I’m pretty sure if it’s out there, I’ve tried it. I don’t want to go back to manual bathing, ever. There really aren’t that many different dog bathing systems but my Goldilocks mentality made me try them all. Let me tell you what I found out so you can make a decision on what to try.

First and foremost, the main tip is frequent grooming, even just the basics. It will make your job of keeping that coton coat easier in the long run. Cotons’ coats can mat pretty quickly. The fewer mats, the less traumatic for your dog.

When the coat looks or feels dirty, it needs to be washed. You don’t have to worry about frequent bathing if you use a decent dog shampoo. It is pH balanced for the dog’s skin. Also, use a good dog conditioner afterwards. That will help close the cuticle and make brushing easier for you and the dog. 

Thus far I have found that for general maintenance, weekly baths work great for my cotons. Generally, dogs with skin issues need to be bathed even more frequently with medicated shampoo until the skin is healed. 

IMPORTANT! You CANNOT bathe a coton without following up with completely brushing out the coat or any existing mats and drying thoroughly. Failing to do this makes the mats more dense, bigger and tighter. That makes it more painful for your dog.

In order to set yourself up for success, you need to find a way to bathe your dog without it being an exhausting procedure. So let’s go over some of the dog bathing systems I have used over the years and my opinions of each. 

Bathtub

Most of you probably bathe your dog in your bathroom tub. This can get rather painful for your back. I used to feel like I was standing on my head after a while. Pretty much anything else is an improvement over this situation.

I eventually broke down and bought this relatively inexpensive dog tub; Booster Bath Dog Grooming/Washing Tub as my first of all my dog bathing systems.

Depending on the size and configuration of your bathroom, you can stick the back two legs in the bathtub so it drains directly into the tub.

The tub is light and you can dismantle it in between uses if you wish. 

But, it is short even for me (I’m only 5’3”). While having the dog elevated in this booster bath was better than standing in the bathroom tub, I found I was still bending over enough to hurt my back by the end of the bath. So unless you have a way of raising the tub to a reasonable height for you, I would pass on this tub. (I placed the feet on overturned 5 gallon buckets for quite a while to make it a usable dog bathing systems).

Grooming Table

Another relatively cheap jimmy rigged system is to put a grooming table in the tub or walk in shower. That raises the dog high enough to bath him using a handheld shower head. If the water splashes too much on the tub floor you can add a shower curtain skirt around the table to minimize that problem. The drawback with this set up is you will have to lean into the tub to some extent which, once again is a strain on your back.

There are a variety of other small elevated portable dog tubs on Amazon but the main issue will be finding one high enough for you to stand erect.

One of the best things I did was buy a large utility sink to replace my old, square, concrete (?) tub in the basement. The shelties fit in it just fine but the legs it came with were too short. I was lucky to have a good friend volunteer to build a stand that was actually high enough for me to stand erect. I next got a plain, high flow, utility faucet with a garden hose connection thread. Add a hose and nozzle to the faucet and I was a happy camper for quite a while. This would probably be the cheapest best way of all the dog bathing systems out there.

Recirculating Power Dog Bathing Systems

I had one for many years and really loved the efficiency.

Dog washing systems like this utilize a small submersible sump pump with a hose and nozzle attached. It is set in a utility sink with a drain plug and a few inches of water. Add some shampoo along with your dog. When it is turned on it sucks up the soapy water in the tub, comes out the nozzle so you can bathe your dog with the continuing flow of sudsy water. When shampooing is completed, you empty the tub and hose off your dog with fresh water. Pros are:

1. portable.
2. You can use it in your bathtub or utility sink as long as you have a stopper.
3. You can use any shampoo or conditioner you choose by just adding it to the water in the tub.
4. Rinsing the coat is quick due to the initial dilution of the shampoo.  (How many times have you THOUGHT you rinsed well when you used undiluted shampoo but coat found a patch of suds as you were drying the dog?)
5. Even if you do have to use your tub, the bathing is so quick and easy it really doesn’t wear you down like a manual bath would.
6. Now that I have a dedicated dog washing tub which is 48″ long, I Put a 24″ square tote under the elevated floor grates on one side so I only use half the amount of water than if I used the whole tub.

The only real negative is that you have to be near an electrical outlet to plug in the pump (with one of those GFCI widgets to prevent electrocution).

While you can buy a complete system which can be a tad costly, if you are a decent DIYer, you can save considerable cost by getting a small submersible sump pump, a short hose and nozzle and a foot pedal or wireless connector to control the on/off of the system for a fraction of the price. 

Some Concerns

Some people have a problem with the idea that the water is being recirculated, thereby putting the dirty water back on the dog throughout the bath. This is true, but as the proponents of the recirculating system point out, it is no different than what happens to your laundry in the washing machine. And you do rinse the shampoo off with fresh water in the end. The only thing I would add is to buy a quart sized paint strainer bag to put the sump pump in so when it is sucking up the shampoo water, it doesn’t suck up tons of dog hair along with it. 

A Fresh Water Power Washer

After years of using the recirculating dog bathing systems, I decided to try something even better. I decided on the Davis ProPet Dog Washing Systems and had it for well over a decade. 

Pros

1. You don’t have to hook up to any electric. It operates using only water pressure that runs through the machine.
2. You can hook up 7 gallon bottles of product to the machine with the included tubes so you can switch from specialty shampoos or conditioners with a flip of the switch.
3. No need to put a pump in a tub giving you more room for the dog.
4. You hang the whole gizmo up with two screws on the wall. Position the gallon jugs of product with the tubes anywhere nearby.
5. It has a variety of different sized nipples that screw onto the entry point for the shampoo so you can regular how much product is sucked up into the hose and mixed with the water.

Cons

The Cons to this machine are:

1. You do have to have sufficient water pressure (30 PSI minimum – 100 PSI maximum) as well as sufficient gallons per minute (2.6 GPM minimum @ 30 PSI) As someone with a well and old, rinky-dink pump, and a high flow utility faucet, it works just fine. But check the specifics of what you have. It may be just me, but finding a faucet that delivers 2.6 GPM was the hardest part. Everyone wants to go “low flow” these days.
2. The nozzle they send with the machine for my shelties was wayyyyy too big and awkward to get under their bellies to wash easily. I think they now have a smaller nozzle option, or you can simply buy your own. 
3. The hoses they send are super duper heavy duty. Which for the one that hooks up to the faucet is fine, but to use the same stiff hose for attaching the nozzle… again… awkward with a small dog in a small tub. I substituted 5 ft of flexzilla hose and found it better. 

Bather Box

Another, more recent brand that I bought when the Davis washer finally died called Bather Box works similar, in that you hook up undiluted shampoo to the machine, choose the product to use on the dog and start bathing. There are many online companies that sell this, so just do a search of “Bather Box” and choose who you want to buy it from. The price seems pretty much fixed.  Here is a video that shows the set up which is pretty much the same as the Davis brand

This machine allows only 4 different shampoos/conditioners to be hooked up. It does not have the individual nipples to change the dilution rates of the shampoos, just a dial for more or less shampoo, which initially, I wanted specific dilution rates. Then I realized that the nipples are only accurate if you are using very thin shampoos. Really thick shampoos will not go thru the machine at the same rate as thinner liquids. DUH! If you are using really thick shampoos or conditioners neither of these machines will handle that well. 

Bather Box is a smaller, lighter machine than the Davis brand.

Both Davis and Bather Box have their own brand of shampoos which should go thru the machines fine. Or just choose a thin shampoo or conditioner of your choice for these types of dog bathing systems.

So there I was, happy with my new Bather Box but with a few gallons of really thick shampoos. (I couldn’t pour it out of the gallon jug. A pump dispenser had to be ulitized.). I thought “what to do? What to do??”

So, I says to myself, I says, I says…. Linda, SURELY there is something else out there to try. So putting on my best Goldilocks spectacles, I found yet another dog bathing systems.

Prima Bathing Dog Washing Systems

Enter the Prima Bathing System. It’s a self contained unit that holds up to 14 gallons of water where you add shampoo into the tank with water. The machine mixes everything and then dispenses thru a pressurized hose/nozzle. They also have other models mimicing the Davis and Bather Box dog bathing systems, but I have not tried them.

I liked that I could use any shampoo or conditioner regardless of how thick they were. Putting the full strength product into the tank and mixed in the tank before applying to the dog solved that . The unit however was pretty big, and needs an electric outlet. You have to guess how many gallons of washing fluid you need before hand. The other dog bathing systems kept sucking up shampoo for as long as it was on.

While NONE of the above dog bathing systems solves ALL the issues with bathing a dog, they have their benefits. I’m sure you’ll be able to find something that suits your needs if you are in the market. (I don’t get any commission from any purchases you may make).

Where did I end up finally? Back at the beginning with a DIY recirculating pump dog washing systems. But I had to try the others. I just had to.

Love,

Goldilocks