Washing your dog is an extreme sport. And that’s not just because some dogs (like certain human kids) hate baths. It’s more because dogs love to play and splash about. So for many of them, bath-time is an exciting water game that ends up with everything soaked in suds!
Using the right bath tub makes the whole ordeal easier for everyone. It gives your enough room to wiggle and lets you reach her whole body without drowning yourself in the process. So let’s check out some DIY dog bath tubs. They’re hands-on projects so get your tools!
Just as a disclaimer, very few of these dog bath tubs require actual construction. If you want to install a doggy bath station as part of your bathroom renovation, you can implement some of these ideas. But otherwise, take a trip to Home Depot or a local yard sale to grab supplies!
1. DMLB DIY Dog Bath Tub
Breeders Hacks have a smart concept for this DIY dog bath tub. It’s not cheap – the materials cost about $150 to $200. You’ll need to buy a plastic tub that’s about 100 gallons. Put cinder blocks under the tub to place it at a comfortable height – but position them strategically or the tub may tip. You don’t need proper piping, but it makes things easier.
2. Reclaimed DIY Dog Bath Tub
For this doggy tub, you’ll need a trip to the junkyard. You’re looking for a clawfoot tub. Yes, you could buy a new one, but you can always find cheaper ones at the salvage yard or old estate sales. If you can source your tub from a demolition crew, you might even get it for free! You need painted fence posts (or a piece of old fencing) which you can also find at junkyards.
3. ADAS DIY Dog Bath Tub
You don’t need pricy equipment to construct a DIY dog bath tub. A sturdy plastic basin will do. In this case, the basin is a large 50-gallon water trough meant for livestock. Cut a door into the shorter side of the tub and sand it smooth. You can cut a hole at the bottom or side, depending on where your drainage is. You can also pass piping trough the tub, or use a hose.
4. Kiddie Pool DIY Dog Bath Tub
The DIY dog bath tubs in this article are more involved, so they need actual construction work! Think about that before you start. It’s not difficult though – it’s something your teens could accomplish over the weekend. For the tub itself, you’ll want a plastic kiddie pool or doggie pool. Sink the pool below ground, erect a deck around it, and add a hydrant fountain.
5. DIY Outdoor Dog Bath Tub
Washing your dog outdoors means faster drying and less clean-up. But it only works if your yard has a convenient dog-bathing spot and your garden hose is long enough! So why not build a permanent bathing area for your dog? In this case, it’s sunk into the deck so the surface is flat, well-drained, close to your water mains, and no more wobbly platforms!
6. DIY Dog Wash Station
The tricky part of DIY dog bath tubs is gaining access to your water. You don’t want to keep running to the tap between rinses – your dog will get increasingly agitated and make it even harder to catch him! So consider buying a doggie shower kit and mounting it on the outer wall of your indoor bathroom. Then get a big bucket that fits your dog’s body and you’re set.
7. DIY Dog Spa Bath Tub
Earlier, you saw how you can build a dog bath tub on a wooden deck. Here’s how you can sink one into the yard. The instructions aren’t in English but the process is easy to mimic. Install a cover on the DIY dog bath tub though. It may collect rainwater and end up breeding bugs, not to mention it can be a drowning hazard for kids, pets, raccoons, and wild rodents.
8. DIY Dog Shower
The whole point of a DIY dog bath tub is to get your dog clean at minimum cost and with minimal fuss. Ideally without paying a dog groomer. So why not try this DIY dog shower? It’s quicker and possibly safer since the ground offers better traction than potentially slippery tubs. You need PVC pipes for the framework, including elbows, t-joints, adaptors, and valves.
9. DIY Dog Hydro Bath
Whether you’re washing your dog in the bath tub or your shower cubicle, a handheld shower hose makes everything easier. So as part of your DIY dog bath tub explorations, consider putting in a hydro hose. The brand used in this video is the Ortho Dial ‘n Spray nozzle. Unscrew your shower head and use a hose connector to link the nozzle to the shower.
10. Raised Tub DIY Wash Station
If you’re willing to do some heavy DIY lifting, you can construct this wash station with a waist-high tub floor. The DIY dog bath tub itself is more of a shallow shower tray or washbasin, but you can make it as deep as your dog likes. The idea is to have your dog elevated so you can clean him more thoroughly and do less damage to your back. And it needs plumbing.
11. Tarter DIY Dog Bath Tub
Most DIY dog bath tubs are plastic because that’s easier to cut through and work with. Plastic is also cheaper to destroy. But metal troughs make good makeshift tubs too. Especially if they’re rust-proof. This Tarter trough is galvanized steel so the bathwater won’t damage it. You’ll need tools that can cut through metal and a portable shower head to boot.
12. DIY Elevated Dog Bath Tub
Junkyards (and landfills) are your best friend when it comes to DIY dog bath tubs. There are millions of things lying around that you can upcycle into doggy washing stations. Here, the bath tub is crafted from an old fiberglass shell mounted on a wooden platform. It’s far more stable than putting a bucket on a table, and you can link it to your water mains if you like.
13. DIY Steel Bath Tub
This bath tub isn’t specifically designed for dogs, but it’s a quick way to make a DIY dog bath tub so Rex can stop sharing the main one. The inside of the trough is painted with several coats of marine primer and marine paint to make it waterproof and keep the water warm for longer. Be sure to sand the sides carefully between the paint and primer layers of the tub.
14. Spa Style DIY Dog Bath Tub
Porches, patios, and driveways are great spots to bathe your dog. Especially if there’s a bathroom nearby where you can source the water. If you have basic handyman skills, you can pipe hot and cold water outside by connecting a shower kit to the existing system. The tub here is a horse trough with a door cut on one side and a doggy ramp leading up to the tub.
15. DIY Reclaimed Closet Dog Wash Station
This doggy bath is built in a laundry room, but you could construct it in any idle space, whether it’s an old broom closet or a corner of the basement. It’s a heavy-duty project that includes lumber-work and tiling. So if you don’t have contractor skills, you will by the time you finish. It’ll just take you a lot longer to get this done, so farm out the task if you need to!
16. DIY Dog Barrel Bath Tub
In those old spaghetti westerns, cattle troughs and oil barrels were often converted into bath tubs. And you can use this same idea for your dog. Get a plastic or metal barrel and slice it in half longitudinally. Sand the edges smooth, or line them with a rubber hose. Build a sturdy wooden platform to hold up the tub. And you can line the bath tub floor with a non-slip mat.
17. Baby Bath DIY Dog Tub
You can buy a cheap baby basin from the local store. Or find a cheaper one at a yard sale or goodwill. Some of those baby basins come with stands. But if you can’t find one with a platform, it’s easy to construct one out of PVC piping. Use a dog exercise gate or a wire grate for the top. Put felt, rubber feet or threaded caps under the legs to stop slipping or wobbling.
18. Family Handyman DIY Washing Station
The directions on this project say ‘intermediate’ but this is a project that can take days or even weeks, so psyche yourself up. You’ll need a comprehensive toolkit. And be sure the wood you use is pressure treated, stained, or waterproofed since it will come into contact with water. A lot. You’ll need to tile the walls and put in a plexiglass shield at the front.
19. Weymouth DIY Dog Bath Tub
You’ve probably wandered through a local fair or flea market and seen an old-timey washing trough. It might be a shiny new one or an old beat-up one, but it makes the perfect DIY dog bath tub. Drill a hole in the middle for a drain and make a sturdy box platform to keep it stable. The platform here is made with plywood and redwood and the faucet is a Weymouth.
20.Porcelain DIY Dog Bath Tub
Somewhere higher up this list, you saw how you can use a clawfoot tub as a DIY bath tub for your dog. This idea uses a porcelain tub as well, but it’s a denser, rectangular one with thick, boxy sides. Yes, you can find one at a home demolition or a junkyard, but it’s too heavy for a wooden platform, so you’ll need to erect a concrete shelf or ‘table’ for the doggy tub to sit on.
21. DIY Plywood Bath Tub
Here’s another tub that’s not specifically designed for dogs. It’s intended for use in tiny houses. But you know what? Tiny-house tubs are the perfect size for dogs, so there’s a tip for you – just shop in the tiny-house store! This one is built from scratch using plywood, epoxy filler, and resin, so it works great as a DIY dog bath tub. And you can put in a sliding door.
22. Corrugated DIY Dog Bath Tub
Corrugated metal sheets are an affordable construction material. And the metal used here is galvanized to keep it rust-proof. For this DIY dog bath tub, it’s not just the trough that’s metal – the surrounding bathroom walls are waterproof metal sheets as well. This makes post-bath clean-up much easier. Cut a door in one of the sides and put a plastic ramp there.
23. DIY Utility Tub Dog Bath
Utility tubs aren’t built for dogs. But they work awesome as DIY dog bath tubs. The plastic is the same kind used in plastic lawn chairs so it’s not very tough. Meaning it may not work for big dogs. But smaller breeds like Chihuahuas or corgis will probably be fine. Some tubs come with legs but if yours doesn’t have any, you can order a table designed to support these tubs.
24. Thermaland Oaks DIY Dog Bath Tub
Homesteaders are lucky to have construction knick-knacks lying around their land. So it’s probably easy to find an old cattle trough and some wood pallets. But you can just as easily find these materials at your local hardware. Buy a trough deep enough for your dog and slice the narrow side open for a door and a drain. Finish the cut metal edges to smoothen them.
25. Garden Hose DIY Dog Shower
With or without a DIY dog bath tub, you can hook up your garden hose to your shower faucet. Check the shower faucet and the garden hose to see whether their threading is the same size. If not, you can get the right size of adaptor at any hardware store. Remove the showerhead and connect the garden hose directly to the shower piping mains. Presto!
26. Outdoor DIY Dog Bath Tub
Two things are rough when you’re washing a dog – back pain from bending over and chills from getting your clothes soaked. You can ease both with quick DIY hacks, Cut a door on the side of the bath so your dog can get in and out while you stay relatively dry on the ‘covered’ side. Two, make a platform to raise the tub and keep it stable. It can be hollow but sturdy.
27. DIY Pet Centre Dog Bath Tub
Garages and outdoor sheds often have a concrete washbasin or maybe a footbath. These are good places to wash a small dog. And if you have a bigger dog, the garage is a good spot to craft a doggie bath station. You need three walls made of tile, natural stone, or concrete. Leave the front section open and install a faucet on the rear wall. It’s that simple!
28. Side Cut DIY Dog Bath Tub
Steel cattle troughs are only second to plastic basins as DIY dog bath tubs. But you’ll usually cut a door on one of the narrower sides. Here’s an alternative – cut a slot halfway down the front. You’ll get a lot wetter, but it might be easier for you to maneuver. Line the cut sides carefully to avoid knicking yourself or your dog. And don’t forget to secure the dog harnesses.
29. Lowe’s DIY Dog Bath Station
DIY projects are versatile because you can use lots of different paths to reach the same functional goal. In this case, you can set up an outdoor doggie shower station with items you can pick up at Lowe’s. They range from the basics like a garden hose and shower spigot to customized items like paw-imprinted towel hooks and a sturdy ground anchor to keep your dog in place.
30. Plumbing DIY Dog Bath Tub
This DIY Dog Bath Tub is more intricate than some of the others. You’ll need experience in bathroom refurbishment. Or at least intermediate skills with tools. The guide is easy to follow though, with a comprehensive list of ingredients, tools, and instructions. Start by watching tutorials on the individual building steps (tiling, cement board, piping, etc.)
31. Pump-Based DIY Dog Bathing System
For our last DIY dog bath tub, we’re going to use a submersible water pump. You can buy one for less than $100 and use it with any pipe of the right size. Washing machine accordion hoses work especially well. And you can use the pump with any tub, trough, basin, or bucket. It sometimes gets clogged with dog fur so you can slip pantyhose over the base of the pump.
What’s your favorite DIY dog bath tub? Show us how it works in the comments!
