The New Trend of Wet Baths: 5 Costly Consequences of Leaving Your Pet's Coat Wet

You may be surprised to know that leaving your pet's coat damp after a bath is a significant mistake.

Instead of going out for a walk, most pets (and parents, for that matter) tend to curl and lay down after all the action. This typical behavior prevents the coat from properly aerating, causing high humidity levels to get trapped in between the coat and skin layer. In this warm, moist environment, bacteria find the perfect grounds to grow and multiply.

There is now an even scarier trend by some grooming salons that aims to eliminate coat drying from their sessions altogether. Instead of spending the necessary time to fully dry a coat, pets are being towel-dried and left to air out naturally, leaving undercoats untouched.

After all, allowing pets to go home with a damp or wet coat reduces costs and allows more pets to be booked for the day. Drying is usually the longest step during a grooming session, not only because of the drying of the coat itself but also because of all the cleaning that must be done afterward.

Most responsible pet parents are completely unaware of the hidden costs lurking around within that humid coat. Not because a bath looks cheaper means that you will not end up paying more in the long run.

Because coat and skin damage does not happen overnight, it might take a week or more to notice something is wrong. By then, the cost of getting veterinary care to fix the problem is 10 times more than what you paid for the bath.

Here are five reasons you would want to avoid leaving your pet's coat damp after a bath:

1. Hot spots

This painful, itchy, and stinky skin condition is caused by the overgrowth of bacteria. During a bath, dead hair gets released from the skin. Unless a medicated formula is used, shampoo ingredients focus on cleaning, not killing bacteria. If it is not blown out, hair lays down in perfectly-formed layers on top of the skin, creating the perfect breeding grounds for bacteria and fungus already present to flourish.

2. Odor

Coats that do not get adequately dried after a bath end up smelling worse after just a few days. The distinctive "wet-dog" or "wet-cat" smell takes over any hint of a scent left behind by shampoos, causing you to scratch your head and say to your pet, "But you just got a bath!"

3. Dander

This powdery allergen comprises dead skin cells that lay on the skin's surface and hair until they shake or get a bath. Once airborne, dander ends up not only on top of surfaces but also breathed in by those sharing the same air with your pet.

On contact with water, dander gets gummy, resembling a glue-like substance, and sticks to the hair. It is only through the use of a good quality shampoo followed by an adequate drying session with forced air that dander gets negatively charged and dried up enough to detach from the hair and float away.

And this is one of the main reasons why grooming salons are now skipping the drying step on their baths. Less time spent cleaning (cost) equals more time grooming (revenue).

4. Follicle damage

Right after a bath, the skin has been stripped out of its natural oils that protect and nourish its surface. The coat should only be patted down and never stroked when using a towel. Otherwise, hair gets split, and the skin may become irritated. However, simply patting down hair with a towel leaves the coat primed to become susceptible to all the other problems discussed before.

5. Matting and Shedding

Finally, never leave your pet's coat damp if you do not wish for more hair floating all over your floors and carpet, or spend hours brushing every day! This is especially true for multi-layer coats.

Professional drying allows forced air to reach the deepest layer of your pet's coat and the skin, causing dead hair on the top and undercoat to become untangled from live hair and released.

In other words

Always opt to have your pet's coat entirely dried out whenever you take your pet for a professional bath. Towel-drying only takes care of the topcoat. While your hand may feel it is "dry enough" to the touch, in reality, significant problems are brewing closer to the skin unless humidity levels are reduced.

Professional drying keeps the coat looking its best and helps with skin rejuvenation as dead hair and skin cells are blown out.