The Alaskan malamute’s history dates back to pulling sleds across the arctic, but one particular malamute in today’s world hates water so much that he’s become an internet sensation. Malamutes are stocky, strong dogs and when they aren’t interested in bath time, good luck getting one to climb into the tub.
Emma-Leigh Matthews and her husband Shane own two malamutes, Niko and her buddy Phil, also fondly known as Philly Bear by their hordes of followers on Instagram and YouTube. The United Kingdom couple also has a beautiful furry Mainecoon cat Milo and a precious baby girl named Amelia.
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In the video below, Emma explains that Niko doesn’t need a bath terribly often, likely because she does a perfectly fine job of keeping herself clean. But Phil tends to get dirtier more often and therefore needs more baths.
In fact, his last bath was only two months ago but it’s time for another and he’s less than impressed with his predicament.
Poor Phil is seen hiding in the corner of the bathroom with his face pressed against the tile wall. Shane tells Phil to stop hiding and “come on.”
The bathtub is warm and ready for Phil, but the dog isn’t remotely interested. In fact, he’s staging a protest.
Shane pretends to walk out of the bathroom and Phil lifts his head a tiny bit. His human attempts to coerce him out of the corner by inviting him to go for a walk, but Phil isn’t about to fall for that.
Baby Amelia contentedly sits in her bouncy chair, watching her giant teddy bear of a dog Phil slink past the tub and hide under the sink near her. Shane splashes the warm water around and Amelia kicks and giggles, but Phil isn’t budging.
Shane grabs Phil’s rear end to try and pull him out from under the sink but Phil lets out a warning growl and wriggles away. When Phil stands up on his own and walks toward the dog, Shane praises him but the dog isn’t about to get the tub.
He instead makes a beeline for his favorite spot against the wall.
Many dog owners use peanut butter to lure their pups into the tub and Phil licks his lips when he smells the delicacy housed in the jar of peanut butter that Shane whips out.
“Look, it’s food. You love food.”
Phil licks a bit out of the jar and licks the wall, but still refuses to turn around and climb into the tub. Shane puts some peanut butter on the wall of the bathtub, a trick that’s successful for many dog owners with reluctant bathers.
Poor Phil is breathing heavy and looking distressed. Shane lays a towel down in the bottom of the tub in the hopes that it doesn’t feel too slippery to him.
“Out, out. Come on. Let’s go.”
When Dad props Phil’s paws on the edge, that’s as far as he plans to go. Shane blocks the corner so Phil can’t slink over there, but he lays down beside the tub and hides his head behind Dad’s legs.
Poor Phil whimpers and whines almost the entire time. Apparently Phil believes that if he can’t see his humans, then they can’t see them. How cute!
“Phil. Come on. I can see you.”
So Shane tries again to swing the heavy dog around and convince him to climb into the tub, but Phil shoots off under the sink, ignoring his mom’s tasty treat.
Milo the cat sits on the toilet and is truly interested in the treat but Phil isn’t interested in the cat, the treat, the bath or anyone in the bathroom. He only wants to escape.
“Alright, Phil. Come on.”
Shane tries to wrestle Phil into the bathtub, but Phil whines in protest. Dad places his paws on the edge of the tub again and this time, Milo hops down to antagonize the dog by sitting right next to his head on the edge of the tub.
Shane’s pep talk falls on deaf ears. Phil tries to hide between Mom’s legs and somehow, Shane miraculously gets Phi’s front half in the tub.
The peanut butter works and Phil eagerly licks it off the tub wall. Finally, he climbs all the way into the tub but evidently hates water as he lifts up one paw and keeps whimpering.
Shane turns on the shower and wets down Phil. He’s still panty pretty heavy and tries to leap out of the tub when Dad busts out the bottle of shampoo.
It takes an insane amount of dog shampoo to lather him up. Phil tries several times to shake off the water, but Shane shouts no.
The water is a bit nasty, quite brown in fact, and he isn’t even done with his bath. Poor Phil starts to shiver and shake and vehemently informs everyone that he is very unhappy.
Shane saves washing Phil’s face for last and he looks so cute all covered in bubbles.
“He looks so betrayed.”
Phil evidently has been waiting this entire time for his grand escape because he leaps from the tub and shakes water everywhere. He heads straight for the bedroom but Dad shouts no and chases him out of there.
The fluffy pup flies down the stairs and shakes water off again while Shane and Emma-Leigh shout for him to stop. He’s ushered outside where Niko is waiting.
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Finally, Phil can freely shake off the water. Shane even helps him by giving him a special drying treatment that he loves so much he seems to smile!
It’s the perfect ending to a torturous ordeal known as bathtime. Watch Phil’s adventure in the video below. You’ll fall in love with this giant teddy bear of a dog!
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