Winter baths

[HeatherH]

Oh what funny.
Dutch has been smelling quite musky lately. Yeah! problem is it's anywhere from -10 to -24 with the windchill. Usually with my other dogs I clean them in the stand up shower and leave them in the basement to dry seek revenge what have you. New digs new bathroom no stand up shower and I'm not picking him up to plop into scratch the new tub. so tomorrow I think I'm dare saying it to a groomer. Stop laugh really stop laughing. I swear if they put a bow on him I'm taking a picture, then I'm going to get mad.

What do you do when they get musky smelling?

Heather

[HeatherH]

woops wrong place.

[Dutchringgirl]

Moved

HAHA

There are new pet stores around me that have Do It Yourself bathing. I love them. THey have dryers but no way with eithe of them let me near them with it. You MUST take pictures !!

[Starlight Pilot]

You could also try spray on kitty shampoo that doesn't need to be rinsed or the EarthBath wipes. I use those in the winter when I have to.

[Stacy_R]

Bathtub + hairdryer. Or groomer. Tyson loves his groomer...Thomas.

[HeatherH]

I chickened out and went for the wiping so stay tuned. lol

[johninny]

every rain is an opportunity for a good wipe down. can keep a dog very clean if get enough rain

[LyonsFamily]

You need a rubber mat with whole in it cut to the shape of your tub and a suction cup with handles from harbor freight. Put the mat down, suction the handles to the tub wall, tie the dog to the handles and you're good to go. I have a grooming salon, so it's not a problem for us, but I did house call grooming for a while in Chicago and bathed dogs in bathtubs all the time. You can make a bathing machine with a pump, hose, car wash spray nozzle that holds soap and a 5 gallon bucket. He'd be bathed in less than 5 minutes, no bows either. Odin does appreciate a good spiderman bandanna though.

If you'd like pictures of the fancy contraption, I still use it in my salon because it cleans dogs so well and fast.

[Stacy_R]

Tyson actually enjoys the bath part because of the massaging that goes along with it. It is the drying that he struggles with. It takes forever to dry him with a hair dryer and he gets impatient. I just don't have the $$$ laying around to invest in a professional grooming forced air dryer...

[johninny]

just curious, why use a dryer rather than a towel; is there a reason besides preference/convenience, less mess? i realize how that makes sense for Stephanie and her business. but is there a reason concerning the dogs that makes blow-drying better. [ i have never even used one myself - don't have one.] my dogs LOVE the drying off part with a towel, pushing themselves into it to help me.

[LyonsFamily]

For a dog like a DS, there's no need to hand dry if you don't have access to a professional high velocity dryer, a towel would work fine unless you have a long or rough coat. I wouldn't use a small human hair dryer at all. I don't like the heat for a dog and it really wouldn't go much faster than really good toweling and air drying. For a poodle, it has it's purposes. For a shorthair dogs, fast drying is mainly about rinsing really well and toweling thoroughly.

If you really want to speed up the drying process to protect the house or because it's colder out, you can get a carpet blower and let the dog sit in front of it while it blows room temperature air.

There are many advantages to the high velocity dryer. It can blow out undercoat way better than any brushing or raking could do. I also use it to check the skin for any parasites, dryness, thorns, etc as it parts the hair when it blows and it's really easy to see the skin and is quite fast for a full body check.

[HeatherH]

Very good ideas I can use the bath mat then keep him in the kitchen till he dries. I can't see using anything to dry him with other then a towel and time. He always growls and tries to bite any contraption I turn on. I'm surprised when he hasn't had his tongue sliced of by the trimmer in the summer.

Thanks.

[Stacy_R]

There are many advantages to the high velocity dryer. It can blow out undercoat way better than any brushing or raking could do. I also use it to check the skin for any parasites, dryness, thorns, etc as it parts the hair when it blows and it's really easy to see the skin and is quite fast for a full body check.

This is why I want one. When I use the hair dryer, I put it on low heat setting and go back & forth, not camping out in one spot. I still want a grooming drier... I may have to check craigslist!

[LyonsFamily]

You can also get a small shop vac that goes in reverse and convert the nozzle to a smaller one that accepts regular hv dryer attachments. The very best nozzle for drying a short haired dog is a flat water peeler nozzle. http://clippervac.cm-hosting.com/catalog.php?item=181 If you want a variable speed dryer to turn it down when you do heads, ears, or to introduce the dog to it gradually, add a plug in rheostat dial http://www.amazon.com/SE-Electronic-Ste ... s=rheostat. If you shop harbor freight for or clearance/sale sections for the shop vac, you can have a great setup for under $50.

It works better than a lot of the single motor hv dryers and with that nozzle, you'll have no problem with a dog like a DS. I'd never give up my k9-II in a million years, but shop vacs are a really good inexpensive alternative. Just make sure that it's a wet/dry vac so it's set up electrically for wet environments and you should never use the vacuum for vacuuming because it'll start to smell after a while if there was stuff inside, especially wet stuff.

If you were local, I'd give you my old metro dryer. I've been trying to give it away for 2 years now, but it's cursed. I've mailed it off to different people 3 times and the postal carriers keep breaking it, no matter how well I package it. Luckily, my dad can fixed everything and it works fine, but it's really ugly.

[Stacy_R]

Thank you for the tips! My husband is super handy, so I will check out the shop vac route. If you want to try a 4th time for the metro, I'll be happy to take it off your hands! I will pay for shipping.

[LyonsFamily]

Thank you for the tips! My husband is super handy, so I will check out the shop vac route. If you want to try a 4th time for the metro, I'll be happy to take it off your hands! I will pay for shipping.

If you want it, you can have. I'll pull it out of storage sometime this weekend and make sure everything works. I haven't used it in a while since I have my big one now. It was my backup for when I was doing housecall grooming and my k9-II flipped a breaker since it doesn't pull many amps. If your husband is handy, you should be fine with it should something else happen in transit, but hopefully you'll have better luck. It has a brand new cord, plug, and switch. I promise I'll pack it super tightly.

Send me a PM with your address and I can get you a quote for shipping and we can do PayPal if that works for you. If you have a business address you can ship to like your work or your husband's, it'll be cheaper, but I have a business account with FedEx and USPS and insurance is included, so I get a good discount either way.

[Starlight Pilot]

I have a small metro blaster and I lOVE IT! I wouldn't want to dry a double coated dog without one! If you do have to dry your dog without one, towel dry then put the dog in a crate with a fan and heater...keep an eye on him so he doesn't get too hot tho.

[Stacy_R]

Send me a PM with your address and I can get you a quote for shipping and we can do PayPal if that works for you. If you have a business address you can ship to like your work or your husband's, it'll be cheaper, but I have a business account with FedEx and USPS and insurance is included, so I get a good discount either way.

On it!!!