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Bath Tub Versus Hydrobath


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Hi

I have a 15 month old smooth collie bitch who is shedding quite a bit at the moment. We are expecting to enter her in a show on the 20th August and our plan would be to give her a bath 3 or 4 days prior. Then just do her whites the night before.

Last time we just plonked her in our bath tub and did her that way but with her shedding now would it be better to have someone do her in a hydrobath?

We are in Melbourne (eastern suburbs) and wondering what we can expect to pay?

And what places offer it? We are trying to keep our costs down and would do it ourselves but our water pressure here isnt brilliant.

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i was my boy in the bath even when hes blowing coat - ive got those little things u put in the plug hole to collect hair which work really well just have to keep cleaning them out to get the water to run away...

if ur girl is shedding quite a bit can i suggest quite a warm/hot bath as this gets most of the coat out and she will look great for the show! my boy gets a bath everyday for a week when he starts blowing gets all the old coat out really quick...

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I do love the hydrobath as you can push a lot of the dead hair out a lot easier than just in the bath. If you have a hand held shower nozzle that can give a reasonable amount of pressure however, then the bath should be fine.

What would be really useful however, would be a high velocity blow dryer. This will get rid of much more of the dead hair and can really make a difference to a coat. It is the major piece of grooming equipment that is well worth looking into before anything else IMO. Even if you are bathing with a bucket I would get a dryer before a hydrobath.

Are there any do it yourself bath places near you? This may be worthwhile as you get to use their equipment and it is cheaper than getting someone else to do it for you. Just check your yellow pages and start calling around.

Edited by espinay2
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My Maltese X Westie always gets a hydrobath when her coat sheds. I totally recommend it.

I dont know about before a show. If you have never had your dog done before, I dont really know how a collie will come out. Maybe a week or two before the show. Ring the groomers and see what they say.

I do know that they look a bit lighter from all that extra fur coming away and its alot easier on the brushing.

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Something to consider is that if she is losing a LOT of coat, you may have problems with your drains if you bath her at home, but I do agree that the majority of the coat will "come away" if you blow her out properly with a high-velocity dryer.

I bath all of my dogs in the bathtub at home. I had a plumber come and install one of those laundry tub spigots which have a normal spigot (which swings out of the way) AND a good quality hand held hose. You just flick a little thingy on the side to decide which type of "water" you want. It cost me the grand amount of $60 including the plumbing hardware (the spigot) and took around 10 minutes to install. BEST thing I have ever done in the bathroom (came in handy for washing my hair after my shoulder surgery when I had to keep my stitches dry and had to have a friend do the washing also very handy for sluicing off muddy skinkids AND also for cleaning out horse feed buckets, kitty litter boxes etc etc!!)

On occasions, for example if I want to bath out a heavy oil, put a treatment through a coat or if for some reason a dog is PARTICULARLY grotty, I go to our local car-wash place which has a few hydrobaths installed. I don't bother drying the dogs there but it only costs about $6 to put a dog through the bath. Another option may be to give the local mobile hydrobath people a call. They might be relatively inexpensive just to put your dog through the bath right outside your own front door.

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Check with vets some of your bigger petshops...i know some vets around me hydrobath the dogs for $10 and Petwise in Brissie (petshop which doesn't sell pets other then fish) will let you hydrobath your dogs for $10 adn they provide the brushes, shampoo (fidos) or you can bring your own and they also have dryers available. They have a great deal if you are a member (free membership) which lets you wash your dogs for the grand amount of $2.00 each dog on a Monday or Tuesday. Check out your yellow pages and see what's nearby :cry:

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For a Collie that is blowing Coat a Hudrobath is a godsend and then the turbo dryer.

Have you though about ringing Rosis's"mum" and going down for a hydro there?

It is heaps easier on your back and get better results coat wise.

when our Collies are shedding badly, I like to hydrobath them once a week for 3 - 4 weeks to get all of that old yucky coat out and then the new coat grows nicer and more quickly.

I am sure Rosie's "mum" could help out :cry:

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Hi Chezzyr,

We used the Hydrobath at the dog physio place in Doveton a few times while we were going there, they had the turbo dryers too (they work by blowing water out of the coat rather than drying it). The cost was about $10 for both for a DIY job. PM me if you want the contact details, I don't have them handy right now.

Cheers,

Corine

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Not sure what to do, we will probably give her a bath in the tub this week and then next week.

I was quoted $30 on the weekend for bath and nails, someone to do it. Is that about normal? Am pretty sure its a hydrobath. Probably a bit more than I would want to pay but it would save our backs LOL.

Might see what sort of a result we get from just handwashing her this week. I have been brushing her daily, sometimes twice.

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Have you though about ringing Rosis's"mum" and going down for a hydro there?

It is heaps easier on your back and get better results coat wise.

Hadnt thought of that - didnt even know they did that :D Is probably a fair hike for a bath :D

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Hi Chezzy,

I have a hydrobath you are welcome to try but I'm going to Brissie on Sunday. I don't have a turbo dryer though, just a really good hairdryer I bought from my haidresser > 10 years ago. I suggested the Doveton place as the prices are reasonable I think.

Cheers,

Corine

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I can give you the name of a great groomer in Balwyn if that is any help?

$30 is a very reasonable price but whoever you use Insist that the bath is disinfected after each dog( seems a fair ask but a lot do not do it!) and with a Collie I prefer Not to add the shampoo to my water but to wet the dog first, then hand apply the shampoo, then rinse off and put conditioner on and rinse off with fresh water.

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$30 is a very reasonable price but whoever you use Insist that the bath is disinfected after each dog( seems a fair ask but a lot do not do it!) and with a Collie I prefer Not to add the shampoo to my water but to wet the dog first, then hand apply the shampoo, then rinse off and put conditioner on and rinse off with fresh water.

I do dog washing from home on the weekends - people bring their dogs to me, and I charge $15 a dog for a bath, dry and brush.

I also found alot of the mobile ones didnt disinfect they're baths after every use, but just at the end of the day. I like to disinfect my hydrobath after every dog (i know id prefer this is i took my dog somewhere).

I agree with inspectorrex about wetting the dog first.

I rinse the dog, then add shampoo by hand, rather than putting it in the tank water. I find it gives a better result.

Before i had the hydrobath i used to get a mobile one to come out and wash Riley and they used to charge me $38.

Edited by wagsalot
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Have you though about ringing Rosis's"mum" and going down for a hydro there

She probably doesn't want to risk it cause we still have cute fluffy Collie babies here Colleen. :mad

Cheers Kate

Exactly!

Its ok, you can keep the bubbies - but I might sneak Tinsel and Nova. You wouldnt notice if just two have gone missing?? :(

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Oh the Cute fluffy ones, did forget about them. :(

Yes and they are soooo cute too.

Before I got my hydro etc I found, like others, that some Mobile groomers do Not disinfect after each dog, eewww! :mad That is when I got my own hydro.

I will look up that number for the groomer in Melb if you wish

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