Help and Suggestions for a Water Doodle please. :)

[Kimberly Cook]

I was hoping I could get a few suggestions or old link on what to do with my doodle Chopper
this summer after we open the pool plus swimming in the ocean. We will be spending a lot of time in the water and assume our pup will too. He has a soft fluffy fleecy loose curl coat right now.

1. What is the best way to dry him?
2. Should I have him trimmed for easier drying?
3. If he dries naturally will he smell like wet dog?

Any advice/experience/suggestions dos or don'ts with this would be appreciated. 

Thanks!
Kim

Playing on pool cover which will be removed in a couple weeks. :O Help!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Air drying won't make your pup stink.  Cubbie doesn't smell like wet dog even when he is wet.  Ollie, on the other hand, stinks when he is wet.  Even after a bath he stinks until he dries up and then he smells clean.  I keep my 2 clipped shorter in the summer because they dry off a lot quicker that way. 

[Kimberly Cook]

Thanks Amy! I was just thinking Chopper smelled a lot better after he was blown dry at the groomers than when I towel dried him after a bath. 

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

It is interesting that Ollie stinks when he gets a little bit wet but if Cubbie gets damp (even a month after a bath) he starts to smell like shampoo again. 

[Kimberly Cook]

Hmmmm I wonder if it has to do with their body oils? My pup has dry skin that is being treated right now. Does Ollie has sensitive skin? It would be nice if Chopper smelled like shampoo for more than a day after a bath. /:)

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I use an aloe shampoo on Ollie but I don't know that his skin is extra sensitive or anything like that.  He does have a wool coat but Cubbie's is fleece so I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

[Trudy Harlow]

I don't think I'd want my dog to smell like shampoo for a period of time after being groomed -- because that would mean that there still is shampoo in his coat, which isn't good for him in any way.

I keep my GD Paddy clipped very short (except for head and tail) in our hot summers. This way, when he plays in the water he dries quickly. He's more comfortable, and I get a break from the constant brushing (still have to do head and tail, but that's quick). He smells like a wet dog only when wet.

I've seen shirts you can put on dogs that are made of absorbent material that help take the water off of them quickly. Thought about buying one, but never seriously enough to do so. Since Paddy's got poodle hair instead of an oily coat like a Lab, it takes forever for him to dry, so getting one of these shirts is very tempting when I actually think about it. Since your dog will be in the water a lot, it might be a worthwhile purchase for you.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I don't think smelling like shampoo after being groomed means that it isn't rinsed out all the way.  I do my own grooming and rinse until the water runs clear so I know it is all out.  After I wash my hair with shampoo and then dry it, I can still smell the shampoo but know that all of the shampoo was rinsed out. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I have a swimmer. Not as much as yours will be swimming, but still a swimmer.
I've found, especially with humidity or repeated wet- half dry- wet- half dry, that the dog gets a very musty smell . Like laundry not dried all the way. :(
mildew Long-haired dogs have actually gotten mold in thier coats when not dried completely. Also, this is really hard on the skin.
If you have a swimmer, I recommend keeping the coat short for proper drying and ventation, and just for the dogs comfort. In addition, that's a lot of grooming. Rough on the dog and you.
Fun is what you want! Clip the pup down for a few months.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

We have a Pontoon boat and our dogs are in the lake water almost every day in the summer. Vern is 100 pounds and no way am I bathing him every day. I let them air dry. I have robes (yes, you read that correctly) that I put on them when they get out of the lake which speeds up the drying process. I also keep their coats shorter in the summer. Vern rolls every single day, EVERY SINGLE DAY, and I guess I have become accustomed to his smells :) Once they dry, I really don't notice the smell at all, but maybe Vern has killed my ability to smell long ago. I do wonder if the chlorine might have to be rinsed out after a swim and even the salt from the ocean. Our dogs love the water so much and the fun they have overrules anything else for me. Enjoy!!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

it is too bad you don't have any pictures of your dogs on the pontoon boat  :)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Amy, Sarcastic comments are forbidden by the DK rules :) LOL

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I have no idea what you are talking about  :)