What is the best way to remove snowballs from hair?

[Karlyn]

First snow of the season, and Max LOVES the snow! He will romp endlessly in it-but he gets snowballs, large and small, attached to his beard and legs...
Pulling them is not an option (ouch) I have tried the hair dryer-without much success. They eventually drop off (all over the house) and leave a multitude of puddles in a variety of places. I am having him groomed tomorrow, and he will get his usual 'puppy cut'-I am sure that will help somewhat...
Any advice?

[Deena Womack]

I don't know where you are at, but I have to say our first snow was much milder. YEA!!! I loved the picture all I could do was laugh. When I read your post, I thought "well we just dry Cali off" from the snow and then I saw the picture. Now I understand.

[Christa]

I towel Patti Cake down, then squeeze them with my hands, then into the crate she goes and they melt on their own with her help, then I towel both her and the crate again.

[Ali]

Okay, so being from Texas I have no idea about these snowballs in their fur. I am hoping to move to Colorado next year, so I started reading this. Just for clarification, are the snowballs frozen on their hair, because in my mind that is crazy. I've never thought about snowballs being stuck in their hair, I have only been dealing with those stickers in the grass.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, if the dog has a good thick poodle-y coat, and spends any time running or rolling around in the snow, they do get hunks of snow & ice stuck in their fur. Picture taking a sheepskin rug and rubbing it around in the snow, and it's that kind of thing. If they're really running around in deep snow, the "snowballs" can be pretty big. You can just let them melt, but if there's a lot of ice, or you don't want a lot of water all over your rugs, floors, etc., you need to get most of it off of them.

[Karlyn]

Yes, the snowballs are compact, (more like ice balls) and frozen to their fur. They can get pretty big and heavy, too!

[Adina P]

I'm too lazy to do anything about their snowballs! I might towel them off briefly. If it's very bad I just close the gate that leads from the kitchen to the rest of the house and let them melt in the kitchen before letting the dogs in the rest of the house.

[Holly Paterniti]

LOL.......that is what we do too :)

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

I have to laugh. Our golden got the snowballs one year and she looked like an alien!! It brought back happy memories of Lake Tahoe. We put her in the bathtub with warm water and they melted off

[Brandi Echols]

We just had our share of ice/snow balls to deal with yesterday. We use a bucket with warm water as opposed to getting in the bath tub. Gus just sticks his paws in the bucket and with a little rubbing, they come right off. If they aren't too compact though, gentle rubbing with a towel will take them right off too.

[Vicky Mueller]

I feel your pain! Both my dogs get 'snowball body'! When I don't want to go through the hassle of a quick bath time, I keep the hair dryer close by and simply melt them off! Works for us!

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

I guess I am lucky I towel Ozzy off and then they brush right out.

[Jen]

If the balls are just on his paws, legs and a bit on his belly, I use a big bowl of warm water. I have him step into the bowl, one foot at a time, then use my hands to spread the warm water up his legs and onto his belly - they melt right off. Then I towel him off and send him to lay on a blanket or his bed to dry off more. He normally heads there anyway after a good play outside. If the balls are all over his face, body and legs (check out my albums for pics of my snow dog!), I take him to the shower. I have a long shower head that can reach under his body (well worth the $40!). Of course, I towel him off afterward too. I've tried the hairdryer and that just takes way too long. And I find if I just let him go for his nap with the balls on, he mats. Hope this helps!