The pups are adorable! Are you planning on always having really small dogs? If so, I would suggest you put in a regular kitchen sink base and a very large and deep single bowl sink with a pull down spray faucet. Also have a counter next to it to lay a towel out on to place pups when you're finished.
We have this set up in our laundry and we use the sink all of the time. It's deep enough to fill large 5 gallon mop buckets, soak clothes or linens overnight, give my large plants a shower, and many more things. It would be perfect for small dogs baths.

Standard laundry utility tub/ with kitchen pull-out faucet / use a standard sink base cabinet / countertop of your choice. Depending on your height, you might want to raise the base up a bit higher, or remove the toe kick if you're petite. My 180 pound Irish Wolfhound would prefer to skip bathing altogether...alas, not possible.

Yes, type in 'dog showers' and select 'photos' and there are many ideas.

Christie Architecture LLC - This is a custom built dog wash / 30 x 30 x 8" / There isn't a tub insert that you buy. It was all built by the tile setter.

Dog Wash · More Info

Dirty Paws Laundry Room · More Info

@everdebz - the last photo you posted is one that I just saved!! The photo that I showed my contractor was this one

He asked me if I wanted to have one that was raised off of the floor a bit more so that I wouldn’t have to bend over to wash them.

I was wondering if anyone has actually built one in order to tell me about what type of handheld shower/sprayer I should use. Ella’s fur is really thick. I am currently renovating my master bathroom - I will have a handheld shower in there - but I don’t currently have one. I’m unsure as to how powerful the spray is.

@Amy Lynn - I’ve always had small dogs. I can’t say that I‘m 100% positive that I won’t ever have a dog that’s larger than my current ones - but it’s more likely than not. I have used my sister’s utility sink before to bathe Sam - it worked really well. I could do something like this

I really need to figure out what type of sprayer I need for Ella’s fur.

I love that picture with the apron sink! You could do a regular pull down faucet, but also hang a small handheld shower head that has a high pressure setting. This could be attached to the wall behind the sink with a bracket to hold the shower head. Then when you're ready to use the sink for dog bathing, you swivel the faucet to the side and out of the way, unhook the shower head and power wash through that coat! 😉

Many sprayers are adjustable.

For my old kennel, I had a standard laundry tub sink. They were light enough to be picked up and put in the sink. I had an eye bolt on the wall to hook a leash on the ones who didn’t like to stay in the tub. I like to have counter space next to the sink so I had a place to set the washed dog onto a towel to wrap up. I had a faucet/sprayer like this.

use a people massage sprayer, not a kitchen pull out sprayer, a deep kitchen sink or 24" utility sink should be plenty big enough, just make sure you set them in the sink and measure the height that is best for your back.

I read a review written by someone who used a commercial faucet for washing their pup. Maybe something like this would work?

Part of me likes the whole doggie shower idea - they look really cute + would function well. Another part of me thinks that it would be more practical to instead use a sink. Also, whenever I sell my house, having a utility sink in a laundry room would appeal to more people than a doggie shower.

But - it would be fun to have one!

Ella:

Were you my pooch, you'd be getting your baths in an Elkay Quartz Luxe apron front kitchen sink. Your nails would never scratch it and I wouldn't be bending over a laundry tub. A nice faucet with an articulated arm and you'd be done in no time.

I get what you're saying about a doggie shower looking cute, I think they are too. But in your case, with your very small dogs, I think it's overkill for all the reasons you mention and more.
Most of your inspiration pics are with shower floors low enough that you would have to stoop or kneel down as you do now with a tub. If the thought is to have the floor higher so you're standing normally, then it makes no sense to not just make it a much more functional utility sink. If you only have room for a sink or a dog shower, a utility sink is will serve you better in the long run and have much better universal appeal to future buyers.
Also, a commercial type pull down like you posted is not functional for dog washing. They have a small range for movement for this purpose, you would have to flip your dog around to wash her under belly instead of turning the faucet head! You need a longer hose to reach all the bits and parts with one hand while holding pup with the other.

@dani_m08 - great responses & ideas here. You‘ve asked couple times about sprayer & strong enough one to get doggie wet etc. I think water pressure or how far faucet turned on - full force or not - might affect force of any faucet spray nozzle but a word of caution - you really don’t want to be power washing the dogs with the spray - Ouch!! Gentle & massaging is the only way to get doggie wet enough. I have a 4.4 lb Papillon (Continental Toy Spaniel was the old name for breed). She has a luxurious thick and long coat which, due to spaniel origin - water dog- requires lots of spraying to get wet to skin so I understand your issue. As for bathing facility, my vote is laundry sink with a counter next to it if you have space. The sink will give the most flexibility & be the most useful for laundry room. A good laundry sink with a faucet having a pull out spray nozzle & hose is perfect for any dog much larger than mine or yours! The advice of raising cabinet enough so you don’t have to bend over at all is good. I’m 5’4” & that’s the one thing I wish I’d thought of when my cabinet & sink was installed. The other thing is making sure to have a tiled or waterproof backsplash around the sink - no matter how good I am at keeping a hand on my pup’s back she still manages to get a couple good full body shakes before I take her out of sink!

@Amy Lynn - Didn’t really think about the length of the hose when I read the review about using the commercial faucet. While Sam is easy to just simply move his body however I want under the water (he lets me do that now under the faucet in the tub), Ella is another story. I need to be able to move the sprayer around her.

@KW PNW Z8 - I definitely don’t want to power wash Ella!! I really just want to have enough volume of water coming out of the sprayer - not at a high pressure. I will make sure that whatever I use won’t be too hard against their skin. I know exactly what Papillons look like - very cute dogs! 4.4 lbs is TINY!

I think a sink is a good idea - I’m now just trying to figure out about how to contain the water from when they shake after finishing their baths. Currently, I close the shower curtain as soon as I turn off the water, and they both will immediately shake. I then tell them to shake again, and they both will do it at least one more time before I open the curtain and lift them out of the tub. I guess I could hold up a large towel around the sink? I’m not sure how else to do it.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC - I love the sink you shared above - I think Ella would really like it!

I actually wanted to ask your opinion re: sinks. After I finish up the two bathroom renovations currently taking place at my house - the kitchen is next - and then the laundry room. I need to purchase a new sink for my kitchen - I want to get as big of one as I can fit in my existing sink cabinet (my cabinets are solid - so I am replacing doors and having them professionally painted/refinished).

I think my sink cabinet is 33” (99% sure - but my notebook with all my measurements is at my house - and I am helping my daughter move). Would you mind sharing some recommendations once I am able to confirm the exact width of the cabinet? I’d be more than happy to “trade” help with any legal questions you might have in the future (sorry - that’s the only talent/skill I possess)!

@dani_m08- You are right that my Papillon, Ginger, is tiny under all her hair. She has a huge personality as they all do. Breed standard is 4 to 11 lbs so she’s in the range. That’s her in my profile pic. I agree Ella looks like she‘s got some Bichon going there - was my first thought at her picture- those ears of hers are such a great feature. Sam looks a doll too - I’ve had 3 Yorks so am partial to them.

Back to dog washing - the drawba of laundry sink for you might be that you’d be limited to bathing one at time especially because they’d be up higher in sink - no jumping out! It sounds like you might be bathing them at same time in tub. I’d still vote for a laundry sink though.

I have small dog as well and I use laundry utility sink for washing my doggie girl.

@KW PNW Z8 - I totally missed the photo until you pointed it out!! She looks like a little doll!

Sam is a really good boy - I’ve had him since the day he was born. I used to have his mom (a tiny yorkie poo) and dad (small yorkie). My daughter’s raised one of his siblings - unfortunately, his little sister passed away a couple years ago - bad vet. Very sad.

I’m okay with bathing them separately - I’ve already been doing that for the past year or so. It takes too long to bathe Ella! I can get Sam in and out of the bath in like 4 minutes so I just do him first now.

Ella‘s ears are pretty funny - everyone says that she looks like a polar bear. She has the best disposition. I actually was a foster mom for her and her brother. I wasn’t planning on keeping her. My mom had passed away unexpectedly- and she was the only thing that could make me smile. She’s the happiest dog I’ve ever met.

dmac1108:

The pictured Elkay only comes in a 36", however, the Kohler Whitehaven is available in other sizes. I'm happy to help.

Or…the Bissell pet washer in a laundry tub. Reviews specifically mention dogs with heavy coats,

Bissell pet washing system

@blubird - l think this product is absolutely hilarious! Truly I laughed through the entire video at the idea of it. But I do see that this product has 4.6% out of 5 rating - 96% of users like it! How clever - shampoo your dog & spot clean your carpet & upholstery & the dog’s bed when done. 😅

Here’s what we did for a dog wash. We have 30-lb dogs. The dog wash sits at floor level. I just use a small fold-up stool when it’s time to bathe them. When not being used for dog wash, the dogs’ water bowl sits in there for the sloppiest water drinker ever!

We used a regular adjustable shower spray & found a setting that works well for our very curly haired dog (Without power washing him 😉).

We also installed a reinforced towel bar to attach a leash to if needed

@jugalava - I love your doggie shower - looks just like a human one! It’s actually nicer than most human ones probably 😂 ! I love the tile and the shower pan! Would you mind sharing what you used? Very pretty. I just showed it to my sister - she wants one for her own bathroom!

I would love to know which hand held shower head you‘re using in it. I‘d rather just copy you vs. trying to figure out which one to purchase on my own. Thanks!

dmac1108 - I’ll have to see if I can find the paperwork. We did it a few years ago.

Just found paperwork. Looks like it was an older model of a Delta hand-held shower, Delta Faucet 59424-18-PK. Combined with Delta RP64157 Handshower Hose.