Hey guys I have a question,

Onyx, when given a bath, is very touchy around his neck area when hit with water. He doesn't mind being sprayed in other areas, but when the water touches his collar area...he freaks. He yelps, pulls, and tries to hide and/or get away. He is a rescue we have had since March and this has not gotten any better. What would y'all recommend I do to help with this? Any ideas what could have caused it??

How is he when you pet/touch him in that area? Is it possible he was abused before you rescued him and that's why he freaks out?

First of all your boy is beautiful, does he have an issue with collars or handling around his neck?
If he had an inbedded collar at one time, it could be a sensative area. Did the place you got him from give you any previous history at all?

I know a lot of people grab the collar or scruff of the neck so it's possible his previous home was too rough with that and has made him fearful. But if so, as Beth asked, he'd probably also be sensitive to you petting/touching there too.

Maybe it's just that once you get to his neck, you're really close to his face? He may have had a bad experience where he was swimming or something and his head went below the surface, or at least too low for comfort? I'm just throwing ideas out there.

To help, if someone else is available to help you out, maybe they can squeak a toy and offer treats while he's being bathed. If you're on your own and it's not bath time, you can probably try the same approach and dribble water on his neck while offering treats (probably best outside or over a towel).

Have you moved the fur to make sure there's nothing there that could be causing him pain? Though you've had him for a while, it could be possible that something's been there and won't go away on it's own.

ive come across some dogs who seem to have a problem with water near their neck and head. But they seem to get over it after bathing dem often enough. theyll get used to it and everything should be fine as long as there arent any injuries there on the neck.

btw he's a good looking husky... :-)

The people I rescued him from did not give me much of a history at all other than "they rescued him as well". He was in bad shape when I got him (I could see his ribs as well as his hip bones and he had horrible diarrhea). He only has this issue when water touches his neck, he is fine with petting, rubbing, and collars. My first thought was abuse and possibly nerve damage caused by it (my boyfriend has the same reaction on his back with his messed up nerves). I've tried getting other people to help and it still ends badly. I don't want to push it too much and make it a bad experience for him overall.

And thank y'all for the compliments on him. I fell in love with him when I saw his pictures and drove to Roxboro to get him from Dunn (about a 2.5 hour drive). He is an amazing boy!