We all love our dogs and want the best for them. And just like humans, dogs need regular grooming. Because dogs don’t sweat through their skin, they don’t need to be washed as often as humans. Washing too frequently can cause a number of skin issues. https://www.rspcapetinsurance.org.au/pet-care/health/washing-brushing-your-dog has some decent information about cleaning your dogs. So you can clean your dog with a garden hose or in your bathtub but are there advantages of hydrobaths?
The case against hydrobaths
Hydrobaths are noisy, cost money and inconvenient. The pump that operates the hydrobath makes noises that upset nervous dogs. Unless you’re lucky enough to own a hydrobath, you’ll need to pay for the use of someone else’s. Not owning a hydrobath means that not only are you paying money but you have to arrange to take your dog to one or have one come to your dog. These reasons can tempt you to use your garden hose or bathtub to wash your dog. The dogs’ coat also makes it difficult for the shampoo to reach all the way to their skin. To get the shampoo to the skin you will need to work the soap up to a lather and massage it into their coat. A time consuming, messy and exhausting process. Using a hose or bathtub also uses a lot of water, this can have environmental impacts.
Advantages of hydrobaths
A hydrobath has a tank that shampoo and water are mixed into. The pump takes this mixture pressurises it and sends it out the shower nozzle. The shower nozzle massages the dog’s skin and ensures the solution reaches all of the coat and all the way to the skin. The solution drains off the dog and back into the tank to be picked up by the pump again. So that’s how the hydrobath operates, but what are the advantages?
The pump and shower nozzle work together to massage the dog’s skin, and ensure the shampoo solution penetrates all the way through the coat to the dog’s skin. This saves you from having to massage the lather into the dog’s coat yourself. By having the solution drain back into the tank that the pump sucks from, the hydrobath saves water therefore having a lower environmental impact. The solution is also more diluted than you would use if you were using the shampoo directly on the dog this also has a lower environmental impact. The solution can be more diluted and still be effective because the pump recycles it.
Summary
Though you can certainly wash your dog without a hydrobath, there are many advantages of hydrobaths. Hydrobaths are better for the environment and using the pressurised soapy water to penetrate the dog’s coat all the way to the skin, they also do a more thorough job. Training and patience can overcome dogs discomfort about hydrobaths.
You can find out about our hydrobathing and other services here.
