Dog coat to stop the endless wet and mud

[doubleshift]

We have a spaniel. A very hairy spaniel. She loves noting more than a romp around the sodden clay soils fields locally and does front crawl through the streams and pools (aka muddy puddles).
On returning home she invariably needs hosing down and stays wet for hours and hours.

Is there anything I can put her in to reduce this faff? Like a waterproof onesie? Wetsuit? Something to stop the mud mainly. A normal dog coat won't help at all.

I’ve just bought my terrier a Ruff and Tumble. She wipes clean and dries quickly being rough coated but she gets very cold. They are very good at drying then after walks.

@doubleshift You may your spaniel overheats with any sort of coat on during exercise - I have equafleece coats for mine, which I put on before getting into the car to travel back home, they are normally dry by the time we arrive, or if they require a wash down at home, I do that then put the equafleece on them, the dogs then dry very quickly.

Have had the same coats from probably 30 years so seem to be good quality! They are also waterproof, but would overheat the dogs if used in anything but the coldest, wettest weather.

I second Ruff and Tumble. Also had a spaniel who was an absolute mud magnet, I used to shower him off, put the drying coat on him and he’d be pretty much dry within an hour. Just in time to go out and do it all again!

I just knew from your thread title it would be a spaniel
I have one of those, he's a mud magnet and loves water more than anything. Our usual walk plan is to let him run about and get as muddy as he wants, then go for a swim in the lake on the way home so at least he's just wet, not filthy. But that's easy where we live.

I don't have any advice about dog coats, sorry, I don't use them. Our lad just gets a good rub down with a towel when he gets home then dries out gradually, which takes ages, especially his ears.

Interesting that some of you are putting to coat on AFTER the walk. Hadn't thought of that. I had in my mid some kind of hazmat protective clothing on during the walk itself

She LOVES a bath and having her hair blow dried - especially the chest. But I don't have time for the full 5 star salon treatment every day!

I've got a onesie for mine from Lah de dah dog company - I find them cheaper but just as good quality as equafleece and similar!

This is what I did. They are good for keeping mud off too, but you need to watch for overheating. They are excellent for drying.

Just letting her wear a fleece type coat to dry off, I find gets the worse of the mud off and once dry I just brush the rest off. It may mean less "grooming salon" sessions for you if you do that!

I’m not a fan of coats for young active dogs. They overheat them, they change their body language and if you have a dog like mine it would be a safety risk. I’ve only put one on if waiting a turn in agility class in the winter and when our last dog got very elderly.

Equafleece for mine - they do a summer suit for when it's still relatively mild and then the fleece for winter. DDog will only go into the water up to the top of his legs but will happily charge through mud and the undergrowth in his.

Unless they've rolled in poo or something equally disgusting I just put a drying coat on directly after a walk. Once they're dry the mud turns to dust and can be brushed out. Then the coats just get stuck in the wash

I think the fleece coats have a place for dogs just walking down the road and getting splashed by muddy puddles, but for active dogs that are running off in the undergrowth and rolling around in mud, not so much. Apart from anything else they get heavy. I agree the way to go is a Mud Daddy/Hose followed by Ruff and Tumble or similar and finally laying down in front of an Aga for an hour or so 😂 - ok that last one might be out of budget (but it does work quite well on a Golden Retriever!)

Equafleece was a game changer for our golden retriever. Unfortunately we can only really use it in the depths of winter as I'm scared she'll overheat. But just having to wipe her paws and face after swimming in lochs and rolling in the mud is fantastic.

In my experience with my lab x springer, he would see putting the coat on before the walk as some kind of signal that I'm challenging him to get as muddy as possible to completely defeat the point of the coat. I've now ended up doing what other people have mentioned and use an equafleece for after to dry him off. I've got one of the full body ones

I wouldn't put a coat on a spaniel personally, especially not at this time of year, it's too warm and you risk them overheating.

We have an Amazon drying coat for our beagle, he just gets put in it for half an hour after his hosing down and he's bone dry afterwards. It was only £15 or so and we've had it for about four years now. I also take it to work (dog walker) and use it on my work dogs - it's been a fantastic investment.

Mine are in equafleece

I invested in Ruff and Tumble double towelling drying coats for my Lab and spaniel. Absolutely brilliant. Only their legs that need drying after hosing now. They look very sweet wearing them, like thick dressing gowns.

Looking like ruff and tumble is the way to go