In general, dogs need to be bathed once a month or so. While giving your dog a bath just 12 times per year may not seem like much of a burden, it can be. If you take your dog to a groomer, you’ll incur yet another ongoing expense to keep your pet clean. When you bathe your dog at home instead, you might be in for 12 very long days if your dog isn’t a fan of baths.
One reason some dogs are reluctant at best to have a bath is the drying off process. Just like wetting your pet and shampooing them are vital pieces to the bathing puzzle, so is drying your dog. If you’re wondering if you should let your dog air dry, the answer is no, you shouldn’t. You should consider drying your pet to be an integral part of the bathing process, just like scrubbing your dog is.
Dog Drying Techniques
While some pet owners are content to let their dogs air dry, you shouldn’t be. When you let your dog air dry, they’ll be at risk for fungus growing between their paw pads and in locations where their legs attach to their torso. If your dog has long hair, their fur may become matted if you let them air dry after a bath. Also, when left to their own devices, a lot of dogs will roll on the floor or furniture to dry their coat, which will defeat the point of a bath and make a mess of your floors or furniture.
Here are some tips for drying your dog after bathing them. For most dogs, drying off is a two-step process that starts with towels and ends with a dryer.
How to Dry a Dog After a Bath: Towels
To dry your dog after a bath, you should have at least one towel near the tub. If your dog is large, you may have to use two or three towels to start the drying process. You need to use absorbent towels, so you may want to pick up some microfiber towels you’ll use only for drying off your pet.
Many dog owners rub their pets vigorously with a towel after bathing their dog, but that’s not the best technique. Starting with your dog’s head and working backward to their tail, you should use a towel to gently squeeze water out of their hair. Just as you should go from head to tail, you should work from your dog’s backside down to their belly, legs and paws as you dry them off.
How to Dry a Dog After a Bath: Dryers
The key to using a dryer on your dog is to understand that it’s the airflow, not the heat that will remove excess water from your dog’s coat. You also have to use caution when you dry your dog with a force dyer, taking care to never point the nozzle toward your dog’s face, ears or genitals.
Place the nozzle of the dryer just above your dog’s skin. Move the nozzle back and forth in short strokes so that your dog feels like you’re giving a massage as you’re drying them off. As you move onto other parts of your dog’s coat, sections you’ve already blown off may get wet again, so you may have to go back over areas where you already used the dryer.
Find an All Paws Pet Wash Near You
Although the tips shared above are helpful, the best advice you’ll ever get for bathing and drying your dog is to find a conveniently located All Paws Pet Wash. Our self-serve pet washes have everything you need to bathe and dry your dog without making a mess in your home.
Find an All Paws Pet Wash near you now!
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