I just got my pup Kobi yesterday, we did our first bath today and it went decently well but it was quite difficult. He was running around moving and scratching all over the place.

Is there any tips or even accessories I could buy that can help?
By the way he is only 8 Weeks old.

Thanks everyone.

Tony

what were you trying to wash him in? in the summer i use a ground stake and hook the leash to it and wash them with the hose so they cant get away, and during the winter i take them to a self dog wash place, i love that the most, temp controlled water, super vac dryer and its raised so no broken back and the mess stays there! i found a place that is $10 a dog, i might just do that from now on as they get a bath maybe every 2-3 months...

Then- I used to remove everything from the bathroom, put towels behind the door, and take my clothes off to wash Tasha. Total insanity resulted: water and soap on the ceiling, she squirming out of my grasp, me falling down, lakes of water on the tile. After I was done, Tasha would hide from me.

Now- I go to Beauty for the Beast, a dog washing business. They have open-ended tanks, special collars to hold the dogs in the tanks, and industrial strength dryers. The best thing about it is that the mess and flying fur does not end up in your house! Bodhi is not happy with getting bathed, but he is not hysterical.

Sounds like you were bathing him at home?
I think bathing a pup at home is do-able, but us, we prefer the self-wash tubs. The mess stays there for them to clean up, and you hook them up to a very short tether in the tub so they can't move around so much. Plus, most places provide all the shampoo, towels you'll need and an apron for you to wear so you don't get so wet in the body. Plus they have the high velocity dryers.

Man I wish I lived where there were doggie washes. I use a Rapid Bath and doggie bathtub at home and it works really well. Only drawback is no Hi Velocity dryer. Have to use towels darnit!!! Still the Rapid Bath system is worth its weight in Gold!!!

Where do you live Beck? I'm sure they have one! We go to Wag'n'Wash and loooove it.

beck3465 wrote:

Man I wish I lived where there were doggie washes. I use a Rapid Bath and doggie bathtub at home and it works really well. Only drawback is no Hi Velocity dryer. Have to use towels darnit!!! Still the Rapid Bath system is worth its weight in Gold!!!

we go to city bark and it is a boarding/daycare place that has 2 tubs for use, it is by chance i was calling around and found out, i think that is why its so cheap there not really in the business of dog baths i think they offer it as an option for the ones that use the daycare part of it, the high vac dryers do rock!

All it took was one bath in the tub and one bath outside for me to learn never to do that again!

In the tub our sibe was constantly jumping out and it was back breaking work bathing him like that.

Outside, well all I can say is slippery when wet = husky escape. Luckily he ran straight to the door to go inside the house rather than gallivanting around the neighborhood...sure gave me the scare of my life though.

What works wonders for me is bathing him in a walk in shower with a DOOR! No more worrying about him jumping out of the tub or getting loose outside and no having to tie him down...it's a pain working around a collar or harness when bathing. Another plus to the walk in shower is when the dog shakes it doesn't mess up the whole bathroom, it stays in the shower! We both get into the walk in shower together and he endures the bathing torture fairly well.

It gets better with practice.

...but not if you ask Dakota!


No tie downs, super easy!


And having a shower hose extension/attachment is a huge help!


Afterward towel dry and take him outside with the high velocity dryer and done!

+1 for stand-up shower with a door! Siku excaped the tub too easily, is a little whimp when it comes to cold hose water, and like to embarrass me by screaming and talking loudly if I bring her to a dog wash place. You'd think I was trying to kill her! But I wash my two almost weekly and trim their nails after each bath, so their pretty used to it now.

I too tried the in the shower deal and NEVER AGAIN! Wow, talk about water and hair EVERYWHERE! I now bath them outside tied up to the gate. My main issue is the drying. I go threw 3 towels and they're still wet! Tried bringing them into the bathroom and blow drying them...yeah...pointless...lol

If its warm enough I take mine out on the deck, hook a leash from the deck to the dog and use a hose ran out from the kitchen sink for temp control. In the winter we do the nightmare in the tub!

Yes door on shower would be a huge + but not in this house. I am all for the self wash place, and jack screems bloody hell and I warn everyone before we start.

Do it yourself grooming places are popping up everywhere. I have never been brave enough to bathe Miko at home, I struggle enough brushing her. I do take her to Petsmart, and when she was a pup they only charged $15.99 for a bath and brushed which included pad shaving, nail trimming and ear cleaning(I just ask that they don't spritz her with the doggie body spray afterward it really doesn't smell good). And they do a fantastic job with her!

No doggie washes here. I live at Crystal Beach on Bolivar Peninsula across the bay from Galveston,Tx. Really small, mostly vacation homes, and about 300 year round residents.

We have a walking in shower with the removable shower head that we use with Reiko. He's pretty good with it, but I think he freezes up with fear? lol. I have to towel dry him because he made he quite clear that blow drying was out of the question

Most dogs are afraid of dryers at first, especially high velocity dryers. As with bathing, the more they are exposed to it the better they get about it. The first time I used an HV dryer on my sibe he fought and screamed and acted like it was killing him (he was terrified of it) but over time he gradually became desensitized to it to the point that now i can blow out his coat with the HV dryer and he's content to lay down and fall asleep while I do it.

Where do you get an HV dryer for dog drying?
Is it expensive?

I bought mine on ebay but you can find them at a lot of pet supply online places as well. PetEdge sells them, you can even find some on amazon, and of course a whole host of other places.

A decent HV dryer runs anywhere from about $200 - $400, of course there are some that are cheaper and others that are much more expensive but the $200 - $400 range will get you a decent dryer for the average home grooming needs.

I have a K-9 Mini which sells for around $260, I bought mine from a fantastic seller on ebay and it cost $260 but with $60 back in rebates it only ended up costing me $200...not a bad deal at all.

I never carried over my HV dryer thread from other forums so I will try to do that today.

thanks Val!

cmanding wrote:

Where do you get an HV dryer for dog drying?
Is it expensive?

I've seen HV Dryers listed on Craigslist every so often. I'm lucky Adobo will shake when I tell her to, Biko is starting to understand what shake means.

(Easy way to teach them to shake is to gently blow in their ear and tell them shake amazing how fast they pick up on that.)