My dog groomer who always does Murf to perfection, has recently moved 150 miles away so I am completely stuck as to bathing him. :(

He absolutely stinks to high heaven having had a nice swim in the sea this morning but needed a bath anyway. She used to specialise in my breed as she also does show ones and I could completely trust her and am wary of using anybody else. I have been given a contact for someone but they can't do him until after Xmas.

So, once I hire a winch to drop him into the bath :D only joking, and I have managed to make him smell all sweet, how on earth do I get him dry? His coat is about 12 " long and very thick so it will take an age to dry naturally at this time of year and also it plays havoc with the knots if he isn't brushed whilst drying.

I thourougly brush him out about twice a week and keep him trimmed in all of the important places but it isn't the same as a good bath. I also use Johnsons dog deodorant on him, although it totally repulses and disgusts him :D :D so much so that he has to go and have a good roll on anything that smells horribly pungent :D

Any ideas on drying, or an economical way of achieving it, that isn't too traumatic for the "little" darling :D

Always towel dry a wet dog that has been out in the rain by wiping from front to back. NEVER EVER against the lay of the coat because this will push the water under the coat.

Of course, if you have bathed your dog then you have obviously pushed the water under the coat anyway. In this case I would start with a towel and again rubbing from front to back, remove the surplus water. I would then get the hair dryer out and, making sure it never stays still, or gets too close to the fur, finish the drying with that.

If you have never used a hair dryer then do a little training before you need it. Put it on the cold setting and point it at your dog from such a distance that it cannot actually feel it. A few seconds is enough. Another day start to bring it a little nearer. On a cold day try moving it some way away again and switch it on to the hotter setting. By gradually upping the anti your dog will get use to it without being frightened by it.

Regards, John

I have an afghan hound, and i can safely say that my best ever purchase was a blaster / drier. It cost in the region of £350. Having said that, I think it is still going to work out MUCH cheaper than paying a professional to do the job!

Oh Gosh can't help you here, my labs jump in the water, swim for an age, and come out and have a good shake. I put them in the car with towels wrapped around them. I've put velcro bits on th towels to hold the towels on, and by the time we get home they are quite dry. Its called a Wash 'n' Go dog.

Thank you for your replies everyone :) And John, I will persevere with the hairdryer :)

I think you need to drop some very heavy hints about getting a blaster/dryer and a proper grooming table for Christmas if you intend attempting your dogs coat on your own. I have a  Gizmo from Dezynadog for my 6 BSD's and they can go from dripping wet ( as in straight out of the bath) to bone dry in 30 minutes AND with the lower setting I can 'finish' the coat ready for a show. It is also invaluable for stripping out any dead undercoat when they are moulting and encouraging the new coat to grow.It is an expensive initial out lay but believe me it will be the best thing you've ever bought . The table will stop your back from aching and will free up both hands so that you can dry and brush out the tangles at the same time. I also use the blaster on the dogs when they get wet and muddy after their walks - all the muck just blasts off them ( just make sure you do this outside or evrything gets covered wth  a brown speckled effect :D)