By Ella Field
Pet parents probably agree: Bath time with a dog can be stressful—dragging a muddy pup through the house, just for them to double as an escape artist, all while you get soaked head-to-toe trying to rinse them off. One solution? A multipurpose dog shower. Hanna Shiplett, principal designer and cofounder of Eden and Gray Design Build, answers our questions on this growing trend in barkitecture.
What Is a Dog Shower?
Dog showers are essentially just small, dog-size showers. They’re typically raised to make it easier to wash the dog, and they have a short lip to keep water from spilling out. Instead of a standard showerhead, they have a handheld one so you can reach around your dog. These washing stations are usually found in garages, mudrooms, or laundry rooms and can be built into new or existing homes.
Benefits of Dog Showers
If you frequently find yourself bathing your furry friend or taking them to the groomer, it might make sense to have a spot to wash them at home. It's one way to make pet parenthood a little easier (and surely cleaner). Ideally, the washing station should be near an entry. This helps keep your dog clean and likely reduces the amount of mud and dirt tracked indoors. The shower can also be used as a pet-feeding station, a place to water plants and rinse off muddy boots, or as an unloading zone for fresh-cut flowers. As these pet zones grow in popularity, they may also be seen as a nice amenity for future buyers, and could even add value to your home.
Cost of a Dog Shower
We won’t sugarcoat it: This is a luxury item. “Building a dog shower into an existing home will cost about $5,000 to $9,000,” Shiplett says. On the low end, she estimates this includes about $1,000 for tiling, roughly $2,500 for plumbing (more if you need to add a water hookup), $500 for framing, and the rest for builder costs. Higher-end finishes will drive up the cost, and you might need to budget for a permit.
Design Tips and Considerations
If you're installing a dog shower into an existing space, here are a few things to keep in mind.
- A minimum space of 3×3' is required; any less and it will be too tight.
- The best place to install a dog shower is somewhere with an existing water hookup. If you don't have an existing water hookup, it's still possible to build a shower, just plan to spend a bit more on plumbing.
- Even if you only have a small pup, plan your shower as if you had a medium or large one. You never know what kind of dog you, or future homeowners, will have down the road.
- Remember to include a storage solution—shower niche, shelf, or cabinet—to stash soap and tools.
- Be sure the surrounding surfaces can handle some water exposure (dogs will shake off after a bath). That means you might have to waterproof or replace flooring directly outside of the shower or on the path to and from the shower.
- If tiling the floor in and around the shower, select tile that has a slip resistance of at least 0.5. This is a coefficient from 0–1 that denotes how much grip a tile offers; the higher the number, the less slippery the surface.
- Determine how high up you want the shower to be. The higher the shower, the less likely for a pet to escape, but a higher shower also means it might be more difficult to get a dog inside.
