him to offer to assist Peter with his bath, he becomes agitated and walks off quickly in the other direction. Any further mention of bathing sets Peter off in an angry outburst.<\/p>\n

When I approach Peter and ask if he would like to share what is in his book, Peter continues walking off in the opposite direction. He then pauses to think, gives me an indignant look, places his hand on his hip, and replies,<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, why not?\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter and I sit side by side in the lounge situated next to the bathing area. And Peter proceeds to share the family photos in his small album. It becomes evident that many of Peter\u2019s photos have been taken of a black Labrador dog in a garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is this Peter?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Sparky, my dog,\u201d replies Peter, with a big smile on his face. Peter is happy to share that he and his dog, Sparky, have spent many happy years together. He also adds that he misses Sparky very much. In one of the photos, Peter is in the backyard with Sparky, where Sparky is receiving a bath.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on in this picture Peter?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Sparky is having his summer bath,\u201d says Peter. \u201cI can\u2019t do the bath in the house, because Sparky races around after, shaking off all the water. Sparky loves being clean.\u201d Peter shows pride on his face.<\/p>\n

I see this as an opportunity to distract Peter away from his own bathing situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeter, I see that you and Sparky are having a lot of fun together. And Sparky likes to be nice and fresh and clean. That\u2019s great. Let me help you to be nice and clean as well. And when Sparky comes for a visit, you will be fresh. How does that sound?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know about that. Do you think my wife can bring Sparky for a visit?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure she can Peter, anytime, and you and Sparky can have a good visit. Let me first help you with your bath. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, alright,\u201d says Peter. He takes my hand and we walk together to the bathing area.<\/p>\n

The small book is left behind on the table, the book containing memories of who is Peter, the book that holds the photos of Peter\u2019s best friend, Sparky.<\/p>\n

Interview with Peter\u2019s caregiver follows<\/b>:<\/p>\n

1. What seems to be the main obstacles in giving Peter his bath?<\/b><\/p>\n

Just about everything. Peter doesn\u2019t like taking his clothes off. He doesn\u2019t like having his hair washed, and he doesn\u2019t like getting wet. Then when the bath is finished, Peter wants to put the same clothes right back on. He gets really angry with us if we try to persuade him.<\/p>\n

2. What have you tried so far<\/b>?<\/p>\n

We no longer wash Peter\u2019s hair on bath day. Rather, his hair is shampooed in the salon where the hair cuts are done. Also, the girls on the last shift, lay out fresh clot\u00ef\u00bf\u00bda dog provides creative solutions for bathing a person with dementia.hing for Peter in the morning, so the clothes Peter insists on putting on following the bath are clean.<\/p>\n

3. How is this working?<\/b><\/p>\n

Good, Peter is far less agitated.<\/p>\n

4. I understand Peter has a dog, Sparky. Does Peter ever talk about his dog?<\/b><\/p>\n

To be honest, I didn\u2019t know that Peter even had a dog. That is really good information for us. Maybe we can ask the family to bring the dog in for a visit.<\/p>\n

5. That\u2019s a great idea, Peter would love that. Also, does Peter ever speak of the days he worked in the lumber camps?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, now that you mention it, Peter loves to reminisce about those days. He\u2019s told me he feels lucky that he didn\u2019t lose a finger when he was working in the lumber camps. And he says, \u201cThose were the best days of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Do you think talking about \u201cthe best days of Peter\u2019s life\u201d might help on bath day?<\/b><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a good idea. We can sure try.<\/p>\n

7. Can you offer suggestions for other caregivers having similar difficulties?<\/b><\/p>\n

The most helpful thing I have discovered is to never argue with the person with dementia, or to try to get them to do something they don\u2019t want to do. Rather, I allow the person time, and perhaps try again twenty minutes later.<\/p>\n

8. Do Peter\u2019s family visit often? Do you think they might have some suggestions about the bathing time?<\/b><\/p>\n

His wife visits every day. That\u2019s a good idea; I will discuss with her some suggestions for Peter\u2019s bathing time.<\/p>\n

9. Does the family visit make any difference to Peter\u2019s behavior?<\/b><\/p>\n

During the time she is here, Peter is happy. However, when she leaves, Peter starts pacing again. I think he\u2019s lonely.<\/p>\n

10. Overall, what is your perception of the present situation?<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned to never rush Peter, and not to argue with him. No means no. When Peter gets agitated, and feels that we are trying to rush him, he will say, \u201cdon\u2019t guess; wait till my mind tells me.\u201d This is Peter\u2019s way of letting us know he is still in charge.<\/p>\n

Gwendolyn deGeest<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00ef\u00bf\u00bda dog provides creative solutions for bathing a person with dementia. The author shares ideas for helping your loved one to take their next bath.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,13,16,6],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[952],"class_list":["post-3294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-caregiver-issues","category-caregivers-experiences-ideas","category-diseases-illnesses-conditions","category-eldercare"],"authors":[{"term_id":952,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"gwendolyn-degeest","display_name":"Gwendolyn deGeest RN, BSN, MA","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3294"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4779,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3294\/revisions\/4779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3294"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/care-givers.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}