Probably better on short hair dogs. I have a Labradoodle so the whole process took me several hours. I washed part then brushed to make sure he did get matted hair. I did have to use hair dryer to dry at the end. But the cleaner did save me a lot of drying time. The noise did not bother him. The over spray from the nozzle hit the walls and floor a few times. He normally takes all day at the groomer and very expensive. So this paided for itself the first use.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This portable dog bath was a life saver. My 9 month old German Shepherd mix loves to roll in anything and everything that stinks. The Bark Bath was easy to use and Lance smells so good now!!! I will admit that he was not crazy for the noise the machine makes and that my husband had to hold him while I shampooed and rinsed him so we could not take any pictures. Maybe the next time I will be able to shampoo him myself - we will see. I did have the wrong tank filled with the water so at first I was not able to operate the machine but my smart husband figured out what was wrong and presto - no problems. The one great feature is there is no shaking of water (by the dog) all over the house or where ever you use it. We shampooed Lance in the kitchen without any mess. I definitely would recommend this machine to any dog lover.

55#+ 3 yo Golden Retriever & 40#+ Belgiam Malimoix Very long hair & short hair(smooth coat). Barkbath portable Dog Grooming System: No dog trauma - A+++; Ease of use - A+; Clean Dog - A+; Barely Damp Dog - A++; At home convenience - A+; Clean up of machine - A; Self Storage - A; Economy - A Very please with overall performance of another Great Bissell Product Normal Dog Grooming: Dogs itch for days; dogs come home very damp & shook up, car trip (clean up car), Cost $$$

Both of my dogs are hospital therapy dogs, which means they have to be bathed weekly. Instead of visiting the groomer and paying $50+ each time, now I groom at home! It takes about 15 minutes per dog, no mess, the dogs are fluffy and clean. I just wish I could donate one to every dog rescue in the country (starting with Murphy's former home, Daphneyland in Acton, CA)!

Great little machine. Once you get that look of sheer terror of your dogs face's!! Just kidding. Follow the acclimation instructions given with the product. Especially if you brush your dog or cat. Start by brushing them with your brush, next to machine after they have smelled and made friends with it. Lol. Brush them and then p/u Brush and hose assembly and get them used to it. My digs love to be brushed and did not take but a few days for them to forget about the hose. Now, the vacuum noise is another matter since most dogs prefer to attack a vacuum, let alone, suck on them. I put my machine inside and pulled hose and soap dispenser thru dog door and all they had to contend with was the sucking noise. Start low on the back, then soap and water that area and just keep brushing them without dispensing more soap or water until they seem comfortable and work your way up. Before you know it, they'll be enjoying it. Only problem is they have no type of flea shampoos!?! That's a no brainer. And a necessary product. If they don't come out with one. I will use a low foam dip and put in shampoo or if this does not work I will use just flea dip. That's why I only give four stars, since that is something they should have begun with. Enjoy, Trapper

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My 12 year old daughter was super excited to get the Bark Bath since she is responsible for keeping the family dog clean. We had been giving our Golden Doodle (large 60 lbs dog) baths in the bath tub or taking her outside and using a hose attachment. The downside with that is you first have to get your dog totally soaking wet, then apply the soap, and often you can't evenly apply the soap all over the dog. Then you have to rinse the dog...again, getting the dog totally soaked and then you have to dry the dog off with multiple towels. Before you know it, you traumatized your dog, and your bathroom and bathtub turn into a total mess. When the Bark Bath arrived, my daughter assembled it on her own, read the instructions and immediately began using it with our dog. Our dog is 1 year old and has been to the groomers before, so she was used to loud noises and having her hair cut with clippers. Her hair length is about 1 inch long. The Bark Bath is about as noisy as a vacuum cleaner, so our dog was not startled or scared by the noise. My daughter first used the soap and water mix to apply the soap to our dog. Then she used the water only to rinse and suck up the water and soap off of the dog. With the use of the bark bath it drastically reduced the amount of water we normally use to give our dog a bath with. Also, since the Bark Bath sucks up most of the water, we only had to use 1 towel to help dry our dog off. She seemed just as clean with the Bark Bath, if not cleaner, than if she had taken a normal bath. The soap that was supplied with the Bark Bath is good soap, however, the scent of it could be improved. I would recommend this for anyone with a dog.

I am absolutely pained to write this review. I purchased this from the kickstarter way back in January or February and waited patiently for it to arrive. I mainly wanted this for my older dog who has problems getting around. I got it about a month ago but after reading the directions, decided it wasn't any quicker or easier than just giving him a bath. The first problem is getting the system primed it requires you to have a 3 tiered flat surface...but the biggest problem was it leaked EVERYWHERE out of the hose. I literally had more water in my kitchen than I do in a bathtub if giving a bath. My dog was petrified of it despite prior positive reinforcement but he still let me use it. It did remove water from him but it didn't look in the slightest bit dirty...so I'm not sure that it actually cleaned my dog. I guess he smells slightly better but it didn't do a good job. Again it leaked everywhere from the hose. I'm not sure if I got a faulty unit or they all do that, but I'd much rather have the money back that I spent on this.

My pup, even though she has lab in her is terrified of water, bath time has always been a struggle until I purchased BarkBath !! It was simple to set up & use ( if you can operate a carpet cleaner you got his ! ) After the initial "what are you doing to me now " look, she soon became very comfortable & relaxed and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the bath . Used less water & clean up was a breeze which left more time for cuddles & smoochies !! Absolutely love this product , great investment if you love your dog :)

I read the reviews before I purchased it. Some were positive some not so. But I bought it anyway. I did do some research prior to it as well. I also went to Bissell's website and watched all of the videos and printed out from another site some step by step instructions. The Bissell Bark Bath after watching videos and the printed instructions on how to it worked just fine. The one thing that is important is to prime it first, and then you have to prime it before each use. It worked just fine, but my dogs as it is noisy will still have to get use to it. But my dogs were much cleaner and smelled with the fresh scent of Mulberry even the next day. They were cleaner with the Bissell than traditional bathing or going to the groomer. I have two long hair dogs but I do groom their hair and keep it short which helped in using the Bissell Bark Bath. But you just have to spend the time practicing and getting use to it like I am currently still doing. But for me much easier and faster than traditional bathing. I got it primarily for the winter use as unable to bath outside like summer time. So using the Bissell for me is going to be ideal for the winter months coming up, but will still use it this summer time. My pets did enjoy other than the noise which will take them a little time to get use to. But I am happy with it, and that is just me maybe not so for others.

I followed the directions and used warm water however when I start using the cleaner on my dog the vacuum itself makes the soap & water FREEZING. I've tried researching what to do but from the research I have done I have not figured out how to get it warm. I feel like I wasted my money