My dog Cooper has never liked baths, but it got worse after he started full-on twisting and bracing against the tub the second the water turned on. Between holding him still, keeping him from slipping, and actually trying to shampoo him, I was coming out of every bath more soaked and scratched up than he was, and half the time his belly and back paws never really got clean because I simply couldn't hold him and reach them at the same time.

The problem: no hands left for the actual washing

The issue was never the shampoo or the water temperature; it was that I needed a third hand. Restraining a squirmy 40-pound dog on a wet, slippery tub floor while also scrubbing him just wasn't physically possible without him sliding around or trying to bolt out. I looked at a couple of bath restraint products before, but most looked bulky, hard to clean, or like something that would stress him out even more.

What fixed it: a breathable mesh hammock that cradles instead of pins

I found the Breathable Pet Grooming Hammock from Get Good Gifts, and the mesh design made the difference. It doesn't pin him down the way a harness does; it cradles him just enough that he can't twist or slide out from under me, while staying loose enough that he doesn't panic against it. Because it's breathable mesh, he wasn't overheating or fighting to get air, which was one of my worries with anything that wraps around a wet dog.

I ordered the size based on his weight and picked the moss color mostly because it wouldn't show water stains as easily. It comes in four sizes and three colors, so there's a fit whether you've got a small dog or something closer to Cooper's size.

The result: a bath that finally goes both ways clean

The first wash with the hammock, I could actually reach his belly, his back legs, and behind his ears without him twisting away or me bracing to keep him from bolting. It cut the whole process down by at least ten minutes, and for the first time in a long time, he didn't come out of the tub looking (or acting) like he'd survived something.

If bath time at your house is more wrestling match than routine, this is the kind of fix that pays off on the very first use. Check out the Breathable Pet Grooming Hammock from Get Good Gifts, available in sizes S to XL and in Mint Blue, Black, or Moss.