Outdoor dog shower

[Gav_P]

I’m about to make an outdoor dog wash / shower.... has anyone got any good ideas or examples?

 

I want hot and cold mixer and some kind of draining base... other than this I’m open to further ideas. 

[Big Jimbo]

I would suggest not using a shower tray. Way too slippy for a dog. If they put a joint out it won't be fun for them, or you with the vet bill.

[newhome]

Most people I know just install a thermostatic mixer outside on the patio area. I haven't seen anyone use a shower tray or similar outside. 

[Onoff]

[Gav_P]

I’ve just realised my glaring issue with the thread title ??‍♂️
 

8 hours ago, newhome said:

Most people I know just install a thermostatic mixer outside on the patio area. I haven't seen anyone use a shower tray or similar outside. 

I was thinking about a thermostatic shower, but wasn’t sure about it being affected by freezing?

 

9 hours ago, Big Jimbo said:

I would suggest not using a shower tray. Way too slippy for a dog. If they put a joint out it won't be fun for them, or you with the vet bill.

definitely won’t be using a normal shower tray for this exact reason. 
 

I was wondering if people had used any kind of enclosure (2, 3 or 4 sides)?

 

What kind of ‘flooring’ which allowed ample

drainage rather than just collecting dirty water on a patio. Maybe something with a grate or drainage channels ? 

 

[PeterW]

17 minutes ago, Gav_P said:

I’ve just realised my glaring issue with the thread title ??‍♂️

That’s what admins are for ... 

[PeterW]

21 minutes ago, Gav_P said:

What kind of ‘flooring’ which allowed ample

drainage rather than just collecting dirty water on a patio. Maybe something with a grate or drainage channels ? 

Outdoors you could always make something to suit the location - if you use an Aco drain at the back you could always cast concrete to a form and falls. White cement and yellow sand make a very passable copy of sandstone and adding waterproof admix or painting with Waterseal when it’s done will keep it clean. You can always jet wash it if it gets really mucky. 

[newhome]

47 minutes ago, Gav_P said:

I was thinking about a thermostatic shower, but wasn’t sure about it being affected by freezing?

You could fit it inside in the utility room, maybe under the sink, and run the hose outside? 

 

[Gav_P]

42 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Outdoors you could always make something to suit the location - if you use an Aco drain at the back you could always cast concrete to a form and falls. White cement and yellow sand make a very passable copy of sandstone and adding waterproof admix or painting with Waterseal when it’s done will keep it clean. You can always jet wash it if it gets really mucky. 

That sounds like a good idea... and I already have some Aco type drains hanging around here somewhere. 

 

18 minutes ago, newhome said:

You could fit it inside in the utility room, maybe under the sink, and run the hose outside? 

 

Yeah this was kind of a fall back position, but I wanted to reduce any fannying about, because the times I’ll need it will be when it’s cold wet and dark and I’ll find an excuse not to wash the dog. ?

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, Gav_P said:

I’ve just realised my glaring issue with the thread title ??‍♂️
 

I was thinking about a thermostatic shower, but wasn’t sure about it being affected by freezing?

 

definitely won’t be using a normal shower tray for this exact reason. 
 

I was wondering if people had used any kind of enclosure (2, 3 or 4 sides)?

 

What kind of ‘flooring’ which allowed ample

drainage rather than just collecting dirty water on a patio. Maybe something with a grate or drainage channels ? 

 

 

But dogs love shower tarys of water to play in - just has to be a very deep shower tray. Or a pond.

 

I got rid of such to a T and the small terrier went beserk.

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, Gav_P said:

I’ve just realised my glaring issue with the thread title ??‍♂️
 

I was thinking about a thermostatic shower, but wasn’t sure about it being affected by freezing?

 

definitely won’t be using a normal shower tray for this exact reason. 
 

I was wondering if people had used any kind of enclosure (2, 3 or 4 sides)?

 

What kind of ‘flooring’ which allowed ample

drainage rather than just collecting dirty water on a patio. Maybe something with a grate or drainage channels ? 

 

 

Freezing there are lots of ways to do it, but you could have a master tap on the inside and remove the shower head fro Nov - Jan for example. 

[Gav_P]

38 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

 

Freezing there are lots of ways to do it, but you could have a master tap on the inside and remove the shower head fro Nov - Jan for example. 

But that also means I can’t wash the dog for 3 months, and that would be the worst time of the year when he gets filthy on every walk. 

[Gav_P]

42 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

 

But dogs love shower tarys of water to play in - just has to be a very deep shower tray. Or a pond.

 

I got rid of such to a T and the small terrier went beserk.

I’ve got a big dog (labradoodle) and any slipping and sliding would definitely not do his hips any good. Both labradors and poodles suffer hip problems and labradoodles combine both . 

[Ferdinand]

2 minutes ago, Gav_P said:

But that also means I can’t wash the dog for 3 months, and that would be the worst time of the year when he gets filthy on every walk. 

 

Or you could have one of those taps with the valve on the inside, and the handle on the outside. Tend to be an American thing, but I think they are on ebay.

 

There are lots of possibilities out there.

 

[Gav_P]

1 minute ago, Ferdinand said:

 

Or you could have one of those taps with the valve on the inside, and the handle on the outside. Tend to be an American thing, but I think they are on ebay.

 

There are lots of possibilities out there.

 

Yeah your right... I think my preference is a shower mixer outside, it appears quite a few people do this, so I guess frost isn’t a big issue. If it busts, I’ll have to rethink then. 

[Ferdinand]

I'm being slightly lazy, as we have been round this one about once a year sometimes for taps not showers, and I did not want to go digging.

 

One of the lessons is to use plastic pipe for the outside bit.

Another is to run the pipe so that that the outside pipe will tend to drain if you switch off the supply and leave the outside turned on.

For a shower I guess that a handheld shower and a hook on the wall may be a good option, combined with a locker it can be coiled back into.

 

You'll also want to think about all your outside water and services including rainwater collection for the garden. IIRC Jeremy Harris being Jeremy Harris has about 3 taps and electric sockets distributed around his plot like the Bristol Botanical Gardens. I think he also has an appropriate ornamental well above his borehole too, and I didn't manage to persuade him to put a Jeremy-lookalike garden gnome with a fishing rod sitting on the wall; I'd have bought him one, too.

 

F

 

Here are a couple of threads:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Thorfun]

I think our dog must be a bit spoilt as we're building a 'doggy shower' in the utility room for him. 

[Gav_P]

11 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

I'm being slightly lazy, as we have been round this one about once a year sometimes for taps not showers, and I did not want to go digging.

 

One of the lessons is to use plastic pipe for the outside bit.

Another is to run the pipe so that that the outside pipe will tend to drain if you switch off the supply and leave the outside turned on.

For a shower I guess that a handheld shower and a hook on the wall may be a good option, combined with a locker it can be coiled back into.

 

F

 

Here are a couple of threads:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for this, I had spotted them previously, but I noticed that most mention that the hot tap is for showering before/after swimming/hot tub and I thought it might not get year round use, where as mine would be used most days in the winter.  

[Gav_P]

2 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

I think our dog must be a bit spoilt as we're building a 'doggy shower' in the utility room for him. 

My wife wanted that but we don’t have the space, I’m not building an extension for the dog... so outdoors it is. 

[Thorfun]

2 minutes ago, Gav_P said:

My wife wanted that but we don’t have the space, I’m not building an extension for the dog... so outdoors it is. 

 

can't the wife be put outdoors instead? 

[Gav_P]

Just now, Thorfun said:

 

can't the wife be put outdoors instead? 

Turns out it’s happening to me.. she’s just ordered me a new shed for my home office.

[Thorfun]

10 minutes ago, Gav_P said:

Turns out it’s happening to me.. she’s just ordered me a new shed for my home office.

well done! you managed to get her to buy you a shed. she sounds like a keeper. ?

 

as long as she doesn't change the locks to the house while you're 'working' in the shed that is.

[newhome]

I have a downstairs wet room that doubles up as a dog shower when needed, but as I live by the beach winter mud is thankfully not a concern. 

[Jenni]

My muddy mutts currently get cold hosed outside. 

In my ongoing barn conversion project I plan on having a thermostatic valve inside, so the outside tap is tepid/warm. Just attach hosepipe and water spray gun to that as normal and they can be grateful it's not as cold as before! 

Patio laid to fall toward gravel, after hosing dogs, rinse off that area of patio. 

 

[Ferdinand]

To be fair, when I lived in South Hampstead my landlord used to jog across the Heath for a swim every morning, then come back and take a cold shower in the nud in the back garden afterwards for most of the year.

 

If a 60 year old willow-thin Londoner can do it, you lot must really be pampering your doggos.

 

Have anyone got a hot air dryer to make them extra comfy?

 

(But I'm the one who installed the catflap into the shed to keep the cat in its correct place.)

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Ferdinand