Mar 04 Dog Washing Machine

Ananova reports on a washing machine for dogs in Japan.

More and more people are making use of machines such as one installed at a pet supermarket called Joyful Honda in the suburbs of Tokyo.

It washes and blow dries dogs and cats* for the equivalent of just £3.50 – a massive saving on the costs of pet stylists who charge more than £20 for a full wash and blow-dry.

Naka Honda said he did not think the machine was cruel – but admitted it had taken his Yorkshire Terrier, Benji, a while to get used to it.

Benji particularly “hated” the dryer, he said, but would put up with it so long as his owner stood outside the glass where he could see him.

A brief explanation of the machine in Japanese can be found here. There is also a Joyfull Honda blog post about a human employee trying it out. A few Japanese bloggers have also written about putting their dogs in the machine. Some dogs are scared, some look dazed or unhappy, and others are pretty calm about it. There are also a few videos of it, which I have embedded below.

A video of a husky that is not at all happy with the experience:




A clip of another dog post-wash, who looks silly but doesn’t appear to be reacting with panic or terror:



Another dog, who looks like he really wants to escape:



*Although Ananova claims it is for dogs and cats and there is a picture of a cat on the outside of the machine, its explanation page clearly states that it should not be used for cats. This video, of a similar machine produced by an American company, makes a good case for applying such a rule:



he cat video led to cries of animal cruelty from many people, eventually causing a PR disaster for it manufacturers.

[Source: Japan Probe]