I have a 5 month old husky. Should I wash him with cold hose water or warm shower water? The reason i ask is because I live in california and the temperature is high currently and want him to cool down with the cold water and because they are snow dogs and used to the cold weather.

Also after i wash him should I dry him or will he air dry?

Sorry for me being so naïve this is my first dog!

Thanks!!

Poooo, I answered you on the other thread. What I said we wash Miya in between cold and warm, all cold I don't thinks works (penetrates) their thick coat well. Miya hates a blow dryer so we towel her off and let the air finish the job. If you use blow dryer use light setting, too hot hurts their coat and skin.

^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you!! )

Btw, here in Texas the hose water is more warm than cold, so it may be fine this time of year.

No problem happy to help. We haven't seen your baby yet, and what's his name? Because of the heat get him a kiddie pool, don't cost much and they love it to cool off, cold water is fine then, if you're not washing him with shampoo.

I would say use a sensible temperature, too cold water from tap could brings temperature shock to dogs. Even showering/ bathing your dog at luke warm water would eventually lower the body temperature, think as the coat gets wet, the ability of capture heat is lower.That's why vet don't use cold water to lower animal's temperature which suffer heat stoke.

I do not want an argument here, but most vets will use ice and ice water to bring down a cat or dogs body temperature down, you obviously do not want to shock the system, however twice in my life I have seen ice water and ice packs used once for our dog many years ago and once with my cat about 10 years ago. If your pet is in a heated emergency slowly lowering body temp is the correct way, however ice has/is used for emergencies. These were observations that I personally witnessed at my vets, with no adverse reactions from either pet. I agree to what you say as far as no extreme temps when it's for normal activity such as playing outside or taking a bath.

Depends on what I'm trying to do- If I'm trying to coax dead coat/shedding coat out warm/hot bath. If I'm trying to bring coat in, cold bath. For young puppies, luke warm like you'd bathe a baby in if they need bath time. Most frequently I'd just use puppy wipes to get the quick clean on the young ones.

If you're washing him because he's dirty, then you've received some good advice.

If you're washing him because you think he's hot - don't!  That heavy fur they have acts just like the insulation if the attic.  It keeps the heat in when it's freezing outside and also keeps the high heat out when the sun is blazing away during the summer.
I live in the desert of south Texas where the summer temperature can range between 90 and 100F.  While it's way to hot for any exercise, my dogs adjust to it fine.  Of course they're most active during the early morning and late evening ...

Things to consider, normal air flow through their fur will keep their bodies at the right temperature for them.  (That's about 102/103f, btw)   I think most people who have doggy pools will agree that the dogs may go splashing, but very few of them get soaking wet - having very wet fur doesn't allow the fur to breath normally and you may easily end up with a dog who's hotter after you wet him down than he is before.

Huskymom and Al good advice as well. Just curious because you two are more experience than me, having multiples, Miya loves to swim, and I mean swim, she will be completely soaked to the point she looks half her weight, should I not let her swim on these hot Texas days, it was 108 on Saturday and she loves her swims. In her kiddie pool she does not get that wet. Also I use the wipes vs baths as well, for some reason she loves to swim but doesn't really like baths, we bathe her about twice a year otherwise it's baby wipes.

Okay, now I'm going to have to figure out what keys I'm hitting because I just wiped out an excellent response to this - now you're just going to have to settle for second best.

Renee, I think part of it has to do with the amount of fur / guard hair they have.  Miya appears to have a shorter coat and probably less fur than my Sasha has, more like Avalanche.   This is strictly supposition, but those dogs that have lighter coats will probably have more air movement so evaporative cooling is going to make them feel good.  Those with longer hair and heavier coats, like Sasha, are going to stay wet longer with less air movement and less cooling so won't benefit from the bath or swim. << shrugs >>  

Avalanche will go swimming in the streams and ponds down here, get out, shake off the excess water and he's happy.  Sasha, with her heavier coat will think about wading but has no desire to get soaking wet at all.  

I'd be inclined, in your case - if Miya likes to swim, let her.  She knows whether it makes her feel good (cooler) or not.  I won't drag Avalanche away from the pond if he wants to get wet, nor would I drag Sasha in to "cool her off".

I have learned some new stuff, thanks guys

Thanks Al for explaining it in more depth. I also understand using shampoos frequently dries out their skin, that's why we bathe her twice a year and then use baby wipes the rest of the time. I never bathe her in the winter. I have read that huskies don't smell. Miya's fur self cleans, and she cleans herself quite well. Her breath never stinks, but her fur does, I'm guessing it's because of her deep water swims. Baby wipes just doesn't cut it, they work great for a day or so, and work great when she scent rolls on gross stuff, don't get me wrong I'm grateful she doesn't eat gross stuff, lol. So why does she have stinky fur and is it ok to shampoo her more often?

I did an edit to let everyone know, that Miya seems healthy no ear issues, or butt problems(and if it is anal sac problems, secondary question here: I've read not to get them expressed, because it causes more problems down the road), her smell is not necessarily her back end, it's honestly her fur. I looked up under the search here and really no specifics or answers to these questions, Thanks ahead of time.

Miya, I think you're right on about the cause for the odor in her fur. There are, in most bodies of water in the US, a plethora of bacteria. It doesn't take too much of a stretch to assume that her odor is coming from there. Have you tried rinsing her off after you come home from a swim? Just a garden hose and a few minutes of fresh, clean water may eliminate the problem.

Your comment about anal sacs is interesting to me since I haven't heard about a possibility of expressing them causing other potential problems down the road - anyone???

The more you get them expressed, the more you'll have to get them expressed. Also leads to more possibility of infection, possible cancer, etc.

Renee, it could also be yeast if she takes a long time to dry. It's better to try to dry her as well as possible after a swim or bath to prevent moisture from sticking in the coat.

Thank you Al and Ashleigh, I will do the hose off thing and then have fun drying her off, it's always a game to her. She hates the vet and doesn't care for groomers, yet she will sit perfectly for me. Wanted to avoid the expressing thing at all costs. When I give her a bath and towel dry her she never stinks, so after a swim I'll rinse her and towel her and see if that works.

simplify wrote:

The more you get them expressed, the more you'll have to get them expressed. Also leads to more possibility of infection, possible cancer, etc.

Oh, okay, thanks - learn something new every day! I don't have a problem with either of these two, but Misty would occasionally go into the "butt dragging" routine and it was always an anal sack problem.

simplify wrote:

Renee, it could also be yeast if she takes a long time to dry. It's better to try to dry her as well as possible after a swim or bath to prevent moisture from sticking in the coat.

Hadn't thought about that, but it could well be. Yeasts are all too common ...

I have a couple suggestions in terms of baths. Living in the gritty concrete jungle, Diz gets dirty pretty fast. He ends up getting a bath at the very least once a month, and often times on a weekly basis. I use this shampoo. I was letting him play in the water multiple times a day during our really hot weather and he got a bad ear infection and it was smelly! I thought he needed another bath until I checked his ears and then I realized that it was very irritated and stinky. I have gotten that under control now, and the smell has gone away with no bath. I haven't noticed any adverse effects from frequent baths, but I do use the hvd and completely dry him every time. If I don't his skin does get irritated, and his white fur between the back legs starts to stain and turn a reddish brown, similar to tear stains in color.

I think Ashleigh is probably right in that you might want to try toweling her off a little more thoroughly, especially her belly. By the way, the dryer I use is this one. Also, how often do you brush her? Spending 10-15 min with the undercoat rake will do wonders for Diz, especially during coat blowing season, and especially if he has been spending a lot of time in the water.

Thanks for the shampoo link, we usually take her to town DIY doggy wash is $5, it gives her a ride to tire her, so we never really wash her at home. She is petrified of the dryers, even when we took her to the groomers once, however she loves my husbands air compressor, haha, maybe I'll use that to dry her it's not hot air just compressed. Does that dryer make a lot of noise Jen? I think it's the noise factor that troubles her. That's why I've always toweled her off, it's a game to her and we have fun. She never smells after doggy wash/towel dry. I'm a little bit on the obnoxious side of puppy mom, I check everything on her pretty much daily, so no ear problems. The only bad habit I guess is not brushing her daily, her blow coats are minimal and I will brush and rake when she does blow coat. Otherwise I tend to brush with my hands. Is that a bad thing? She never gets matted, her fur is glossy, shiny, bright. She cleans herself like a cat would, so I never really thought to brush on a daily/weekly basis. If it's something that needs to be done, I'd gladly do it for her, I have the time, we just spend that time cuddling and playing. Explain the benefits of brushing more often, please. I'm really leaning to what Al said, our lakes and ponds are dirty and I shower after I swim with her, so makes sense for me to rinse her as well. If you don't mind answering the dryer and brush questions Jen, I'd appreciate it. To the original OP and any new husky owners I will add this is a great thread for learning how to maintain your dogs coat.

Thanks again,

Renee

I didn't want to single out just Jen so if someone else can explain the benefits of me brushing more often I would like to know. I did want to mention her coat is quite soft as well. To her belly comment on drying her, she doesn't have much fur on her last third of her belly towards her tail end, stupid vets shaved her last winter when she had a UTI, they put her out, shaved her, then x-rayed???? then drew blood, just to determine she had a UTI. So needless to say not much need to brush there. Will it ever grow back? I mean it's way less fur there than anywhere else on her, thin fur I guess you would say, you can see her pink belly. I don't want to appear dumb, but I truly feel asking these questions can help others. My forte is not in the grooming aspect of huskies, haha. Jen I'm going to get me the shampoo and have it on hand, when we don't want to travel to town, so thanks again for your recommendation.

Renee

MiyasMomma wrote:

I didn't want to single out just Jen so if someone else can explain the benefits of me brushing more often I would like to know. I did want to mention her coat is quite soft as well. To her belly comment on drying her, she doesn't have much fur on her last third of her belly towards her tail end, stupid vets shaved her last winter when she had a UTI, they put her out, shaved her, then x-rayed???? then drew blood, just to determine she had a UTI. So needless to say not much need to brush there. Will it ever grow back? I mean it's way less fur there than anywhere else on her, thin fur I guess you would say, you can see her pink belly. I don't want to appear dumb, but I truly feel asking these questions can help others. My forte is not in the grooming aspect of huskies, haha. Jen I'm going to get me the shampoo and have it on hand, when we don't want to travel to town, so thanks again for your recommendation.

Renee

Brushing- improve the skin blood circulation, relaxation (most of the dogs), remove the dead hair/fur, avoid coat get tangle, promote a better health coat

I don't understand why are you so angry with the vet who shaved the dog's fur of infection area to tried to keep it clean during the treatment. Hair/ fur can trap moist and warm where bacteria would love to grow in this condition. That would not be helpful for UTI especially a she.

Blood sampling does required to clip a bit from the leg to be draw blood from. So the needle goes where should be go.

I think most dogs have less fur in that area, Dizzy does as well and I can see his belly. If she was not spayed at the time of the UTI, it's possible they were concerned about pyometra, which can be a life threatening emergency.

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/pyometra-in-dogs/915

Brushing is just good maintenance for all of the reasons Grizzly&Charcoal mentioned. Dizzy's undercoat is so dense, that it doesn't come out unless I actually get out the rake. Tasha used to lose hers in tufts, but Diz (so far) doesn't blow that way. For him, there is a lot of loose undercoat on him at any given time. It also gets stuff out of their fur that you might not normally notice. Diz gets these tiny, pinhead sized burrs in his coat from some bushes in our park, and brushing gets them out, otherwise, they get buried in his fur next to his skin.

Renee - I can whole heartedly attest to the fact that swimming in creeks, streams, ponds (at least around here) can definitely make a STINKY dog    There is algae, bacteria, molds, decaying vegetation...Ami gets in it all. Even his leash will stink! I've taken to filling the kiddie pool after Ami gets wet - he likes to dig in it and it gets all the muck and sand out of his belly and paws. That's as deep as Ami will go - suspect he's aware his thick coat might drown him  

On the other hand - the rain leaves him marvelously soft, sweet smelling 

As far as brushing - I can get maybe 5 - 10 minutes at a time (while he is chewing a bone, digging in a chipmunk hole or otherwise occupied  ) His coat comes out in big tufts so I am constantly picking at him - I get a packed baggie full on every walk  

One other stink source - both Ami and Archer are stinky after eating their beef bones - they hold the bones with their front paws and the blood and fat get impregnated in the fur...until the finally lick it all off. I suspect some stink also comes from them grooming the rest of themselves after licking off the paws...When the stink hangs around, I use the waterless foam shampoo (or hope for a rain!)

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Everyone.

Grizz, I'm mad at our vets for numerous reasons, whole other thread for that. Please correct me if I'm wrong - Miya was spayed in April 2013, Uti occurred November 2013. We told vet she was constantly licking herself, wanting to pee more with less coming out, they got a pee sample right off.....It goes down hill from there, vet got fat lip, black eye from Miya. My opinion was run lab work for the pee first then start on the more invasive shaving belly and x-rays. Just my opinion. This vet practice is a high stressed area, people running around cows and horses making their sounds, I think after the fat lip and black eye he wanted to make sure it cost enough to make up for his trouble, it shouldn't cost $250 to tell me my girl has a Uti, am I wrong? It's a pretty common problem, she had the signs, am I missing something as far as determining a Uti?

Ok back on subject, I will start a better routine on brushing her sides, top and under chest, there is nothing to brush her lower third of her belly, I bought a love glove and I will see if it doesn't bother her there. She is very good with me brushing her, except there and I think the brush is too rough. even after her spay her hair didn't grow back well, so they shaved for no real reason, if I can manage a pic I will try and take one to show you. She has a beautiful, short, thick coat everywhere, but there and I am baffled as to why? With her coat so short, when she does blow coat it comes out in tufts as well. With those who have cats, she cleans just like one, never has her hair mat, I'm surprised she doesn't get hair balls. She is a very pristine dog as to how she grooms herself. I think since Jen bathes Dizzy frequently without issue, I'll up her shampoos and see if this helps more, as well as rinsing her off after swims. Amy good thing Ami doesn't get all wet, ugggg he would be a bigger mess.

MiyasMomma wrote:

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Everyone.

Grizz, I'm mad at our vets for numerous reasons, whole other thread for that. Please correct me if I'm wrong - Miya was spayed in April 2013, Uti occurred November 2013. We told vet she was constantly licking herself, wanting to pee more with less coming out, they got a pee sample right off.....It goes down hill from there, vet got fat lip, black eye from Miya. My opinion was run lab work for the pee first then start on the more invasive shaving belly and x-rays. Just my opinion. This vet practice is a high stressed area, people running around cows and horses making their sounds, I think after the fat lip and black eye he wanted to make sure it cost enough to make up for his trouble, it shouldn't cost $250 to tell me my girl has a Uti, am I wrong? It's a pretty common problem, she had the signs, am I missing something as far as determining a Uti?

Ok back on subject, I will start a better routine on brushing her sides, top and under chest, there is nothing to brush her lower third of her belly, I bought a love glove and I will see if it doesn't bother her there. She is very good with me brushing her, except there and I think the brush is too rough. even after her spay her hair didn't grow back well, so they shaved for no real reason, if I can manage a pic I will try and take one to show you. She has a beautiful, short, thick coat everywhere, but there and I am baffled as to why? With her coat so short, when she does blow coat it comes out in tufts as well. With those who have cats, she cleans just like one, never has her hair mat, I'm surprised she doesn't get hair balls. She is a very pristine dog as to how she grooms herself.  I think since Jen bathes Dizzy frequently without issue, I'll up her shampoos and see if this helps more, as well as rinsing her off after swims. Amy good thing Ami doesn't get all wet, ugggg he would be a bigger mess.

Oh dear! I feel sorry for both of you. I surprise that the vet didn't tell you what are they going to do and just did it without your agreement. I would pretty much frustrate like you does if I am in your shoes. Maybe you shall take a bit time to look up other vet clinic.

RE: coat, there is some supplement you can use and they claim these would be helpful, things like fish oil, kelp powder. Apart from that, type of diet would make different as well.

Re: brush, personally use rank and slicker brush, which might be little be too much for the belly bit in yours, but mine one is ok. So I would say brush with round tips would be gentle enough and provide a good deep massage.

Hope that help and All the best!