# Forced air dryers...worth it?



## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

Omg, I can't live without mine! But I don't have a dog specific kind. Actually I have a computer vacuum that also blow, but I have used it for the dog ever since. It's very minimal heat but does the job very well. I have used a human hair dryer, it takes too long. It's loud like a normal vacuum, but doesn't bother me much.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

YES they are worth it. But - they aren't quiet. At least not the good ones.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Nope not quiet! But not deafening either.....go to a groom shop and listen maybe? If you are noise sensitive, wear earplugs. The difference it makes in drying is totally worth the noise IMO! I used a human dryer for the first 1 1/2 years and now I wonder how I lived without an HV dryer! 

If you do purchase one make sure it has variable wind speed as the higher the speed the louder it is, and also the really low speed is more acceptable to the dog when you are doing the head and ears! Mine has variable speed and also heat ('high' 'low' and 'off' heat settings) With some models you can also get a stand for 'hands free' use ( I have a 'groomer's helper' clamp to hold mine)
You really need an HV dryer for a proper blowout to get that 'fluffy' look! (You can watch on youtube how to do it correctly!)


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Yes totally worth it including the noise. See if you can find a CC kool dry on sale.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

I got one on Amazon a little over a month ago. It was inexpensive, very powerful and is pretty quiet as well. Not much noisier than my own hair dryer. It has a heat setting or no heat and variable velocity. I mostly use it on the lowest setting. It is a sturdy thing and a bit hefty to lift. 

I can not imagine how I have managed for so many years without one. I used a human hairdryer on Iris for 14 yrs, but it was heavy to hold and I had to watch carefully to not overheat her.

Since I am battling a bad shoulder injury for a few months I could not hold my hair dryer for but a couple of minutes, and sometimes not at all. This one is so easy because you hold just a light weight hose.

Poppy is in a short cut, so from start of her bath to end of drying her it takes about 45 minutes. Just amazing!

Since Poppy is a little explorer, Miss Piggy, when she recently did her best Marine Corps combat belly crawl under my 30 foot blue spruce tree while looking for bunnies, she was not a pretty sight upon emerging. It took me about 2 minutes with the hv dryer in the driveway to blow all the needles and assorted crap out of her coat. I was thrilled!

Poppy is a tom boy and gets bathed often, as a result. Doing 3-4 baths in a week, sometimes, this dryer saves me so much time. Every time I use the garden hose to water plants Poppy takes a shower in the hose. In about 15-20 minutes I have a dry dog!

Here is a picture of the little Shelandy Dryer that I got. It was less than $70. Best money I ever spent, and of course with Amazon Prime I did not have shipping charges to pay.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

iuhippiechick said:


> Have used a human hair dryer on low setting, low heat...holding it several inches away. I've read so many pros and cons of using a dog forced air dryer. Are they worth the money? If so, can anyone recommend a QUIET one?


I think it depends on what your goal is whether it's worth it to you or not, the size of your dog and your dog's fur.

If you have a tpoo and your goal is to just dry your dog's fur, your dog's fur is softer, more wavy (not super thick/wiry) and you like it looking wavy/curly, then maybe you don't need a high velocity dryer (HV dryer).

I like my dog's fur to look professionally groomed and a key component is the fur being blown dry as straight as possible. I could use a human hair dryer on my tpoo, but my minipoo is too large. By the time I would be drying her back end, her front would dry wavy/curly/kinky. The human hair dryer would eventually overheat and get too hot which is a safety issue. HV dryer is using force to literally blow water droplets away from the hair while it blows the hair straight. Many HV dryers don't have heat - mine does but I only use it at the very beginning and turn it off once the dryer motor heats up. The human hair dryer is using heat to dry hair, and you use a brush to help pull the hair straight as the hot air flows through it. The reason for the noise is that motor is more powerful and working harder to blow air in the HV dryer.

My current dog has a very thick and wiry coat - blowing it straight makes it much easier for me to maintain. However my tpoo years ago had a softer, less dense coat and I didn't always straighten her coat. It wasn't a problem, I could more easily comb and maintain her coat. OTOH, because of my tpoo's soft coat, I could never get her to look as crisply groomed as a show dog.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

Viking Queen said:


> Since I am battling a bad shoulder injury for a few months I could not hold my hair dryer for but a couple of minutes, and sometimes not at all. This one is so easy because you hold just a light weight hose.
> 
> Here is a picture of the little Shelandy Dryer that I got. It was less than $70. Best money I ever spent, and of course with Amazon Prime I did not have shipping charges to pay.


Hi and a hug to Poppy!
I too have a bad shoulder, plus arthritis in my hands. This is sounding really appealing. With my Spoo being white when he's clean and various other shades when he gets into things, races through mud puddles or does those belly crawls under logs, branches, etc in the woods, it sounds really helpful


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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

I got my first dryer for Christmas last year. I like the curly look so that wasn't a problem for me but I did needed a way to get her dry quicker in cold weather when her hair was longer. In her short summer Miami she dries fast but with 2 or more inches of hair in cooler months it took forever!! My dryer is LOUD but she is getting more used to it finally, but although it has hi/low settings it is still a bit too forceful for her head and ears so I wish I had gotten one with a dial to control the force.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

The HV dryer cut my drying time in half, while I don't have a SPOO I do bath and dry four toy dogs, three poodles and a pom/chi mix. 
Yes they are a bit noisy but totally worth it.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

kontiki said:


> Hi and a hug to Poppy!
> I too have a bad shoulder, plus arthritis in my hands. This is sounding really appealing. With my Spoo being white when he's clean and various other shades when he gets into things, races through mud puddles or does those belly crawls under logs, branches, etc in the woods, it sounds really helpful


Hello!

This dryer is helpful in so many ways. When we go to the dog park I can blow all the dust and junk off of Poppy before we do the bath. It makes it easier to get her clean and I don't have so much debris in the shower. For a few months I could not lift my right arm, dominant hand, away from my body more than an inch or two so that arm was useless, yet painful. 

Bathing Poppy with one arm was doable but trying to towel dry her or use a human hair dryer was impossible so I had a dripping wet dog each time I bathed her. Now, even if I want to let her air dry in our warm dry climate, I can blow the majority of the water off of her very quickly. This way she is a bit dampish and dries to very pretty curls.

Besides blowing her coat dry I like that the dryer essentially blows each strand of hair, separating them nicely, preventing mats from forming. There were large stretches of time where I was hard pressed to even brush ears, a tail and a topknot. I would have to do them a little bit at a time, broken up over the day. Now most of the work is done by the dryer and a quick brush and comb is done in minutes. Easier for Poppy and since my shoulder is not being aggravated by use, it is healing better as well.

Once upon a time, someone on the forum suggested alternate uses for an hv dryer. Blowing dust and stuff off the dash board of your car when cleaning the interior was one idea. It gets dust and crumbs out of all those little crevaces where a vacumm won't fit. We had a hailstorm recently which left roof gravel, leaves and all kinds of junk on the patio furniture and patio. I blew it off with the dryer as it was fast, more powerful than my shop vac and I could not use a broom to sweep. I blew leaves and junk out of the garage with it too! Hmmmmmm, what else could I use it for?

Kontiki, I hope you and your beautiful boy are doing well. Hugs to you both. Marie asked about him this week and said what a pretty and sweet boy he was! 

We are ready for this 90+ degree weather to go away. Poppy went to see Marie this week and I had her hair taken shorter than ever before! It's a 1/4" on her body and a little longer on her legs. It really shows off her elegant shape and makes my little girl look taller, more leggy! Of course, we kept a fluffy tail , ears and topknot. I will try to capture pictures while she is still spiffy looking!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Raven's Mom said:


> I got my first dryer for Christmas last year. I like the curly look so that wasn't a problem for me but I did needed a way to get her dry quicker in cold weather when her hair was longer. In her short summer Miami she dries fast but with 2 or more inches of hair in cooler months it took forever!! My dryer is LOUD but she is getting more used to it finally, but although it has hi/low settings it is still a bit too forceful for her head and ears so I wish I had gotten one with a dial to control the force.


Poppy doesn't much like it used around her ears and topknot. I put one hand over her eyes while drying and she tolerates it so much better. I take all nozzles off when doing her head and the air flow is more diffused. When I do each ear I hold her ear in my hand with the back of my hand sort of covering the opening of her ear. This keeps air from blowing in the ear canal and allows me to get her ear flap and exterior dry without bothering her too much. You can also put cotton balls in their ears to dampen the noise.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

Hey thanks dear Viking Queen and Poppy! Love the extra ideas too. Maybe I could blow the mounds of leaves of my porch in Michigan too. Off the window sills, etc. I am surrounded by Mmple and other trees so the fall is really messy, though lovely. 
I am still in Colorado. Will have to get one when I go back!


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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

*VQ* I like the cotton idea. I will have to try that next grooming session?


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

I dry my pet trims and show dogs exclusively with my HV dryer. It does a fabulous job! I put on Blue Tooth headphones and a 60's channel and it drowns out the racket of the dryer.

HV dryers work like a charm for defrosting chest freezers too!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

ArreauStandardPoodle said:


> I dry my pet trims and show dogs exclusively with my HV dryer. It does a fabulous job! I put on Blue Tooth headphones and a 60's channel and it drowns out the racket of the dryer.
> I
> HV dryers work like a charm for defrosting chest freezers too!


Oooh, great idea about the headphones and music....wonder what era music Poppy would prefer, if I give her headphones??

Hmmmmm, great idea on defrosting freezers too! :amen:


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Viking Queen said:


> Oooh, great idea about the headphones and music....wonder what era music Poppy would prefer, if I give her headphones??
> 
> Hmmmmm, great idea on defrosting freezers too! :amen:


Does Poppy have a snood? I stick cotton in Babykins’ ears then cover her topknot and ears with a snood to protect her while I dry the body.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Skylar said:


> Does Poppy have a snood? I stick cotton in Babykins’ ears then cover her topknot and ears with a snood to protect her while I dry the body.


Yes, we have a snood. Poppy pays absolutely no attention to the dryer while I do her body....she actually acts sort of bored, funny girl. She just doesn't like the ears blown dry and kind of tucks her face down when I do the topknot. I do cotton in her ears for the ears and topknot. The old desk that I use for our drying table is right next to my drill press and a couple of other power tools. Poppy spends time inspecting those tools while I dry her. I think someday she will try them out when I am not looking.


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

These are fantastic at blocking out noise and relaxing the dogs

Happy Hoodie For Groomers


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

Interesting. Tiki normally hates anything on him, other than a collar. I wonder if he would like that? Is there a way to measure them?
What if I tried tying something around his head first? Ideas?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

kontiki said:


> Interesting. Tiki normally hates anything on him, other than a collar. I wonder if he would like that? Is there a way to measure them?
> What if I tried tying something around his head first? Ideas?



There are just two sizes, but they are pretty stretchy. For a spoo you definitely want large.


Another easy cheap way to make a snood is to cut it from the sleeve of an old sweat shirt. Use closer to the wrist for a smaller dog, closer to the shoulder for a larger dog.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

kontiki said:


> Interesting. Tiki normally hates anything on him, other than a collar. I wonder if he would like that? Is there a way to measure them?
> What if I tried tying something around his head first? Ideas?


My dog isn't fond of her happy hoodie - but I find it so functional that I put it on her anyhow. It helps reduce the noise, protects the ears from blowing air and it keeps the ears and topknot covered and protected while I'm drying the rest of her body. When I've finished the body, I remove the snood and finish the ears and topknot after turning down the velocity on the dryer.

I have a minipoo and she wears size small - it's pretty tight and would fit a tpoo too. Buy size large for a spoo. They are very stretchy and the terry fabric is nice and soft.

They are easy to sew if you had very stretchy fabric, it's just a tube.


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