There is a moment every dog owner in the Pennines knows well. You open the front door after a walk on a grey, sideways-rain November afternoon, and your dog does what dogs do: stops on the doormat, plants all four feet and shakes from nose to tail. Water hits the hallway wall, the coats on the pegs and possibly you. Then they trot straight to the sofa, still dripping, and settle in for a nap on the cushion you only just washed.
Most of us deal with this in a rush. A quick rub with whatever towel is nearest, a wipe of the paws, and on with the kettle. It mostly works, which is exactly why it is easy to never think about it properly. But "mostly dry" and "properly dry" are different things, and in winter the gap between them is where the trouble starts: a coat that stays damp against the skin, a pair of ears that never quite dry out, a set of toes still holding moisture hours later.
This guide is the routine I would follow if I were drying your dog myself. It goes from the doormat to the bed in a sensible order, covers the places most people skip (ears, armpits, skin folds), explains how the method changes for different coat types, and walks through blow-dryer safety for anyone who wants to use one. I have leaned on veterinary sources throughout and told you where the evidence is thin. Where it helps, I will point to the drying gear we sell at The Big Pet Shop, such as the Big Dry-Off Kit, and I will also tell you where a decent old towel does the job just as well.
Why drying properly matters more than it sounds
It is easy to think of a wet dog as an inconvenience for the house rather than an issue for the dog. The reality sits somewhere in between. Most dogs cope with a damp walk perfectly well. The question is what happens in the hour or two afterwards, when the walk has finished but the coat has not.
The first concern is skin. The veterinary information from VCA Animal Hospitals on hot spots (the painful, oozing sores that can appear quickly on a dog's skin) says they are mainly caused by a dog scratching or licking an itchy area until the skin breaks. Allergies, insect bites, ear infections and skin infections are on its list of starting points. It also notes that matted fur prevents air from reaching the skin, and that mats hold water after a dog has swum or been caught in the rain, which keeps the skin damp in a way that favours hot spots. That is not a claim that every damp dog gets a hot spot. It is a good reason to take mats and wet undercoats seriously, particularly on long-haired or thick-coated dogs.
The second concern is the smell, which is also a hint about what is going on in the coat. The American Kennel Club explains that yeasts and bacteria living on a dog's coat leave behind volatile organic compounds, and as the moisture evaporates it carries those compounds into the air. In other words, the unmistakable wet dog smell is the smell of a damp coat evaporating. Dry the coat quickly and thoroughly and you cut the process short. The AKC also points out that dogs with wrinkled skin, oily coats or drool are more prone to the odour, which is a clue about where to focus your drying.
The third concern is warmth. A wet coat loses its insulating job, and a dog that is wet and still is losing heat. I covered the serious end of this in our guide to the signs of hypothermia in dogs. For a healthy adult dog on a normal wet British walk, the risk is low. For puppies, seniors, small or short-coated dogs, and any dog that has been wet in a cold wind for a long time, getting dry promptly is part of keeping them safe, not only comfortable.
And then there are the ears and toes, which get their own sections below, because they are the two places where trapped moisture causes problems that owners often do not connect back to the walk.
The door-to-dry routine at a glance
Here is the whole sequence in one go, so you can see the shape of it before we look at each step. My own estimate is five to ten minutes for most dogs once you have done it a few times, and it gets quicker as your dog learns the pattern.
- Let them shake, ideally on the doormat or in a porch, before they go anywhere else.
- Press the bulk of the water out with a big absorbent towel, working from the back down, with pressing and squeezing rather than hard rubbing.
- Do the paws, including between the toes and around the pads.
- Do the ears and head with a dry, soft cloth, drying the flaps and the area around the ear without pushing anything into the canal.
- Check the damp traps: armpits, belly, groin and any skin folds.
- Finish the coat with a drying coat, a dog-specific dryer used properly, or simply a warm room and a second go with a dry towel.
- Do a hand check down to the skin, especially on thick coats, before your dog settles for the night.
If your dog is cold, shivering or has been out in truly foul weather, do steps two and six as a priority and skip any fuss. Warm and dry matters most.
Set up a drying station before you need one
The single biggest improvement you can make to winter dog drying is to stop doing it in the middle of the house. A fixed drying spot turns an annoying scramble into a habit that your dog understands.
Choose the place where you come in, whether that is the porch, utility room, back hall or the bit of kitchen by the back door. You want a surface that wipes or washes clean, a hook or shelf within reach, and enough space for a medium or large dog to turn around. Then stock it so that nothing needs fetching once a wet, wriggling dog is standing there. A basic set looks like this:
- A large towel for the body and a smaller one for paws and head. Keeping them separate means you are not rubbing muddy toes with the towel you used on the dog's back.
- A hook or peg for the wet lead and harness, so they are not dropped on the floor.
- A washable mat or old blanket for your dog to stand on, which catches the first wave of drips.
- A dry spare towel in reach, because the first one will be wet within two minutes.
- A treat jar. Dogs that learn "stand on the mat, get dried, get a treat" tolerate the whole business far better than dogs that learn "come in, get grabbed".
I would also strongly suggest having a routine for the human end of things: hang up your own wet coat first, so you are not trying to do it with one hand while holding a dripping dog with the other. It sounds trivial, and it makes a real difference when you are tired and it is dark at four o'clock.
If you are drying a muddy dog rather than just a wet one, the order shifts a little, and I deal with that in a moment. Our guide to what to do if your dog gets muddy on walks goes into the cleaning side in much more detail, and I will not repeat all of it here.
Step one: let them shake, then press the bulk off
Dogs are remarkably good at drying themselves, and it makes sense to let them do the first and biggest part of the job. A 2012 study in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface by Dickerson, Mills and Hu looked at how furry mammals shake themselves dry. The authors report that the animals can shed most of their water within seconds, and the results section puts the figure at around 70 percent of the water removed. So that big full-body shake on your doormat is doing real work. Give your dog a moment to do it before you reach for the towel, and do it somewhere you do not mind getting wet.
Then comes the towel, and the technique matters more than the towel does. The AKC's drying guidance, written by a certified professional dog trainer, recommends pressing the towel into the coat instead of rubbing, because rubbing can cause tangles and mats. That fits with the guidance I have seen across the other sources and with what I put in our cold-weather grooming guide: be firm and thorough but gentle on the coat.
In practice, a good towelling sequence looks like this. Start at the shoulders and work back along the spine, pressing and squeezing sections of coat in the towel so that the water is wicked out, rather than dragging the towel back and forth. Move down the sides, then the chest, then each leg. Wring the towel out or swap it for a dry one once it is saturated, because a soaking towel just moves water around.
A note on how this fits with the muddy-walk advice. In our muddy dogs guide, I suggest that a very muddy dog is often easier to clean once the mud has dried and can be brushed off. That is sensible for a dog who is warm, healthy and caked in dirt. It does not apply to a cold, wet dog on a freezing afternoon. When the weather is cold and your dog is soaked, take the water off first with the towel, then deal with the mud once they are warm and comfortable. If you are in any doubt, warm and dry takes priority over clean.
If you are towelling a nervous dog or a young puppy, keep it short, calm and rewarding. Ten gentle seconds followed by a treat is a better start than a thorough rub that your dog resents. You can build up the time over the following weeks.
Step two: paws, toes and pads
Paws are the part of a dog that touches everything: wet grass, puddles, gritty pavement, salted paths and the sticky mud of a Lancashire bridleway. They are also the part where moisture lingers longest, because the toes are close together and the fur between them stays damp.
The vet quoted in a PetsRadar article from November 2024, Aimee Warner of Waggel, named the area between the toes as one of the spots where moisture gets trapped and needs careful drying. I would note that the article gives no further credentials for her, so treat it as sensible practical advice rather than a research finding. It does match what other sources say about damp skin, though.
Here is how I would do the paws. Lift each foot in turn and use a smaller, dedicated towel. Squeeze the paw gently rather than rubbing. Open the toes with your fingers and press the towel between them, front and back. Then check the pads themselves for cuts, cracks, grit and anything caught in the fur. Finally, check the gaps between the toes for little balls of ice or snow clinging to the hair in freezing weather. Blue Cross, in guidance published in January 2023, recommends trimming the hair around your dog's feet to help prevent painful ice balls forming, and washing paws after walking on salted pavements, since salt and grit can irritate the pads and dogs may lick it off. If your walks take you along gritted roads, our guide to protecting dog paws from rock salt and grit covers that in detail.
A dedicated paw towel is one of those small purchases that earns its place quickly, because a large, thick towel can wrap round all four feet in one go. The Big Dry-Off Paw Towel is built for exactly this job, and the kit version includes a Large one at 50 by 100 centimetres, which is big enough for a full rub-down of a medium dog as well as the feet. I am not going to claim microfibre magically beats a good cotton towel, because I have not found independent testing that says so. What I will say is that a towel kept specifically for the dog, hung where you can reach it, is the one you will actually use.
If your dog is constantly licking or chewing at their paws after walks, or the skin between the toes looks red, sore or smelly, that is the point to stop towelling and ring your vet. Persistent licking is often a sign of an itch or a sore that drying alone will not fix.
Step three: ears, the part nearly everyone skips
If I could get dog owners to add one thing to their post-walk routine, it would be a quick check of the ears. They are easy to forget, many dogs dislike having them touched, and the effects of trapped moisture are slow enough that nobody links the problem back to the walk.
The PDSA's ear infection factsheet is useful here. It describes hairy ears as often warm and moist, which it says creates an ideal environment for bacteria and yeast to overgrow. It also says that if a dog gets ear infections after swimming, cleaning and drying the ears afterwards may help. An article on Tufts University's pet-owner health site, which quotes veterinary dermatologist Dr Ramón Almela, makes a related point: the dog's ear canal drops down and then turns sharply, so water and debris can be slow to drain, and dogs with sensitive ears, allergies or other ear conditions should have their ears dried thoroughly after water activities.
Note what those sources are and are not saying. Neither claims that every wet walk causes an ear infection, and a dog with healthy, upright ears who gets rained on is not at serious risk. The advice is aimed at dogs that swim often, have hairy or floppy ears, or are already prone to infections. If your dog fits that description, ears deserve a place in the routine.
Here is a gentle, low-risk way to do it. Use a soft, dry cloth or the corner of a clean towel. Lift the ear flap and pat the inside of the flap and the visible entrance to the canal dry. Dry the base of the ear and the skin behind it, where water often runs. Do not push anything into the canal itself. For anything deeper, including cleaning solutions, I would leave that to your vet. Tufts mentions that a dog-specific ear cleaning solution, often with a drying agent, can reduce moisture, but it also says to ask your vet to recommend one for a dog that is prone to problems, and I would follow that.
Know the warning signs, too. The PDSA lists head shaking, rubbing the face or head along the ground, itchy or painful ears, redness, swelling or heat, smelly discharge and scabs or crusting around the ear. It advises seeing a vet as soon as possible if you suspect an ear infection, because it is very painful and needs prompt treatment. It also says a head tilt or loss of balance can signal a middle or inner ear infection and calls for a same-day vet visit. And if your dog has regular ear infections, or has had more than two or three in their life, tell your vet.
If your dog hates having their ears handled, build it up slowly. Touch an ear, give a treat. Lift the flap, give a treat. Pat it dry, give a treat. It can take a few weeks, but a dog who accepts ear care calmly is worth the effort over a lifetime.
Step four: armpits, belly, groin and skin folds
After the ears and toes, the next places to check are the warm, tucked-away spots where water gets trapped and then stays. The Waggel vet in that PetsRadar piece names the area under the belly and the armpits alongside the toes as places where moisture hides. The AKC adds wrinkles, skin folds and the damp area around the mouth to its list, and tells owners to dry the dog before it moves around the house.
The armpits sit right behind the front legs, where the leg meets the chest, and they are easy to miss because the leg shields them. Lift each front leg gently, as if you were asking for a paw, and press the towel into the hollow. Do the same at the groin, where the back legs meet the belly, and run the towel along the underside of the chest and tummy. On dogs with a deep chest and a feathered underside, such as setters and spaniels, the long hair on the belly can hold water and stay damp long after the back feels dry.
If your dog has a wrinkled face or folds of skin, as bulldogs, pugs, Shar-Peis and some mastiff types do, run a corner of a dry cloth gently into each fold and pat it dry. The AKC specifically calls out the wrinkles and the damp area around the mouth, and any dog that drools will have a wet chin as well. If you spot redness, a sour smell or a sticky discharge in a fold, that is a vet job rather than a towel job.
This is the step where having a calm, patient routine pays off. Most dogs tolerate a shoulder rub far more readily than someone lifting a back leg and drying near the groin, so go slowly, say what you are doing in a normal voice, and reward cooperation. If your dog finds any of it uncomfortable, stop. It may be a sore joint, a lump or a skin problem, and it is worth a mention to your vet.
Drying by coat type: what changes and what does not
The principles stay the same whatever dog you have: take the bulk of the water off, check the damp traps, make sure the skin gets dry and not just the surface. But the effort that takes varies a great deal from a whippet to a Newfoundland. None of the veterinary sources I found give detailed breed-by-breed drying instructions, so what follows is me applying the general guidance on matting, thick coats and pressing rather than rubbing to different coat types. Treat it as sensible practice, not hard science.
Short, smooth coats (think Staffies, Whippets, Boxers, Pointers) dry faster than anything else, so a good towelling often gets you most of the way there. The catch is that short-coated dogs usually have less insulation, so they feel the cold sooner. A short-coated dog that is wet and shivering needs drying promptly and warming up, so this is where a drying coat tends to earn its keep, because it can be put on straight away while you do your own coat and shoes. The hypothermia guide I mentioned earlier has the warning signs to watch for.
Double and thick coats (Labradors, Retrievers, Collies, Huskies, German Shepherds, Border Collies) are the opposite. The AKC says thick and double coats take longer and are hard to dry with a towel alone, and recommends towelling first and then finishing with a dryer. The surface of the coat can feel almost dry while the dense undercoat next to the skin stays wet. This is where the hand check, which I cover below, matters most. Part the coat with your fingers on the shoulders, the back of the neck and the base of the tail and feel the skin. If it is damp or cool, the dog is not dry.
Long, silky or feathered coats (Setters, Spaniels, Afghan Hounds, long-haired Collies, Yorkshire Terriers) are prone to tangling, so the pressing method really matters. The AKC warns that rubbing can cause tangles and mats, and VCA's hot spot information notes that mats hold water and keep skin damp. The vet quoted by PetsRadar says wet fur that is not dried and brushed can mat and cause irritation and hotspots. So the sensible approach is press and squeeze with the towel, then once the coat is mostly dry, brush through gently, paying attention to the feathering behind the legs, under the ears and under the belly where tangles gather first.
Curly, woolly and poodle-type coats (Poodles, Doodles, Bichons, Irish Water Spaniels) deserve the same caution as long coats, perhaps more. Tight curls can hold a lot of water, and mats can form close to the skin where you cannot see them. Press rather than rub, and use your fingers to open up the coat so the towel reaches the roots. If your dog has a longer clip, it is worth brushing them through once dry as part of the routine.
Wire and rough coats (Terriers, Schnauzers, Border Terriers, Wirehaired Pointers) tend to have longer, denser hair on the legs, beard and eyebrows, and those are the parts most likely to stay damp. Dry the beard and leg furnishings with some care, especially around the mouth and chin.
Puppies, seniors and small dogs are a separate category. They lose heat faster than a robust adult dog, they tend to tolerate being wet less well, and an older dog may find a long drying session on a hard floor uncomfortable. Dry them quickly, in a warm spot, with something soft underneath, and take extra care if they have any health condition. If you are unsure, ask your vet what is sensible for your particular dog.
Using a dog dryer safely, if you choose to
A blow-dryer is optional, and plenty of dogs do perfectly well with towels, a warm room and patience. But for thick-coated dogs, or if you want the job done faster on a cold evening, a dryer can be useful, as long as it is used with care.
The AKC article on drying dogs, written by a certified dog trainer and last updated in April 2026, is the best source I found, and its advice is clear. Use a dog-specific, high-velocity dryer, not a human hair dryer. The airflow does the drying, so you should avoid heat, which can burn the skin. Skip crate dryers, which can be stressful. Start on a low setting from a distance, pointed at the dog, and move closer gradually as your dog gets comfortable. Keep the nozzle away from the face and ears, since the air could hurt those areas, and consider a head wrap to protect them until you reach that section.
On our own site, our muddy-dog guide mentions using a cool setting on a hairdryer. Given the AKC's guidance, I would now treat a dog-specific dryer as the better option, and I would not use a standard human hair dryer on heat at all. If a dryer is not for you, towels and a warm room do the job, just more slowly.
The other big point from the AKC is that the dryer needs introducing like any other piece of equipment. Let your dog explore it while it is switched off. Then pair the sound with treats, first at a distance and then closer, over several short sessions. Do not try to dry a soaking, cold dog with a machine they have never met. A frightened dog and a loud dryer is a bad combination. If your dog is deeply scared of the sound, forget the dryer and put the effort into towels and a drying coat instead.
One more caution. If you think any part of your dog's skin may have been frostbitten, don't blast it with heat. Please read the section on frostbite in our hypothermia guide and call your vet.
How to tell your dog is properly dry
This is the question almost nobody asks, and it is the one that decides whether the rest of the routine worked. A dog can look dry and feel damp underneath, so you need a way of checking that goes beyond looking.
My rule of thumb, which is practical advice rather than anything from a vet source, is the hand check. Push your fingers through the coat to the skin in four places: behind the shoulders, along the middle of the back, at the base of the tail, and under the chest behind the front legs. The skin should feel warm and dry, and the hair around it should not feel cool or clammy. If it does, the dog needs a bit more time.
Then check the places we have already covered: between the toes, the base of each ear, the armpits and any skin folds. Finally, take off any collar and harness, give the skin underneath a quick check, and hang the wet gear up so it dries too. The AKC advises washing collars, harnesses, beds and toys regularly to keep odour down, and damp straps left on a dog or dumped in a heap do not help.
If your dog is happy to be dried in a warm, draught-free room, there is nothing wrong with letting the last of the dampness evaporate there. I would just avoid letting a wet dog settle in a cold hallway or on a cold floor. The idea is to finish the job, not to give up halfway.
Drying coats and robes: when they earn their place
I sell drying coats and robes, so you should take my enthusiasm with a pinch of salt, and I will be upfront about what they do and do not do. They are a way of continuing to dry your dog while you get on with your own jobs. They do not replace towelling the head, ears and paws, and they do not replace the hand check.
The Big Dry-Off Classic Drying Coat is a microfibre towelling coat in 365gsm fabric with a high stand-up collar and a wide velcro belly band. It goes on over the head and fastens under the belly, so there is nothing for your dog to step into. It is cut to cover the neck, chest and body, where wet fur takes longest to dry, but it does not cover the head or ears, which is why the towel routine still comes first. It is not waterproof. It is designed to absorb water, not keep rain out, so it is a coat for after the walk and not during it. The product page suggests leaving it on until the fur feels just damp, then taking it off so the coat can air, and washing it on a cool, gentle cycle without fabric softener, which the page says coats microfibre and reduces how much water it absorbs. It comes in four colours and sizes Small to XL, measured by back length from the base of the neck to the base of the tail.
The Big Wrap is a different design: a hooded towelling robe with two velcro straps, available in Small, Medium and Large by chest girth. The hood is the difference, because it dries ears and neck as well as the body, and it suits smaller and medium dogs well. It is sized by measuring around the widest part of the chest just behind the front legs, and the page advises sizing up if your dog is between sizes.
If you want to buy the whole routine in one go, the Big Dry-Off Kit pairs the coat with the Large Paw Towel and saves £3 against buying them separately. The idea is that you towel the paws and head with the towel, then put the coat on and let it do the rest.
Two practical points. First, plenty of dogs dislike wearing things at first. Introduce a coat or robe with treats and praise in a calm moment, not for the first time on a freezing wet evening with a soaked dog. Second, if your dog is still cold or shivering after you have dried and wrapped them, the issue is not the coat. Warm them gradually, avoid direct heat, and read our hypothermia guide or call your vet.
After the towel: where your dog settles
Once your dog is dry, think about where they go next. A dry dog flopping into a damp bed undoes some of your hard work, and a wet dog on the sofa leaves a smell that lasts. A few small habits sort most of it.
Keep a dry, warm, draught-free resting place ready. A supportive bed away from the back door is ideal, and it should be one that you wash regularly. The Big Snooze Pro is our orthopaedic bed and is a comfortable, supportive place for a dog to settle once they are dry, and particularly good for older or stiffer dogs. If you want to wash beds properly, our guide to washing a dog bed without ruining it has the detail.
For the times when your dog is going to get on the sofa or into the car regardless, a waterproof barrier is easier than a losing battle. The Big Dry Waterproof Dog Blanket is reversible, with a plush side for the dog and a waterproof backing to protect your sofa, bed or car seat, and it is machine washable on a cool, gentle cycle. It is a backstop, not a substitute for drying your dog, because a damp coat still needs drying whatever it is lying on.
Finally, make the next walk easier. Rinse and hang the towels, wash the drying coat when it is damp or muddy, and put the harness and lead somewhere airy. The AKC suggests washing collars, harnesses, beds and toys regularly. It sounds like housekeeping, but a fresh, dry towel waiting by the door is the thing that makes the routine easy to keep up in January.
Make it a habit, not a battle
The best drying routine is the one you will actually do on a dark, wet Tuesday when you are tired. So keep it simple and make it predictable. Same place, same order, same reward. Within a few weeks most dogs learn the sequence and stand patiently for it, and the whole thing becomes a calm few minutes at the end of the walk rather than a wrestling match.
If you take only a few things from this guide, take these: let them shake, press the water out rather than rubbing, never skip the toes and ears, check the skin on thick coats with your fingers, and warm and dry always comes before tidy. Everything else is refinement.
And if you ever notice a change in your dog, such as constant paw licking, head shaking, a smell from the ears or skin that looks sore, don't put it down to the weather. Ring your vet, and tell them about the routine. Little details like "he is often damp after walks" can help them work out what is going on.
Q: Should I let my dog dry off by themselves if they are very muddy?
A: It depends on the dog and the weather. For a healthy, warm dog covered in dried mud, waiting before you clean can make the mud easier to brush off, which is the approach in our muddy-walks guide. For a cold, soaked dog on a freezing day, take the water off with a towel first and sort the mud out later. The AKC advises drying a dog before it moves around the house, and the principle that warm and dry comes first is the one I would follow.
Q: My dog hates the towel and the dryer. How do I train them to tolerate drying?
A: Break it into very small steps and pay for each one. The AKC's trainer-written guidance on dryers suggests letting the dog explore the equipment while it is off, then pairing the sound with treats, first at a distance and then closer, across several short sessions, and building up drying time gradually. The same idea works for towels, coats and ear handling: touch, treat, stop. If your dog shows real fear, a qualified behaviourist or trainer can help, and in the meantime a drying coat or a quiet, short towelling session may be less stressful than forcing the issue.
Q: How do I know if a damp coat is causing a skin problem?
A: Look for signs that your dog is itching or licking at one area, or for moist, red or sore-looking patches of skin. VCA's information on hot spots describes them as painful, fast-developing sores, usually triggered by a dog licking or scratching an itchy area, and says wet, matted fur can keep skin damp in a way that favours them. A damp coat is one possible contributor among several, including allergies, parasites and infections, so a vet needs to look at anything that looks sore. Treatment depends on the cause, and I would not try to treat an open sore at home.
Q: Is it enough to dry the outside of the coat if the room is warm?
A: For a thick or double coat, usually not. The AKC says thicker and double coats take longer and are hard to dry with a towel alone, and the surface can feel dry while the undercoat next to the skin stays damp. That is why I suggest the hand check: part the coat in a few places and feel the skin. My own rule of thumb, which is not from a veterinary source, is that the skin should feel warm and dry and the hair close to it should not feel cool or clammy. If it does, keep drying, and brush through once the coat is mostly dry, which the PetsRadar vet says helps avoid matting.
Q: When is a wet or itchy ear a reason to call the vet rather than just dry it?
A: The PDSA's ear infection factsheet lists head shaking, rubbing the head along the ground, itchy or painful ears, redness, swelling or heat, a smelly discharge and scabs around the ear as signs of infection. It says to see a vet as soon as possible if you suspect one, because it is painful and needs prompt treatment, and to get a same-day appointment if you see a head tilt or loss of balance, which can indicate a middle or inner ear infection. It also says to tell your vet if your dog has regular ear infections or has had more than two or three in their life. Drying helps with moisture, but it will not treat an infection that has already started.
— Joseph, The Big Pet Shop, Bacup, Lancashire 🐾