Shane Wighton’s Multi-Jet Dog Washer Ends the Muddy Shake Problem for Good

Shane Wighton of Stuff Made Here grew tired of the same backyard routine. His dog would find the one muddy spot in the yard, then shake hard enough to coat everyone nearby. Hand washing only moved the mess from the animal onto the people holding the hose. So he built a car-wash style machine that scans a set of nozzles along the dog while keeping owners out of the spray zone.

Fifteen spray nozzles sit atop an arch constructed of galvanized tubing, which Wighton bent into a circle with a roller before welding into a single loop. Each nozzle has its own internal water and air route that is sealed with O-rings and allows it to swivel around, which is essential for delivering the water where it needs to go. Control rods and ball joints connect the nozzles, allowing you to flip a single switch to angle them all in the same direction. Then there’s a second pair of sprayers riding beneath the platform, blasting up at the belly and legs.

This entire creation is mounted on a wooden carriage powered by belts on either side. It has a shaft down the middle to prevent it from twisting and sagging as it goes from front to back. The motion is governed by linear rails cut from old conduit, and limit switches rotate the thing around at each end to keep it going without becoming stuck.

At the other end is an Arduino connected to a remote control box, which flips switches to power the motors and activates the main water valve for extremely high flow. The motors have their own sealed compartments to keep the electrics dry, and there is a large red emergency stop button on the panel just in case.

Many of the elements were built using 3D printing because it allows for such perfect fits, with the exception of the base, which is simply plywood cut to template. Meanwhile, the rollers that ride on the carriage were produced using a CNC lathe that occurred to show up during the build. There is a garden hose attached to almost everything, and a separate air connection allows you to turn the nozzles to blow when you’re finished rinsing.

So he put it through its paces with the help of two (very scared) test subjects: Ava and Bri. The verdict: the upper nozzles were a little too weak, the streams from the back nozzles were getting in the way of each other, and there were some cracks in the deck boards where the water was just not getting through.

Wighton went in and fixed the gaps, moved the unfortunate dogs’ heads to keep water out of their ears, and rerouted the pipes to get the water flowing properly. The equipment was then put through its paces using that irritating grooming collar to keep the animals calm. To be fair, it did a good job of removing the majority of the mud from the body in one go.

There was still some weakness in the coverage on the head and upper back, and those air nozzles simply weren’t creating enough power to get dry. Nonetheless, despite a few flaws, the owners remained neat and clean. In terms of performance, the system received great grades, but there is obviously space for improvement, particularly with a bigger blower and some more tinkering to get the nozzles aimed perfectly for the next generation.