drying big doodles

[Stacy]

Do you all dry your big guys until they're completely dry? If so, can I ask how you accomplish it? I took 
Ava to the self wash today. I always want to see her after she's totally dry, but we are always over it before it happens. I was talking to the groomer and she said that even with her Chris Christensen dryer it would take 3 hours to get Ava totally dry. She has a lot of hair! I can't imagine Ava or I ever making it through a 3 hour drying session. I get her mostly dry, but 5 hours later she still has damp areas. I know a cage dryer is a thing. Do the dogs hate it? Is it safe? Does it even work with a wire crate? Does anyone have any other suggestions? Maybe she doesn't need to be completely dry, but the areas that do get completely dry with the dryer are always so soft and fluffy compared to the areas that remain damp. 

Thanks!

[Stacy]

I've been thinking about this, and I wonder if my groomer was exaggerating when she said 3 hours, due to my drying skill level and the dryer and the dog... but there's definitely no way I could get her dry in 45 minutes. I've spent an hour there drying her and she was dry-ish at that point. Maybe 70% dry. Definitely not dripping, but some parts were drier than others.

I can't even imagine it taking 15 minutes to dry either one of them. It takes 15 minutes to dry my own hair, and while I have quite a bit, the girls have a lot more. Of course, I'm not using a force dryer on my head either. 

Then I think about how the groomer does manage to wash, dry, and scissor cut Katie in about 2 hours. So it obviously doesn't take her hours to dry her. This would all be much easier if Ava wasn't afraid of the groomer! 

[Kate C Pappas]

Replying to my own post with some corrections. I actually keep both girls coats on the longish side since last summer and have been grooming them myself for a while as the groomers I had and loved, left the shop and I didn't care for the job that was done with a new groomer. I'm enjoying grooming them as it is good bonding time and I get what I want. Still learning to do their nails with a Dremel.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I groom my two big hairy doodles myself and using a blaster dryer I would say it takes about one and a half hours to dry each dog thoroughly tops. The blaster is very powerful and I always towel dry as well as possible before I start. Hope that helps.

[Kate C Pappas]

I can't believe that it would take 3 hours. I use a Challenge-Air Double K with variable speed. I never thoroughly dry either of my girls and they have long coats. I'm guessing maybe 30 minutes for a good, comfy damp dry.....air drying the rest of the way leaves their coats curly/wavy but not too much.

With the Challenge Air, you can literally blast off the water (carefully) from the surface of the coat (and see the water fly) and then adjust speed accordingly. I put cotton in their ears during the bath and the drying.