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Beach days
How to dry a dog after the beach and avoid hot spots
Cape Ann dogs swim from October to April, when the beaches are open to them and the water is cold, and again in every river and pond from May on. Wet is not the problem. Staying wet is. This is the dry-off routine that keeps a thick coat from turning a good swim into a hot spot.
What you need
What you need: fresh water in the car, two towels and moving air
Pack for the dry before you pack for the beach. A gallon jug of tap water and a collapsible bowl live in the car all winter; the jug rinses salt from the coat and the bowl gives the dog something better than sea water to drink. Two large towels, one for the car and one for the house, because the first is soaked by the time you reach the driveway.
At home you need a dryer that blows cool air, or a box fan on the floor for a dog who hates the noise. A slicker brush and a steel comb finish the job on a long or double coat, lifting the hair so air reaches the skin. For a smooth-coated Lab or pointer, a chamois towel and ten minutes are enough. A towel on the car seat means the shake lands on something washable.
- A gallon of fresh water and a collapsible bowl in the car
- Two towels, one for the car and one for the door
- A cool dryer or a box fan
- A slicker brush and comb for thick or long coats
The method
The method: rinse, towel against the grain, air to the skin, hand check
Rinsing comes first because salt and sand dry into the coat and hold moisture against the skin for hours. Pour fresh water from the neck back, working it in with your fingers, then squeeze the coat like a sponge rather than rubbing. Toweling against the grain, tail to head, lifts the coat and pulls far more water out than stroking with it. Change towels when the first stops absorbing.
The dryer or the fan does the part hands cannot. Work against the grain again, section by section, and stop only when you can part the coat at the neck, the armpits, behind the ears and under the tail and feel dry skin. On a golden or a doodle that takes 20 minutes. Finish with the slicker so the coat lies open, and take the collar off so the neck dries too.
- 01
Rinse the coat with fresh water at the car, neck to tail, squeezing rather than rubbing
- 02
Towel against the grain, tail toward head, until the towel stops absorbing, then switch towels
- 03
Dry with a cool dryer or a fan against the grain, one section at a time
- 04
Part the coat at the collar line, behind the ears, the armpits and the tail base and feel for damp skin
- 05
Brush a thick coat open with a slicker and remove the collar for the evening
- 06
Check the same four places the next morning for redness, heat or a spot the dog keeps licking
Where it goes wrong
Where it goes wrong: the shake, the collar and the heated crate
The dog shakes in the parking lot, looks dry by the time you are home, and everyone forgets. The surface coat dries in the wind; the undercoat under it stays soaked. That is the classic path to a hot spot on a golden or a Bernese, and it shows up a day or two later as a red, wet, painful patch the dog will not leave alone. A hot spot is a vet visit, not a grooming appointment.
Leaving the collar on a wet neck traps water and rubs. Drying a dog with a heated dryer or beside the wood stove dries the surface fast while the skin underneath stays damp and warm, and crating a wet dog on a blanket does the same thing more slowly. Cool air, moving, for longer, is always the better dry, even when it takes twice the time.
- Trusting the shake: the top coat dries and the undercoat does not
- Collar left on a wet neck all evening
- Heat instead of moving air: a hot dryer or the wood stove
- A wet dog shut in a crate on a damp blanket
The Cape Ann version
The Cape Ann version: cold water, dune grass and the dog-day calendar
Most Cape Ann swims happen in cold water on the beaches' legal dog days, which changes the risk in two ways. A cold, wet dog in a January wind needs a fast towel and a warm car more than a careful blow-dry, so rinse at home instead of on the sand. And the walk back through the dune grass at Good Harbor is a tick walk from April onward, so the dry-off is also the tick check; the AVMA parasite page describes where to look.
The dates decide where you will be drying the dog. At the time of writing, Gloucester's beaches take dogs from October 1 to April 30, with Good Harbor on even-numbered days only and closed to dogs from April 1 for the plovers, and Wingaersheek on odd-numbered days; Crane Beach in Ipswich allows leashed dogs through the winter, and Rockport's beaches are closed to dogs from June 1 to September 15. The town pages linked below carry the current rules.
| Beach | Dog days at the time of writing | Dry-off note |
|---|---|---|
| Good Harbor, Gloucester | Even-numbered days, October 1 to March 31 | Long dune-grass walk back: tick check as you towel |
| Wingaersheek, Gloucester | Odd-numbered days, October 1 to April 30 | Wide flats at low tide mean a very sandy coat: rinse before you towel |
| Crane Beach, Ipswich | Leashed dogs, October 1 to March 31 | Long walk from the lot: towel at the car, dry at home |
| Rockport town beaches | No dogs June 1 to September 15; leash or direct voice control otherwise | Rocky entries: check the pads while you dry the feet |
When to hand it to us
When to hand it to us: the bath with the blow-dry built in
A beach day that ends at Dogtown Grooming is the simplest version. The bath is priced by size from $55 up to 25 pounds to $95 for an extra-large long coat, and every bath includes a blow-dry and brush-out that reaches the skin in a way a towel and a household dryer cannot. Grooming needs no evaluation, and a dog who already comes to daycare can have the bath added to the day.
Hand it over when the coat is thick enough that you cannot get it dry in half an hour, when the dog fights the home dryer, or when a smell of low tide lingers a day later, which means damp undercoat. If you find a red, moist, painful patch, or the dog will not stop licking one spot, that is a hot spot and your vet's job; a groom comes after it heals.
At Dogtown
After the swim
A bath by size with the blow-dry included, added to a daycare day if you like.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
What does a hot spot look like on a dog?
Do I really need to rinse sea water out of the coat?
Is a hair dryer safe to use on a dog?
Which Cape Ann beaches can my dog use this week?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- Gloucester beaches
- Discover Gloucester off-season dog beaches
- Rockport beach regulations
- AVMA ticks and fleas
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Beach in the morning, dry by noon.
Book a bath online or in the Dogtown app; no evaluation is needed for grooming. Already a daycare dog? Add the bath to the day.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
