Bathing large dog while RVing

[BarbRN]

It just occured to me that we will need a few baths now and then on our Golden Retriever while on the road for an extended time.

How do you handle this? I doubt that campgrounds would allow the use of the hose for this, assuming it's warm enough.

[RickO]

Actually I'd be very surprised if a CG gave you any grief about bathing your dog using the hose. We've been at a precious few parks that actually have great bathing facilities for dogs but they are few and far between. I'd just go for it so long as the weather is warm enough.

Rick

[a10koaksfed]

Our coach has an outside shower, complete with hot and cold. I use it to bath our Golden while we are traveling. The tough part is getting her dried off!

[GG1]

I made up a 40 ft hose with clear soft flexible tubing from home depot used a few extra fittings and attached to the outside shower hose with a hand sink sprayer. I bring it around to the passengers side set the hot and cold water in 5 minutes the bath is done. Then on to the next dog and then the cat.

[BarbRN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a10koaksfed Our coach has an outside shower, complete with hot and cold. I use it to bath our Golden while we are traveling. The tough part is getting her dried off!

Doh! We have that set up too! Why didn't I think of that. We have only used this MH twice so far. Lots to learn. Thank you!

[Wayne M]

I'm fortunate that Miya (Husky) does not need baths that often. She likes the water and will jump in lakes but only up to her belly. We take her to PetCo every couple months and get her fur raked and bathed. She likes it, we like her.

I'm with the others, I have not found to many places that I cannot wash my MH, so at the same time I'd expect you could bathe the dog.

[sadiebug]

The cleaner our lab gets the worse she smells. Gave up on baths unless she goes for the horse droppings.

[DCPakaMOM]

Hi Barb, Not sure if you have room or not, but Costco has a lightweight portable dog tub, legs come off - I use mine at home all the time and also stow it to take to dog shows if need be. Its a "booster bath". Very very light weight, yet sturdy. And, you won't break your back leaning down.

Also your best friend may be a forced air dryer to more quickly dry a golden. That wet dog smell is no fun. I travel with 3 goldens and a ridgeback.

[golden]

Just got our Golden and Sheltie back from the groomer yesterday. $45 for each of them and worth every penny. We have the same outside setup as mentioned before, but it is difficult to dry them here on the ocean and this was a lot less bother for us.

[Doc Mark]

Well, if you are near St. Andrews New Brunswick, CA, stop in here. Sorry about the link, the photo wouldn't load on the page.

20100622-15St Andrews | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Mark

[njs42]

Depending on how much time you when traveling have etc; we always look for these self help dog wash places. They are a cottage industry springing up all over the place.

For about $15. for a large dog we get an elevated stainless steel sink, a walk up ramp for the dog, aprons, adjustable water temp, endless supply of water, all the soap we need and choice of type, conditioner for his coat, drying towels, ear wash, grooming brushes, combs, scissors, nail clippers, and a blow dryer----best of all when we are done we drop it all right where it is and someone else cleans it up. No matter the weather. Our dog arrives back at the MH dry, clean and smelling just great----so do we.

[TXiceman]

We have run across a number of campgrounds that have Dog wash stations set up. Ask them when you make reservations.

ken

[Senior Chief]

Somewhat OT, but if your dog has a lot of odor, consider changing her diet.

We have owned (or been owned by) St. Bernards for decades and always fed inexpensive feed store dry dog food.

A few years ago, our female rough coat (lots of dense, long hair) started developing hot spots (always a problem in long hairs) and yeast infections (mites, we called 'em) in her ears. Our vet recommended a different diet.

We started feeding Avoderm, a super-premium (also super-expensive) dry dogfood we researched and then bought at Petco. The hotspots and the ear problems went away completely, and get this...

The doggy odor VANISHED. The dogs always smell like they've just been shampooed and they've now been on this stuff for about 2 years without a bath. We brought a third dog into the house, and same thing. No doggy smell.

It not just our dogs; my brother and SIL have a golden retriever and a Jack Russell, and although they resisted the idea for a long time, they finally broke down and bought a bag of Avoderm and before 2 weeks had gone by they were on the phone raving about it.

Just our personal experience, but it is WONDERFUL to have the house and MH free from the dog smells; now that we're full timing, its a serious blessing.

[bdpreece]

We spend most of our time in membership campgrounds like Thousand Trails, Sunrise Resorts, and Western Horizon. So far no one has given us any problems with washing our golden. I just take him outside usually on the patio slab and wet him down with the hose, add shampoo and then hose him off. Next we go for a long walk to air dry as much as possible. On return a good toweling off and we are all set.