I was in town today, and happened to drive by this place called the Pawsh Wash, which is a place where you can take your dog in for do-it-yourself bathing/grooming. (They also carry all-natural pet foods and treats, pet supplies, etc). They have stainless steel tubs w/non-skid ramps that the dogs can walk up into themselves, and you can bath them yourself - it's like the car wash in that the shampoo actually comes out of the hose mixed with the water, then you can set it on rinse...they also have cubbies where you can towel dry or use a dryer to dry your dog. If you want, you can pay them to do it for you, and they have groomers there that can do haircuts, trim nails, etc. If you do it yourself, you don't have to clean up afterwards, as they clean and disinfect each "bay" after each use. (This is all indoors, BTW). For my dog (long-coated GSD) it would be $18.00 for do-it-yourself, or $35.00 for them to bath/dry/brush - no clipping, of course.

I asked the girl that worked there about whether fleas, mites, etc can be transmitted from one dog to another, and she said it's possible, but they don't really have that problem, as they keep things so clean.

I bath Kodee myself at home (he doesn't get bathed hardly ever - maybe once in the last 5 months or so), as I keep him brushed and he's in the house normally, and doesn't have much chance to get too dirty. But if I did decide to go there, do you think it would be too risky as far as "catching" something? I don't know why, but I kind of felt that it might be less sanitary than taking them to a professional groomer (who doesn't have do-it-yourself services...) The place looked clean enough, it just sort of bugs me that just anyone can go in and wash their dog, but I guess that's no different than "just anyone" dropping their dog off at the groomers. What do you think? Anyone use these places?

I think those do-it-yourself dog washes (which are pretty much all as you described, and which have been around for years) are a lot easier than home for a big dog.

There are three in my fairly small town, and they all seem plenty clean enough to me.

I'm not clear on why a groomer would be more sanitary.... ?

P.S. The lack of bathroom mess is very nice.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

P.S. The lack of bathroom mess is very nice.

I use the lake to wash the dogs. I'm cheap! The dogs have a blast too!

I LOVE these places! I hate cleaning up the bathroom after a bath. I only bathe my dogs hmmmm about once every 3- months or so depending on time of year. Do it yourself washes are well worth the money and if you are concerned about sanitation ask what they do/what their procedure is. Do they clean the room out between baths? Do they use sanitation products, what kind? etc

Never had a problem with them myself, I take my own shampoo and creme rinse, conditioning spray, and brushes. Their tub, their towels, their dryer.. their mess!

A number of professional grooming places in my area require current vaccinations, including bordetella, so I wouldn't go for that reason alone. Plus, I've heard some real horror stories about groomers.

I'd use the do-it-yourself washes if needed.

Sarah - yeah, I've had dogs the victim of horror stories. In Wisconsin we had the long coated dogs line cut and trimmed. I told them the dogs had moles/warts and showed them where they were, and a small fatty tumor on the old husky. They called us and told us it would be an extra two hours on the husky because they had to muzzle him and then he peed and pooped on himself from being restrained while they were shaving him... they shaved his moles and warts to bloody stumps and cut the fatty tumor! I refused to pay for him but payed for the other dogs.

I was enraged. From the on we did it ourselves, I had to work with that poor dog a while to get him comfortable with the sound of clippers again.

They are not all bad but I will not be going back to a groomer ever again with any dog. I'm sure there are very good groomers out there but I love the self wash places for the convenience and ease of it, and the nice low price compared to professional grooming on most dogs.

We go to a self service doggie wash and I love it.
I do my hounds here in the summer and sometimes in the tub in the winter if I need to do right away, but they have short flat coats with no undercoat.

Long fluffy haired dogs we do at the dogwash, they supply the shampoo, some all natural bluberry goo stuff for their face to keep them busy, aprons, towels, driers, brushes, clippers etc all for $15.00 and they clean up the mess.
They are also really helpful if you need it and will assist if your all alone with a freaker outer.

We actually stopped there on the way home with Fargo when he was a tiny pup because he was covered in fleas and stank so bad it was hard not to gag.
They were so nice and ooh and awwwed over him and then didnt even charge us that time.

I forgot to add
I think the self service type may actually be more sanitary because the customers are actually seeing the facilities. the place we go to uses bleach mixture between each dog on the tub floor and counters and tools and brushes are all sterilized in an autoclave or dishwasher
When you walk in they give you a basket with all the tools, shampoo, towels, brushes, etc..

I worked in the back of a vet with a groomer in high school.

She was not a nice lady and would just rip through knots and matts and about blow the little dogs over with the high powered blowers. For her they had ceased to be dogs and become an assembly line of "jobs"

None of my dogs but one have been to a groomer save except my husky Levi his first real coat blow and she is a good friend!!