Just been watching the New Dog Whisperer (said very quietly)

Seems they have this great idea in USA of self service dog grooming parlours, like in this country we may have public laundries they have dog grooming parlours.

What a great idea for people that don't have big bath rooms and can't always give the dogs a brush and tickle when they need it, just pop into a self service parlour.

Do we have this over here if not can anybody set one up in Swindon, I have 6 minging pooches that found a swamp yesterday and they're not due to visit the groomer again til Jan, they only went 3 weeks ago sob sob sob

There is one in Glasgow, but that might be a tad far away for you       Alternatively just pay someone like me to do it for you

I do have a groomer I can use if I am desperate and short of time who understand the beardie coat...but under normal circumstances I just bung them in the bath !!

There are tons of self service hydrobaths or bathing rooms here in Queensland.  Mostly in either pet shops or existing grooming parlours.

> There is one in Glasgow

Bit too far for me to come

> Alternatively just pay someone like me to do it for you

I do that already, every 3 months all 6 go to their beautician

It's just that the horrors found a swampy mess on their last walk and if I could have taken them to a 'dog launderette I would have

So when I saw these self service grooming parlours on Dog Whisperer with lovely big stainless steel baths and big dryers I just thought it was a great idea and wished we had such a thing in this country considering our slighty damp climate

> but under normal circumstances I just bung them in the bath !!

I can and do do that with my little Shelties and they're not too bad with the hair dryer but the GR is too big to lift into the bath and she takes too long too dry, the BC would rather lick her self clean than enter the bathroom

What a great idea. My Golden Retriever Candy gets rotten every day in the park. She is not happy unless she can roll in the mud and will search out every puddle. She is very nearly white and looks a teriible mess after her walk. She looks like a waif and stray. A good hose down and a lay in the sun to dry is ok in summer but in winter is far too cold. Half an hour with the hair dryer is no use and it takes all day to dry. A charge would have to be made of course but could be an extra earner for groomers, reaching those of us with breeds that do not require a groomers talents. Roll on someone in Liverpool doing this.

but could be an extra earner for groomers, reaching those of us with breeds that do not require a groomers talents.
I'm afraid that I wouldn't have let anyone loose in my parlour with all the expensive equipment in there.  It wouldn't be an extra earner if the blaster or dryer was knocked over and it's not difficult to burn the dog with a 3kw dryer if the owner didn't remember to keep it moving!

Anyone with a number of dogs or even one dog that regularly needs bathing would find a folding wall table (£25 from IKEA) and dryer a good investment.  But most working/gundogs that haven't been clipped or neutered have weatherproof coats which dry quickly and debris easy to brush out with a slicker when dry.

I agree  with westcoast a good investment.

My breed can take the whole day to dry and thats using a hairdryer/blaster if I do it  !! the groomer can do it in two hrs but two groomers work on one dog and the feet will still be slightly damp the next day! and we have 3<G>

Ask them to show you how to do it Starryeyes.  I can bath and dry most breeds (no trimming and with minimal knots!) - not Newfies - in under an hour with a blaster and dryer.  Beardies no problem.

There's one round the corner from me!  It's not always open as I understand that business is not very regular. 

Haven't used it as have all the kit at home! 

probably if I put my mind to it I could do it quicker I leave them to dry naturally for a few hours then finish ... its not that I dont know how to do it!!
( I do them all together)

I`ve seen these "doggy Launderettes" too, whilst surfing the net for a bath big enough for my beast.....Wish there were some over here, it would be a godsend to me with Tangle, a 12mth old Komondor just starting to cord!!

I don`t think there is a groomer insane enough to take him on in my area (the way he looks at the moment I`d probably be accused of mistreating him lol).

Ah well I`ll just have to keep with dunking him in the family bath and then wrapping him in towels for a day...or two

I have a large Flattie and he is the one who gets wetter and muddier than the others. I towel dry him as best I can then put an old thick cotton shirt (one of hubby's old ones......same size of chest!) on him to do the rest. Gets his chest and front legs nice and dry and more importantly he can come into the warmth of the sitting room and not get dirt everywhere while he dries off.
Sap that he is seems to enjoy wearing it and stands ready to get it on when he comes in.

With three Bernies I am living in a perminent swamp at home at the moment. I can and do bath them under the hose in all weathers...they don't seem to feel the cold at all!! but it takes ages to blast them all dry. We just come into the utility (Wash really dirty feet first under the hose) them have an abundance of towels and rub rub rub!!! The puppy will run up and down the three dog beds rolling around in the blankets trying to get dry so I have learnt to remove the blankets when I go out and only replace them when they have been dried off!!  The two older girlies don't get so bad but puppy face is heavily into racing through muddy puddles, the bigger the better at the moment and she looks like a refugee from a dogs home by the time we get home! The inside of my car is a disgrace they will insist on getting in then shaking and the whole of the inside is a nice splattered mud pattern now! We have just bought an L200 Misubishi and had it caged out inside so they will be completly seperate from the seating area (it has a seperate cab on the back..and lovly leather seats inside)....must start to use it but the passat is so grubby now I am reluctant to make the new one dirty!!! They are all learning how to get in and out of the L200 by ramp still and not launching themselves off the back to get out? ever tried catching a flying 6 stone idiot puppy? Oh what fun...but a trail of treats down the ramp is proving a good insentive to walk down slowly so as not to miss one!! I think I am washing 6 large towels every day at the moment...thank goodness for the tumble dryer.
We only got back from Tenerife on Sunday and boy do I miss that sunshine and the 90 degree temperatures!!!
Aileen

> ever tried catching a flying 6 stone idiot puppy?

lol....Sorry I shouldn`t laugh but that did make me chuckle, I have a vision of a scene out of Dumbo in my head now

> I'm afraid that I wouldn't have let anyone loose in my parlour with all the expensive equipment in there

I certainly wouldn't expect a professional groomer let J.P. loose with their expensive equipment

> Anyone with a number of dogs or even one dog that regularly needs bathing would find a folding wall table (£25 from IKEA) and dryer a good investment.

Lovely idea but I just don't have the space, not sure how I manage to fit 6 dogs into the space I have got

I just thought it would be really useful between grooming sessions if I could chuck the filthy beasts into the back of my wagon and take them to the local 'baths' for a wash and brush up.

Like in the old days for people, before washing machines became the norm and you were lucky if you had a twin tub, in those days lots of people relied on the laundermat, I just think a 'Dogdermat' would be really useful and a good business venture if somebody would do it over here, nothing fancy just great big stainless steel sinks and big dryers, nobody need 'man' them they could be coin slot operated like the old laundermats.

Oh and I've brushed my little devils out, now I've got 12 dog towels to wash and dry in this rank weather, and they all smell sweet, the dogs that is not the towels

It's OK for people who brush their dogs regularly but just imagine the state of a dog that hasn't been brushed for 3 months+, then plunged into a bath and perhaps blasted.  A typical pet beardie could end up with a layer of felt that would be almost impossible to brush out and would take days for the coat to dry completely.  I have had a dog like that for grooming.  The only thing to do was to clip the coat off and it was wet at skin level.  He had been bathed two days previously at home!!

My thoughts exactly westielady. For those that are regularly brushed (properly!), it may be a good idea, but others most definitely not!