Goldens need regular grooming, and this includes regular baths. It’s necessary to give your dog a bath every once in a while to clean their coats and keep them in top conditions.
It’s also important to clean them after they get dirty from playing outside or after they have spent sometime swimming. After giving them a bath, it’s crucial to dry them the right way, and while it may sound too easy, it’s actually very important to get this part right.
Drying all this hair can take too much time and effort, so here is how you should do it.
So, how to dry your golden retriever after a bath? You can dry your golden retriever after a bath with a large absorbent towel, or you can use the blow-dryer to speed the process but make sure to keep the dryer away from them at least 6 inches to avoid split ends and to prevent burning and brush them while you’re blow-drying them.
That was only the short answer, to learn how to dry your dog quickly, efficiently, and effectively after the bath, keep reading…
11 Ways to Dry Your Golden Retriever
Here are 11 efficient and effective ways to dry your golden retriever after a bath:
- You can use a microfiber towel (it’s recommended to get one that’s specifically made for dogs)
- Put the towel over your dog kinda like a blanket
- Start drying them from the head down
- Massage the towel over their head and whole body (make sure to dry their ears as well)
- Dry their legs and paws last (because the gravity pulls the water down)
- Now, you can use the hairdryer (it’s optional because some dogs are scared of the hairdryer because of its loud noise)
- You can get a hairdryer for dogs if they are scared of yours
- Make sure to set your hairdryer on the room temperature air (if your hairdryer doesn’t have that option make sure to use it on the lowest setting)
- Move your hand constantly to make sure that the hair dryer isn’t getting too hot on their skin
- Do the same thing as you did with the towel and start with the head down
- If it’s the first time you are using the hairdryer on your dog make sure to start slowly and calm them down.
For my complete guide to bathing your dog, check out my post on how and when to bathe your golden retriever here.
Pro Tips To Quickly Dry Your Golden Retriever After a Bath
- Get a microfiber towel that is specifically made for dogs
- Prepare the towel before you give them a bath
- After the bath, wrap your golden retriever with the towel quickly and gently squeeze and massage their fur
- Set the blow dryer to the lowest setting or to the room temperature air
- Keep your hand in motion and start from their head and down
- You can use a quick-drying spray that gets the water out of their coats more quickly.
- Before drying your dog, put a towel on the floor where you are going to dry them to prevent them from slipping and to avoid stressing them out, and it will dry their wet paws as well and will save you some time.
My Recommendations
For the towel, I absolutely love the Bone Dry towel because it’s very absorbent, machine-washable, and super soft to the touch. You can check the Bone Dry Towel on Amazon here, but make sure to get the larger size.
For the spray, I love the one from Pet Pleasant which you can check on Amazon here. It only uses natural ingredients, it smells great, and I have never seen any side effects of it on any of my dogs.
Common Mistakes Dog Owners Make (During Baths)
There are some common mistakes dog owners make while or after bathing their dogs, so here are some of those so you can avoid them:
- Leaving them wet instead of drying them with a towel or a blowdryer as some dog owners think that when their dogs shake off all the water from their body the job is done and they don’t need to do anything.
- Brushing them wrong is actually pretty common even though brushing them seems easy, some dog owners cannot notice that there are knots in their dog’s fur and end up making their dog feeling uncomfortable and uneasy
- Some dog owners also don’t know is that they should brush their dogs before and after the bath not just after the bath besides brushing them at least 3 times a week
- Brushing the wrong way is more common than it should be. Only brush your dog’s hair in the direction it normally flows. Brushing in the opposite direction can be painful and leads to tangles and even hair loss.
- Do not try to brush them if their fur is tangled instead you should deal with the tangles or mats first (using a detangling spray and a detangling brush)
- If you own a golden retriever, labrador, german shepherd, or any dog with a double coat, you should brush them before you shampoo them to remove any dirt or loose hair or fur.
- Do not brush them when they are still too wet because this will create mats
- Using the wrong grooming tools can lead to all sorts of problems including infections
- When some people use a blow dryer on their dogs, they keep the blow dryer too close to their dog which might burn their skin and harm their coat, that’s why when you use a blowdryer you should keep it at least 6 inches away from your dog and keep your hand in constant motion.
- When you are using a towel to dry your dog, massage it gently against their fur, if you rub it a little rough it will harm their fur and will lead to split ends.
- Leaving the bathroom open. Your dog could easily jump out of the tub and run all over the house wet, not only getting themselves dirty and falling which could hurt them but will also leave your entire house smelling, literally, like a wet dog.
Related Questions
Can I let my golden retriever air dry after a bath?
You shouldn’t let your golden retriever air dry because of their thick double coats, also, the damp coat can lead to matting and it will make their coat a perfect environment for any skin infection such as yeast infection, hot spots, and mites.
Is it bad to leave your dog wet?
Leaving your dog wet is not recommended in general and especially if the weather is cold because it could cause some health problems, however, if the weather is hot, you can leave them wet as a way to make the temperature more tolerable.
This is not recommended with double-coated dogs such as golden retrievers and labs at all because their double coats mean they will stay wet for hours, making them a perfect environment for parasites.
Should I brush my golden retriever before or after a bath?
You should brush your golden retriever before and after the bath, not just one or the other and you should brush them at least three times a week to keep their coats dirt-free and help with the blood flow and oil distribution in their coats.
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Helpful Resources
Simple Tricks to Make Dog’s Bath Time Easier, Faster and Neater
