Drying Off

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In order to produce an excellent finish on a groomed animal, the pet must be very clean, free of dead hair and tangles, and properly dried. There is more to this last step than many people realize.

Preparing a pet’s coat for clipping, scissoring or plucking is the basis of a job well done. Getting the pet from clean and wet, to clean and totally dry from the skin to the tips of the hair is a large and time-consuming part of the work to be done. How the dog is dried has a huge effect on the finished result of the grooming. It may seem counter intuitive, but the drying process should begin before a groomer ever even gets the pet wet.

Air Flow

Good air flow in the environment is hugely important. Any area where pets are bathed has lots of moisture in the air. Installing a vent fan over bathtubs can make a dramatic impact on how much moisture gets trapped in the grooming area.

Drying a pet in a space full of wet air is nearly impossible. Air conditioning helps, removing water with ventilation and dehumidifiers are even better.

Choosing Products

Did you know there are shampoos designed for animals that will actually help you dry coats more quickly? Show Season’s Speed Dry shampoo works by making it easier for water to move through the coat so it can be quickly removed from the coat. Shampoos and light conditioners with silicone or silk proteins help to smooth and seal individual hair shafts so that water does not linger there, and can be absorbed or blown out more easily.

Beyond these products are after-bath sprays, such as Quick-Dry from Davis Manufacturing, Ultra Fast Blow Dry Conditioner from E-Z Groom and Speed Dry spray from Show Seasons.

The ingredients in these products work by reducing the surface tension in water, which makes it easier to remove it from the coat.

The Power of Absorption

Using regular towels or super absorbing, microfiber clothes is the best first step to drying dogs and cats. By actually extracting much of the water physically with toweling, it reduces the amount of water that would be blown into the environment with a dryer while reducing time spent evaporating moisture with air.

 Super-absorbent clothes, such as Moisture Magnets, available through MDC Romani, work by sucking water out of the coat like a sponge. They can be wrung out and reused on the pet as they become saturated, and can be machine-washed and dried, on low heat, just like terrycloth towels.

 Happy Hoodies are soft, absorbent tubes that come in three sizes, and when slipped over a dog or cat’s head, they begin to remove moisture from the coat on contact. They also buffer the sound of mechanical pet dryers, helping to keep the pet calm while the body coat is being dried. Once removed from the head, stylists will find that the area where the Hoodie was is already free of the heaviest moisture, and drying time in that area is pleasantly reduced.

 Tabletoppers

Placing a towel on the table beneath a pet that is being dried is a time-honored practice, but one fraught with frustration. Towels slip and blow off, and nails become tangled in them.

Fit to be Dried grooming tabletoppers end that frustration. Designed to stay snugly on the grooming table, these towels absorb moisture from the pet’s feet as they stand to be dried, as well as absorbing water that is blown off the coat.

It even reduces the sound of air that high-velocity dryers produce when hitting the hard surface of an un-topped table.They provide comfortable footing for the pets and are machine wash and dryable.

Dryers

Whether a groomer chooses to use a traditional dryer with a heating element which removes water by combining the action of air movement with warmth or a high velocity dryer designed to push water out of the coat with the movement of air, the drying time will be vastly reduced and the end result improved if the groomer begins the drying process before they ever even wash the pet.

Just remember to keep the humidity low, utilize products that will smooth the hair so it releases moisture, absorb as much water as possible mechanically, and keep pets calm and comfortable.