How to Clean a Muddy Dog The Lazy Way

Each season, at least where I live, includes precipitation. Depending on air temperature it might be drizzle, rain, sleet, hail, ice, snow or some combination. The first snows of the season are often beautiful — a blanket of white covering tree limbs, lawns, streets, bushes — everything. I love walking with dogs and taking in the quiet and beauty. Watching fresh snow through the eyes of an innocent puppy is highly entertaining. I’ve certainly enjoyed watching Blazer conquer drifts, nosing in and snorting, charging up snowy hills and more.

Blazer in Snow
Charge!!!!

Then I remember that temperatures fluctuate and snow melts. When combined with grass and dirt you get mud. And when you put dogs together to play in the mud…well. They get muddy. Not to mention the trashing of the yard from skid marks and wrestling matches. Clean up options include toweling them off, throwing them (gently) into a bathtub or shower stall to bathe. Then you have the post bath clean up to contend with. I handle a lot of dogs. I see a lot of mud. I sweep a lot of dust. So I have come up with a Plan B that works better than all that.

Here it is:

Simply take mud covered puppy,who is by now exhausted from all that rowdy playing in the mud with other muddy dogs (not all mine thank goodness!) and place in crate next to radiator. Let said mud covered puppy nap and dry off. When the puppy wakes up and comes out an hour or so later, voila, clean as can be. Why? Because fed a healthy diet and given a chance to just dry off on a soft and comfy surface, the mud dries, flakes off and the clean puppy beneath is revealed.

P.S. In summertime mud, same process. Just let pup dry in warm sun or air dry. Same effect.

IMG_2604
Houseful of clean critters.

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