Where Do You Bathe Your Dogs?

[Guest hankodie]

So I noticed Hank is very stinky and needs a bath (probably the result of rolling in something gross :laugh:). In the past I have used the bathroom downstairs in the laundry to bathe him as it's quite convenient to leave him there to dry as the floors are tiled. If I leave him outside he just rolls in dirt and then treks it throughout the house....

Anyway, since then we have noticed a broken pipe in that bathroom so we currently aren't able to use it. I can't bathe him in the shower upstairs as he's getting too big! And he has a habit of rolling on all the carpets/furniture when he gets wet.

I was thinking of using the hydro bath at the vet's but I've never used one before. Are they easy to use?

I've never used a groomer either, I've seen mobile groomers around but how reliable are they? I'm a little picky about who I leave my dogs with

How does everyone else prefer to bathe their big dogs?

PS: Outside with the garden hose and plastic pool would be ideal but Hank HATES water/the hose so I can see that ending in disaster :laugh:

[minimax]

I chuck my guys in the shower with me sometimes, which then leads to them bashing on the shower screen to be let in when I dare shower on my own :laugh:

[Guest hankodie]

I chuck my guys in the shower with me sometimes, which then leads to them bashing on the shower screen to be let in when I dare shower on my own :laugh:

I do this with Odie too :laugh: and she loves it as well! She will stand there long after I turn the shower off and look at me like "can you turn it back on? just 2 more minutes" :laugh:

[Dory the Doted One]

Wash the dogs? What is this you speak of? Willow has had a total of two baths so far, and those were because she got rather stinky. I bath the dogs when they smell, or we have a show. (well that was one of Willow's baths so she had one stinky bath).

When we do bath them, I'm lucky, I can wash them at work which is a bathtub with a hot/cold shower attachment. At home, my daughter will chuck Dory in the shower with her, but she's small enough to do that.

When I wash them at home, I put them in the bath with warm water and an icecream container. Wet down, shampoo, rinse. Let that water out, add more clean fresh water and then rinse.

Taking them work is much easier. :laugh:

[JulesP]

I have my own hydrobath. Try the vet's hydrobath. They are easy to use but Hank may not appreciate it much! They are quite noisy and the water pressure is higher than from a hose.

[ari.g]

In the ocean :laugh:

[littleduck]

I bath Benji (a dalmatian) in the Laundry Trough... but he is only 10 weeks old!

However I also have a full grown Dally, and have taken him to those dog baths they have at Car washes, he loved it and they have a blow dryer attached as well so you could dry Hank off before putting him back in the car.

[minimax]

Wash the dogs? What is this you speak of? Willow has had a total of two baths so far, and those were because she got rather stinky. I bath the dogs when they smell, or we have a show. (well that was one of Willow's baths so she had one stinky bath).

When we do bath them, I'm lucky, I can wash them at work which is a bathtub with a hot/cold shower attachment. At home, my daughter will chuck Dory in the shower with her, but she's small enough to do that.

When I wash them at home, I put them in the bath with warm water and an icecream container. Wet down, shampoo, rinse. Let that water out, add more clean fresh water and then rinse.

Taking them work is much easier. :laugh:

I only bathe them when they roll in something stinky too (or get peed on), but it's still bathing.

[Guest hankodie]

I have my own hydrobath. Try the vet's hydrobath. They are easy to use but Hank may not appreciate it much! They are quite noisy and the water pressure is higher than from a hose.

He's a giant wuss so I am anticipating panic no matter what approach I take :laugh: Is the hydrobath closer to the ground or do you hoist the dog up? Is it just like a giant sink? (excuse my ignorance)

In the ocean :laugh:

So jealous of you people and your water-loving dogs :laugh: Hank is terrified of water! I've been taking him to the rock pool area near the beach to get him used to the little puddles there and he still panics every time his paws get wet!

I bath Benji (a dalmatian) in the Laundry Trough... but he is only 10 weeks old!

However I also have a full grown Dally, and have taken him to those dog baths they have at Car washes, he loved it and they have a blow dryer attached as well so you could dry Hank off before putting him back in the car.

Wow, I've never seen the ones at the car wash! I'll have to have a look next time. I was wondering about the drying off part too, my car smells of wet dog as it is :laugh:

[littleduck]

They have a great set up! heated water, and soap on tap... all the things you need ;)

I see them at most of those carwash set ups with the auto carwashes & bays to hydrolically (?) wash your car.

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

I wash my Pug in the shower. He loves it.

[Lasareina]

My two get done in the shower as well ... they are more stoic than overjoyed about it though :laugh:

I've often wondered with those ones at the car washes if you can take your own shampoo? Or is it like a premixed solution that comes out through the hose? Clearly no experience with hydrobaths here lol

[LisaCC]

I have a shower hose attachment I plug into my bath tub tap and wash him in there. One of those strainer plugs is good to stop the hair from blocking the drain.

The Pet Stock here has big hydrobath type things that spurts out shampoo and conditioner all at the right time, plus they have a blow dryer too I think. They are similar to the ones at car washes.

I think I'll need to use that next year for his first coat blow!

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Some of the pet supplies shops around Adelaide have dog washing facilities (hydrobath - high pressure hoses? and big stainless steel stinks and dryers?)) and some of the car wash places too. Pet stock and olivers come to mind. I think it costs around $20 - $25 depending which one you go to and whether you've got a discount voucher.

Mostly the only washing Frosty gets is at the beach - she swims and rolls in stinky coat conditioners, I hose her off with one of those $7 rubber hook hose on the bath tap shower thingies - I got from the supermarket, if it's really bad I apply some Baby shampoo and conditioner. And then I dry her off with a shammy (Chamois) leather - got from the auto supplies section of big w or wherever.

Bit of a brush with a rubber curry comb and we're done.

Sometimes I get the shampoo out at home, and I fill about four buckets with warm water and have a scoop (empty icecream tub)... scoop her wet, shampoo her, rinse off with scoop, dry as much as possible with shammy and towels and do not let her off the lead until she's quite dry or she finds the nearest dirt patch in the garden (or makes one) - and rolls in it. That's her idea of a good finish.

[JulesP]

I have my own hydrobath. Try the vet's hydrobath. They are easy to use but Hank may not appreciate it much! They are quite noisy and the water pressure is higher than from a hose.

He's a giant wuss so I am anticipating panic no matter what approach I take :laugh: Is the hydrobath closer to the ground or do you hoist the dog up? Is it just like a giant sink? (excuse my ignorance)

They are a bit off the ground, so you don't have to bend right over. Hoisting will be needed unless they have a ramp. Yes like a giant sink. The water comes out similar pressure to a spa bath jet. The idea is that you don't have to scrub the dog yourself, the water pressure does the washing. Most people still scrub by hand though.

Most places with a wash also have a dryer. This will possibly cause more angst than the bath.

[Alibi]

I would get him hydrobathed as the water pressure is great for washing out all the dead hair and skin, I always found with my pom I hardly ever had to brush her as hydro bathing did it for me.

[Sandra777]

Have my own hydrobath. If he's really phobic about water though I'm not sure a hydrobath would be great because the pump does make a bit of noise and combined with water.... well....

Mobile dog washers are probably OK because you're not "leaving" your dog anywhere - you can stand right there and watch if you want to. Only problem I have with communal hydrobaths whether they're in a pet shop, car wash or mobile trailer is you have no way of knowing what the dog before yours had and how well it was cleaned in between times.

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

I would get him hydrobathed as the water pressure is great for washing out all the dead hair and skin, I always found with my pom I hardly ever had to brush her as hydro bathing did it for me.

Yes, and it's even better if they have a thing called a 'wet vac' that sucks up all the hair with the water.

[Kavik]

I feel a bit mean - mine are done with the hose outside :laugh: Then they are put in the sun to dry before being brushed and allowed inside or to run around.

[silentchild]

We use the hydrobaths at PetStock, there's one just near my house so its easy and convenient. They are raised so I lift her into the bath. It's got a good high pressure hose that's great for getting coat out. My girl is deathly terrified of the blow dyer so we just skip it, not worth the stress. She gets a good towelling and great zoomies going in the garden to dry off instead, much more fun. That being said we've only bathed her a small amount of times since we got her. She will probably only get bathed once every six months or something, unless she rolls in something really stinky! I'm sure she approves of this arrangement as she hates bath time. :laugh:

I will have to try the shower bath like so many others in this thread do. :laugh: