3 1/2 month old Bandit is a afraid of water. Deathly afraid of water. Even if I hose off her paws if she steps in some poop she is petrified. I have to hold her between my legs. Bath time she is petrified too. Literally and will try to escape. What can I do? I want to help her conquer her fear of water.

Dogs are naturally shy of snakes, normally when they hear one they go the other way.  I can hear it now, what this got to do with a hose?  Listen real close to the sound of the water coming out of a hose ... most of them have a hissing sound that, I'm told, sounds a lot like a snake hissing.

Now, bath time ... at 3 1/2 months old she should have had maybe two baths.  One when you first brought her home and one just because.  By holding her between your legs to wash her off you're doing the exact opposite of what you want to do ... she's learning to be more afraid rather than less.  

My Alaskan wants nothing to do with a hose - if he sees me reach for it, he's gone as far away as he can get (on a 30 foot lead).  Since he's generally clean I don't force the issue, if he's muddy he just stays outside til it dries up and drops off and he's clean again (Husky's are nice that way).  If you really think it's "water" that she's afraid of, take her down to a pond and let her wander along it, I'll place a bet that she'll be in the water before an hour's up.  I don't think it's the water, as such, as much as it is the "snake" you're holding.

The hose makes sense. The bath idk I've given her 3. First was on day 3 together so I get that. 2nd was a month later and most recent was a day ago. She was covered in mud. Having a blast digging her favorite hole deeper. It was more of a rinse than a bath but still she hated it. I'll try the pond idea though

My girl hates bathes. My husband holds hers head and gives her little bits of a high value treat while I wash her and it makes a huge difference on how much she fights it. The treat gives her a nice focus away from the horror of the bath. We do the same thing when trimming her toe nails.

My other suggestion is go swimming with her, wade with her then swim and encourage her that she's ok and safe, and more importantly make it fun.

Update!! I turned the hose on a very low stream and she realized it was water, her most very favorite thing ever, and she was okay with it. A little skiddish but she didn't run away. AHHHHH I'm so happy she is making progress =)

YAY!!!!!!!!Glad to hear.