Will hosing off a GSD make them sick? Could an owner bring a GSD into the shower with them and wash dirt off without hurting the dog's health?

Hello Cindy,

I am a pet sitter in NJ. One of my clients has two wonderful GSD rescues. The other day after heavy rains the backyard where they are let out by me was pretty muddy. They needed to do their business and so they were out having a grand time for about 20 minutes. I brought them into their kennel room and did my best to get the mud off, but they were quite muddy. I contacted the client to give her a heads up that the dogs were muddy and might need a bath. She came home and was completely freaked out. She claimed that being muddy had traumatized her dogs. I offered to return and help hose the dogs off and dry them. She called her mother who was a groomer to find out if the dogs could be hosed off and was told doing so would make the dogs ill. I thought GSDs were bred to be outside, had a double coat to protect them, and were a very hardy breed. I cannot imagine that hosing healthy dogs off would harm them in any way, nor would allowing the mud to dry and brushing them out. Needless to say, I offered to pay for any bathing or grooming the dogs needed. The dogs went to the groomer the next morning.

So my question is - will hosing off a GSD make them sick? Will allowing mud to dry and later brushing it out make them ill? These dogs have a heated kennel room. Could an owner bring a GSD into the shower with them and wash dirt off without hurting the dog's health?

Please let me know your expert opinion. I want to provide the very best service to my clients and offer any common sense approaches to issues like this.

Thank you so much for your input!

Patricia