# What room do you blow dry your dog?



## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I do it in the living room and just vacuum afterwards then after it's had a few hours to settle out of the air, I dust from top down.  I also wear a mosquito netted hat when I do it to keep the fur out of my eyes, nose, mouth.


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## Oceanside (Mar 29, 2021)

Creamgogo said:


> I just purchased a dog blow dryer. I’m curious as to how to keep the fur from blasting all over the house. 🤣 I understand it can be done outside, but soon old man winter will be upon us. ❄ Any thoughts? Thank you!


I keep a table set up next to the tub/sink in my basement. Sometimes we set up outside in the summer. Seeing the amount of fur and dust that stirs up from drying, there is no way I would do it in a living space, personally.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Oceanside said:


> I keep a table set up next to the tub/sink in my basement. Sometimes we set up outside in the summer. Seeing the amount of fur and dust that stirs up from drying, there is no way I would do it in a living space, personally.


Basement here too. We have a finished Michigan basement (house built into hill so basement is first floor you walk in through). Tiled floor, etc.

My family would kill me if I groomed up in the living room 😂


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Megora said:


> My family would kill me if I groomed up in the living room 😂


 LOL! In my defense, it's either the living room, or the bedroom (or outside). We have no basements here and no spare rooms. I did get a nice canopy so I can groom outside more often and not come away brunt to a crisp. If the dogs are blowing coat, I will try to blow them outside. But if that isn't available, inside will do and we'll clean up the fall out.


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

Outside in the summer. Basement in the winter (or too cold outside for me). When they are blowing coat, the amount of fur that goes all over the place is awful. Fur everywhere. I don't think my neighbors appreciate it.
When in the basement I hang up plastic sheeting to try and contain the fur to just a section of the basement. But it doesn't really help much. Isn't really worth the hassle to be honest.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Outside even in the winter. We occasionally hit a 50 degree day even in Jan. or Feb. which means a driveway bath and blow dry on the deck. If that doesn't happen soon enough in the winter we go to a dog wash. I can't imagine doing it inside.


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

At my groomers shop, done by my groomer, because bathing and grooming dogs is not my idea of a good time


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Taz Monkey said:


> At my groomers shop, done by my groomer, because bathing and grooming dogs is not my idea of a good time


If you want something done right, you do it yourself.


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## mariartist (8 mo ago)

We have lots of self cleaning places near me, even a 24 hour one. I don’t like cleaning and have a small house with no garage so im probably going to keep taking him to those. I haven’t really dealt with a lot of fur as ranger is still a puppy and hasn’t had too many baths yet 🥴


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## Sankari (12 mo ago)

Living room because I have these huge door/windows (floor to ceiling)? I don't know how to call them 😬 I open them and then direct most of the hair out onto my yard. Reason why I do that is because we already have a huge linden tree from our neighbour that drops a lot of leaves so I have to constantly clean up our garden. And then if I bathe Ramses I just do the leaves and the fur collectively with the leaf blower. I might get some mess in my living room but I can use the swiffer then the roomba/vacuum cleaner to clean it up (sometimes I use all 3 😆)... I don't mind the clean up but I don't have carpeting. I only have tiles and oak floors..


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

Taz Monkey said:


> At my groomers shop, done by my groomer, because bathing and grooming dogs is not my idea of a good time


I’m with you.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

Megora said:


> If you want something done right, you do it yourself.


If you want something done right, you hire a good groomer. I think it’s idiotic to suffer needlessly.


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## LA152 (Dec 31, 2020)

I live in a one bedroom apartment, no patio or yard. So I do bathing and blow drying at a grooming place that has self wash option. I’ve tried several in my area and so far only found one that has a decent blower and doesn’t have an insane boarding setup where you have to walk past a room of barking dogs to get to the baths. It’s a struggle, I dream of having a yard eventually so I can just get my own blower and grooming table.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

GoldenDude said:


> If you want something done right, you hire a good groomer. I think it’s idiotic to suffer needlessly.


I know the feeling, except sometimes I've run into people who are upset or stressed because they have something coming up (usually it's a holiday with family or friends over or they are planning on a lot of pictures) and they want the dog groomed nicely. The groomers are booked up and or they are newly moved into a new town, etc... and do not know where to go or do not have the connections to get them in with a good groomer.

If you have a fussy breed like a poodle, as example, where you are talking about a breed that's normally up on a table for 4+ hours being "detailed" by a groomer who has bathed the dog, unmatted the dog, dried the dog, and finally clipped the dog - these are absolutely reasons to make connections months before you even move. Because that groomer is a very important person. Even if you are just doing a pet clip on a poodle, you still want your dog to be clean to the skin and come home without nicks or abrasions that will later cause infections.

Same thing if you have a poodle mix. These are not breeds you will easily groom at home.

Typically the poodle breeds are owned by people who would not be grooming the dogs themselves anyway.

If you have a breed like collies or the shelties - basically breeds that would not normally be trimmed into a "puppy clip" (because they would look seriously funky), then yes... the owner needs to know how to line brush their dogs on a regular basis. And may bring the dogs to a professional groomer on occasion because even with a pet owner line brushing on a regular basis, bathing and drying these dogs is a serious undertaking.

In comparison, we have a breed that's very basic and no fuss when it comes to grooming them. Especially if it is just bathing and drying. If you are leaving the ears with excess fluff, you absolutely need to dry the dogs thoroughly whenever they get wet. The soft frizzles are a source of fungal and bacterial infections for these dogs. Likewise the denser spots in a dog's coat around the neck, in the arm pits, and the trousers and tail will become matted and may benefit from a blow dryer working most of the loose fluff out on a regular basis.

I apologize for the long form sort of explanation, but I have just been watching 2 hours worth of instruction videos on youtube by a vintage clothing type person explaining how to read sewing patterns, as this is something else I'm attempting to do it myself. (break off to laugh at self). Any tone is not intended to be condescending. It is merely because I have a youtube person's rather theatrical voice in my head as I write this.

Seriously speaking - bathing a golden retriever takes anywhere between 5-10 minutes. Drying if you have a good dryer takes about 30-40 minutes. This is a good time to check for ticks or warty spots or anything funky hiding under the coat. We do not have a breed that typically needs to be line brushed (ie the coats just aren't that thick and long!), but we still do not see the skin very easily - so blowing a good dryer on the subject helps you spot questionable spots AGES before they become rooted masses. Or hopefully. And ticks can be invisible even when engorged! Not that you will be bathing/drying every time the dog goes outside just so you can catch the ticks, but it's a thought. 

Trimming on a golden - means thinning out around the ears and neck, trimming the excess off the toes and tail. And that's the general gist of it. Yes, it's complicated and needs specific tools + knowledge of what you are doing. But I will say that many groomers at "Fluffies Salon" type places do not know that a golden retriever is trimmed differently than a cocker spaniel. Sadly.

When I trim my guys - it usually takes a short amount of time. I do not have shaggy dogs and they are kept groomed, so less needs to be done with them than if you have a dog that's groomed 2-3 times a year. <= Meaning an owner who grooms their dogs at home on a weekly basis, generally has less work to do.

ETA - adding for fun. There was a dog show about 2 years ago where I had 2 goldens entered + a puppy. It was a 2 shows in one day type thing and 1 hour break between shows. After show 1, I took the dogs out to a nearby field to run and play - without realizing part of the field was flooded and the dogs had a swimming time - literally. Came back with muddy dogs, all 3 - with about 30 minutes to clean them up before show 2. I got it done (full bath and dry), including puppy, and had 15 minutes to kill waiting to go into the ring. That should tell you how non fuss this wonderful breed of ours is + you are getting massively overcharged if you pay $200+ for somebody to groom your dog!


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

Garage with the doors up in the summer and doors down with heater on in winter.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I’m in the middle of the state in South Carolina. I have a porch breezeway between the house and garage. I blow him dry there.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Can anyone guess where I do it?


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## Sankari (12 mo ago)

SRW said:


> Can anyone guess where I do it?


Your golden gets washed in the pond and air-dried on field like a pro while retrieving of course...? 😁


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Sankari said:


> Your golden gets washed in the pond and air-dried on field like a pro while retrieving of course...? 😁


Washed in the Mississippi river today.


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## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

I do all my grooming in the basement because the floor is very easy to clean.


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## Creamgogo (8 mo ago)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> Garage with the doors up in the summer and doors down with heater on in winter.


,


SRW said:


> Can anyone guess where I do it?





DblTrblGolden2 said:


> Garage with the doors up in the summer and doors down with heater on in winter.


Living in the Midwest USA, I’m thinking this may be our best case scenario! Thank you for all the responses!


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

Also a Midwesterner! I do mine in the garage. My husband would not be able to stand all that hair blowing around anywhere in the house! Basement is not even an option because that’s his engineering/robotics man cave, lol! I have a gas heater in the garage and use that in conjunction with a space heater and it works. It at least makes so I don’t have to where gloves and the water doesn’t freeze on the fur! Takes a lot longer to blow dry in colder weather than warmer though. But the temp never seemed to bother her. Even dashing from the house (where she had her baths) to the detached garage, I had to make her rush or she would want to go play frisbee or something!


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I want to add I love grooming Logan. I can see where if someone is real busy with life where it could be a burden and you would choose a groomer. For me, since I don’t work and my children are adults, I have plenty of time to groom Logan myself. It feels therapeutic to me and is a nice bonding time. Dogs seem to know and appreciate when their person is taking care of them. It also is a good way to stay extra aware of your dog’s entire body so you notice if anything new or unusual is going on and you can catch issues early.


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

diane0905 said:


> I want to add I love grooming Logan. I can see where if someone is real busy with life where it could be a burden and you would choose a groomer. For me, since I don’t work and my children are adults, I have plenty of time to groom Logan myself. It feels therapeutic to me and is a nice bonding time. Dogs seem to know and appreciate when their person is taking care of them. It also is a good way to stay extra aware of your dog’s entire body so you notice if anything new or unusual is going on and you can catch issues early.


I feel the exact same way. I had horses for many years and loved being in our barn. My grooming time with the dogs helps the void I feel from not having a barn full of horses. I do keep finding myself on performance horse auction sites lately. My husband may die if I go back to having both 😂🤣


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

In the grooming wing, of course.

Ours has been swimming pretty much every day for the last couple months. I've found that the next time she's ready for a swim she's all dry again. Not sure how that works, but I've never used a blow drier on a dog, or me for that matter.


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## FUReverGolden (Nov 24, 2021)

Sankari said:


> Living room because I have these huge door/windows (floor to ceiling)? I don't know how to call them 😬 I open them and then direct most of the hair out onto my yard. Reason why I do that is because we already have a huge linden tree from our neighbour that drops a lot of leaves so I have to constantly clean up our garden. And then if I bathe Ramses I just do the leaves and the fur collectively with the leaf blower. I might get some mess in my living room but I can use the swiffer then the roomba/vacuum cleaner to clean it up (sometimes I use all 3 😆)... I don't mind the clean up but I don't have carpeting. I only have tiles and oak floors..


YES this is our place also, We have a good sized porch and We use a leaf blower ON OUR GOLDENS 😳They loved it! Easy as we live in South Florida where the weather is conducive ( Not around their head or ears naturally that is a hand blower)


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> I feel the exact same way. I had horses for many years and loved being in our barn. My grooming time with the dogs helps the void I feel from not having a barn full of horses. I do keep finding myself on performance horse auction sites lately. My husband may die if I go back to having both 😂🤣


Grooming aside, if you take the horse blanket to a laundromat, you have to stand in front of the front loader machine. This I know.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> Garage with the doors up in the summer and doors down with heater on in winter.


Exactly


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> I feel the exact same way. I had horses for many years and loved being in our barn. My grooming time with the dogs helps the void I feel from not having a barn full of horses. I do keep finding myself on performance horse auction sites lately. My husband may die if I go back to having both 😂🤣


I am dogless for the moment since I don’t want to be training a puppy and dealing with my twin 2 year olds all at once. But I do have my horse. I am starting to work on my hubby about another puppy in the next 1-3 years and slowly acclimating him to current prices. 😬 My gelding is 24 and primarily a trail/camping horse and still doing great for the most part (took me down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back last fall as well as some pretty hairy sections of the Arizona Trail and Chiricahua National Monument), but he does have some arthritis that flares up now and then, especially in the colder weather. Not looking forward to trying to talk the hubby into another horse someday, hard as another puppy is to talk him into, a horse will be harder. He is not an animal person so my dogs and horses have stretched him a bit; plus he is convinced we will never have another dog as good as April (probably true), but I think I have him convinced that we can still have a very good dog! (He grew up with an untrained beagle who peed and pooped all over and now his dad has a husky who pees all over and his sister has a rude doodle who jumps on people and counter surfs.) Anyway, all this to say I feel your pain with the hubby thing! 😂


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## Rion05 (Jan 4, 2016)

Basement here, too...keep the table, dryer, and supplies in a basement closet and use as needed. Climate is always perfect and he can't head straight for a pile of mud.


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## Boondox (Sep 6, 2010)

Outside if my wife is home. If she's gone I put a large box fan in the living room window facing out, then dry the dogs in front of it. If I keep the dryer on low and the fan on high it sends almost all the fur out the window. In winter - with temps as low as thirty below here in rural northern Vermont - all the ponds and streams are frozen so wet dogs aren't much of a problem. Baths can wait will Spring thaw in April.


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## IrisGold (12 mo ago)

I just got done blow drying mine in the bathroom. I had immediate regrets as I was brushing my teeth


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

Megora said:


> If you want something done right, you do it yourself.


lol, yep, on most things, that's totally true. I love my groomer though. She's been grooming my dogs since I adopted my first pet 20 years ago. She's also the reason I have my golden, since she knew Marcy, my breeder, before I did. It's more of a social hour for us, where my dog leaves clean and pretty lol, and I leave the mess there for her to clean up.


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## ComeBackShane (Mar 20, 2021)

Goldens&Friesians said:


> <snip>I am starting to work on my hubby about another puppy in the next 1-3 years and slowly acclimating him to current prices. 😬 <snip> Not looking forward to trying to talk the hubby into another horse someday, hard as another puppy is to talk him into, a horse will be harder. He is not an animal person so my dogs and horses have stretched him a bit; plus he is convinced we will never have another dog as good as April (probably true), but I think I have him convinced that we can still have a very good dog! (He grew up with an untrained beagle who peed and pooped all over and now his dad has a husky who pees all over and his sister has a rude doodle who jumps on people and counter surfs.) Anyway, all this to say I feel your pain with the hubby thing! 😂


I thought I had my hands full with our latest adopted reactive 3.5 yo. 
Sounds like you took on a bit of a project. Have you tried cutting his treats in half and rewarding him for even the slightest approximation (if that doesn't work, maybe he'll respond to a prong collar)?
Very best of luck!


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

Megora said:


> + you are getting massively overcharged if you pay $200+ for somebody to groom your dog!


😂 😂 my groomer won't let me pay her. I'm serious. I haven't paid her since I had my first golden. So I just buy her really nice Christmas presents. She's literally the best, and more importantly, a good groomer. When Juneaus done, she still looks like a golden, just with trimmed feet and ears. And she always comes through in emergencies, like the one and only time I tried a topical flea treatment (Frontline Gold), and all of Juneaus skin blistered off her back where it was applied. She told me to get her over there ASAP, and threw her in the tub for a dawn bath to hopefully strip all the oils from her skin before it got worse. Luckily, it all healed and the hair grew back perfectly, but we were skeptical there for awhile that I might have a bald backed dog forever.


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## SummerC (Dec 26, 2017)

Megora said:


> I know the feeling, except sometimes I've run into people who are upset or stressed because they have something coming up (usually it's a holiday with family or friends over or they are planning on a lot of pictures) and they want the dog groomed nicely. The groomers are booked up and or they are newly moved into a new town, etc... and do not know where to go or do not have the connections to get them in with a good groomer.
> 
> If you have a fussy breed like a poodle, as example, where you are talking about a breed that's normally up on a table for 4+ hours being "detailed" by a groomer who has bathed the dog, unmatted the dog, dried the dog, and finally clipped the dog - these are absolutely reasons to make connections months before you even move. Because that groomer is a very important person. Even if you are just doing a pet clip on a poodle, you still want your dog to be clean to the skin and come home without nicks or abrasions that will later cause infections.
> 
> ...


What brand/model drier do you have? Mine only seems to dry my girls to “damp”. Even the local self bathing place takes such a long time to get dry. Thank you.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

SummerC said:


> What brand/model drier do you have? Mine only seems to dry my girls to “damp”. Even the local self bathing place takes such a long time to get dry. Thank you.


Do they have spay coats? If the coat is more soft/spongey - it can take a smidge longer. Listening around the woodwork, that's why some people switch gears to buy the mondo expensive K9 dryers that have heating components.

I have a CC Kool Dry.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

I sent the dogs to a new groomer today. I wasn’t thrilled with my previous groomer and used her retirement as an excuse to find a new one. What a difference. This groomer was awesome. I’ve signed up all of the dogs except for one for a recurring appointment.


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## Creamgogo (8 mo ago)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> Garage with the doors up in the summer and doors down with heater on in winter.





SummerC said:


> What brand/model drier do you have? Mine only seems to dry my girls to “damp”. Even the local self bathing place takes such a long time to get dry. Thank you.


I just bought Shelandy (I believe that’s it) Around $80. I thought it was fantastic for the price. I blew hair backwards and water flew. Then when close to dry, blew it as it naturally lays. Fairly quiet. 15 minutes and we were done! I used a lickimat with peanut butter to keep him busy. (I do recommend holding the hose before you turn it on, as hose flopped around big time and scared the bahoobies out of him the first time! ) I’m happy with it! And I did it in the garage!!!


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