# How to clean your dog after the fun at the beach?



## caview (Jun 30, 2008)

And what fun it is for everyone! When you get home and everyone is happy, and hungry and exhausted, do you clean up your dog right there (and if yes, how do you do it) or do you wait will everyone has a chance to get some rest and then clean the dog and the whole house (as I was doing yesterday)?

Do you clean the dog inside or outside?

We started going to the beach every other week, and would love to start going every week, so looking for ways to make it easy on everyone..

Tanya


----------



## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

When I was able to take my dog for a swim often it was in a river. She loved the water & dove in at almost every chance. At the conclusion of the walk, before we left the river (the banks had trees between the river and the path) to go back to the car, I would ask "Wanna go for a SWIM?" Off she'd race to rinse herself in the river. Then she'd get toweled down & loaded up.

Later after I moved from that area, I picked up a book that had directions for making a zippered bag of a towel. The idea was to put the dog in it, dry the dog off, unzip and you have a tidier dog. That might work for cutting down on the day after housework a bit.


----------



## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Once we get home we (my sister and I) put all of our things by the door on the tile floor as to contain the "sandy mess" and put 1 dog in their crate, straight away.

The other dog gets brought straight to the bathroom for a full bath. Shampooed (twice), conditioned and rinsed. Dried and brushed throughly. 

Then we switch, the wet puppy gets put in their crate, the second one let out and brought straight to the bathroom for their bath time.

It is EXHAUSTING since the only thing we want to do it sleep or atleast rest, but once everything is done we feel better and so do the dogs.

This also gives us a chance to look over the dogs skin for any ticks or such that might have hitched a ride home with us.


----------



## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

I don't worry about it. Let the dogs dry off and most of the sand will come off-maybe brush-groom. Some dogs will be more sensitive with the salt water and sand in which case I would just hose with fresh water.

At Pt Isabel we have the benefit of MudPuppy's where you can wash your dogs or have them washed before getting back in the car-they use Earthbath shampoo products there which is what I use. If I want to give the dogs a bath, I usually plan a trip to Pt Isabel to take advantage. They also have a watering station about halfway through the park where you can just hose them off on the way out.

When grooming or cleaning at home, it is always outside or in the garage except for nail trimming.


----------



## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

That sounds wonderful!

I wish we had somethign like that around here for our dogs.

Mine swim in the lake or in the rivers and always smell afterwards.. and stark likes to DIG in the sand where he is covered from head to toe, so he definitely needs a bath!


----------



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: Everett54I don't worry about it. Let the dogs dry off and most of the sand will come off-maybe brush-groom.


That's what we do too. It's almost an hour to the beach, so a lot of the sand has fallen off the dogs all over the car by the time we get home. Samuel, we noticed when we got back to our car after lunch yesterday that there was sand all over the parking lot behind the car from when the dogs jumped out, LOL! 



> Quote:At Pt Isabel we have the benefit of MudPuppy's where you can wash your dogs or have them washed before getting back in the car-they use Earthbath shampoo products there which is what I use. If I want to give the dogs a bath, I usually plan a trip to Pt Isabel to take advantage.


That's what we do too. Other than a couple of puppy baths in the kitchen sink I haven't bathed my dogs at home in years. I'd much rather leave water and dog hair at Mudpuppy's than have it all over my bathroom.


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

whether we're at the beach or creek i just hose
my dog off when we get home. what do you have to
clean the entire house for?


----------



## Renoman (Apr 10, 2009)

When I lived on Cape Cod, trips to the beach were a daily event. Once I got home, I would immediately hose them off to get rid of the salt water and sand. Sometimes, between complete baths, they'd get a quick shampoo just to freshen them up.

Now, it's the swimming pool in the backyard but for bathing (which I just finished) it's outside under the hose. Water from the tap doesn't get cold here ... it's always room temp at least. Anyway, it works for the boys since afterwards they can run around and dry themselves off...


----------



## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

i only bathe my dogs a couple times a year, and i just do it in my driveway with the water hose. if i want to spruce up their coats a bit or if we've just come from the lake/beach i'll rinse them off and give them a spritz of a spray conditioner - but thats still only sometimes. i didn't do anything for tilden after yesterday and today his coat is still just as shiny and sand free. like everyone else - he just leaves the mess behind in my truck afterward.

gia is black and her coat can look dull quite a bit easier (esp when she decides to lay in the dirt







), so i rinse her more often than tilden.


----------



## caview (Jun 30, 2008)

Thank you, everyone, so much!!

Xargos loves plunking himself in the water as it moves away from the shore, so he gathers a lot of sand into his coat..

I saw a lady use a dry towel on her dog at FF and as we talked she said she was amazed at how much sand you can get out this way.

This time I forgot the towel, but as I used it last time - very true, just using a dry large towel gets so much sand out right then

I'll be setting everything up so that I can hose him down when we are home, and then if needed may give him a bath in the house..

Beaches are so much fun - we used to go to Carmel in our pre-dog days, and then it was disressionary. Now with Xargos, it became a must and thank you, all wonderful people on this forum, for helping us discover that!

Tanya


----------

