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 ["猫のご利用はできません"]. This video, of a similar machine produced by an American company, makes a good case for applying such a rule:
The cat video led to cries of animal cruelty from many people, eventually causing a PR disaster for it manufacturers.
[hat tip to Mark B]
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
Diaper-headed Man Robs Convenience Store
Dolphin Blooper Video
Baby Monkey Rides Wild Boar
Is That Castle Burning?
Wild Boar Attacks Buddhist Temple
Golgo 13 Monkey Dies
China Favors Knock-off Arita-yaki Porcelain Over Authentic Arita-yaki
Japanese Man Rollerblades Across America
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to Feature Takashi Murakami Balloons
Weird English Conversation
Online Coupon Sharing For Tech-savvy Japanese
Girls Generation in Japan
cats HATE water so it’s pretty understandable why the cat doesn’t like it. the cat isn’t going to like any bath u give it.
dogs just don’t usually like water in the face.
hardly “cruelty to animals”… any bath u give a cat is going to be “cruel”
Rate this comment:
0 
1
／l、
( ﾟ､ ｡ ﾌ Mew? What did you say?
｣ “ヽ
()ιし(~)～
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmxtggv7_mk
Rate this comment:
1 
0
LOVE IT!
Rate this comment:
0 
1
My cat is pretty fond of water.
I’ve seen some that aren’t, but mine will play in the sink when I’m washing dishes, jump in the shower with us, etc.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
uh… wtf !?
Why are you keeping your cat in your house ?
That’s perverted. Cats need the freedom to roam around.
Rate this comment:
0 
2
Slow cooking: ON
Rate this comment:
1 
0
yum, the other white meat. . people who don’t see the humor in this are sticks in the mud
Rate this comment:
1 
1
What? No spin cycle?
Rate this comment:
0 
2
I like your humor. . .
Rate this comment:
0 
1
I really don’t see why it’s so difficult to get the pooch in the shower and washing it yourself, a lot cheaper than using the machine or going to a stylist (may that craft die out soon) as well.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
If it’s a 90-kilo St Bernard it can be a hell of a time, even if it’s good-natured about the bath. I took it in the shower with me once and it kept knocking me out of the tub.
Then again, I don’t think it would fit in that machine either.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
Stupid cat. I’ve seen that video multiple times and I love the way it eventually has a defeated look.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
IF I hit you with a pipe to see what is inside your head, I’d say you’d look defeated.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Your soul seems to be pretty defeated, Jack.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Anyone who deems the cat video as cruel should have to give a cat a bath naked. When they are all scratched up, I’m sure that washing machine will look pretty damn good then…Fail.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
Love knows no bounds, wounds heal, soul does not.
NO amount of scratches is painful if you are helping your pet, as well as helping ANYONE YOU LOVE.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Wtf?? We are talking about a bath here, not some kind of intervention. Oh yeah, u said “ANYONE”, a cat is a thing. People like you who think otherwise…Fail.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
People who think like me LOVE all beings around them.
People who make a distinction between species, lead the way of extinction, of their own and all others; fail and prove that throughout history.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Humans can love; cats can’t.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
Cats can and do love, are affectionate and loyal. This comment was put forth by someone who has no actual experience with cats. Don’t speak out of ignorance.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Your a idiot for 1. Bathing your cat & 2. Being naked while you do it.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Anyone who is stupid enough to bathe a cat while naked deserves to wind up all scratched up. A denim jacket will offer all the protection you need. Just use your brain and you wont get hurt.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
This may sound extreme but watching the cat video made me wonder what if people in concentration camps had a similar experience in their last moments in the “shower”. Fortunately for the cat here all he got was clean and there was only water and detergent in the “pet spa”
It may seem logically ridiculous but from the cats point of view…
Rate this comment:
1 
0
I’m pretty sure my cat is familiar with the concept of “water”. He encounters it on a daily basis, after all, drinking it and playing with it.
He may not like getting water sprayed on him, but to compare the experience with a concentration camp prisoner’s “last moments” of being gassed to death is beyond idiotic.
Piss off, PETArd.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
Well that seemed pretty traumatizing for the cat and you should not get water in cat’s ears. It’s way more better for the cat if you wash it yourself and hold it down while doing it.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
“and you should not get water in cat’s ears”
Huh? Cat’s have been around for millions of years – outdoors – where it rains….
Rate this comment:
0 
1
Washing a cat by hand (depending on the cat) can be borderline cruelty to the owner.
The cat we have now loves to jump in the shower with us, but the one my friend used to have would spaz out and hide for 6 hours if you touched it with wet hands.
This machine would save a hell of a lot of trouble for cats like that. What the cats don’t like and what is bad for them are two very different things.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
Let me spray the garden hose in your eyes and ears while you scream, and then call me a retard after.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Cats don’t have a point of view. It’s outrageous you could compare this to concentration camps.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
I would not put my dog in that thing.
I don’t need to though because I actually spend time with my dog and she is well trained. Bath time is enjoyable for her and not stressful at all.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
If you think putting a cat in a machine with small, weak jets of water to clean it is cruelty, you don’t know the definition of the word. I’ve seen some seriously mistreated cats, and that doesn’t come close.
Let me know when the machine breaks its legs and lets its fur mat until the skin begins to grow around it again, while keeping it in a cage the size of a few large coffee cans, then we can talk about cruelty.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
If you hit a child on the cheek it is cruel, there is not lower or upper limit, barbarism and retorting to violence is cruel no matter the intention.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Now I just have to get a dog so I can use it……
Rate this comment:
0 
1
In my experience all dogs hate having a bath.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Head outside, then ok. So cruel :/
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Can i use that machine for myself ?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
This is absolutely cruel, and does in fact remind of gas chambers.
And gas chambers and crematoriums and cataloging of prisoners were designed by Krupp and IBM, remember this, ALWAYS.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Wasn’t IBM not around until the 50s?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Now lets report these videos for removal on YouTube.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Haha, only u came back and voted for yourself. Fail.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
He who has the last laugh…
… o just so you know James reseted the whole article.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Troll harder.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
watch the movie “Hachiko” (either the 1987 original Japanese
version, or the new one by Richard Gere)
after watching this film, if you still insist on putting your
dog into a dog washing machine, then your heart must be made
of stone.(or don’t have one to start with)
perfect music to go with the dog washing machine would be
Sergiu Calibidache’s Tchaikovsky Sym #5, 2nd movement.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Shower scene from Schinlder’s List anyone?
Rate this comment:
1 
0
I’ve used pet washing machine on my dog here in U.S. My dog wasn’t very happy about it, but she got used to it after few visits. It’s good for a quick cleaning, but not for a good scrub. The pet store with the machine was displaying the photos of human children being washed in their machine to show how safe it is for your pet.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
The cat looks pissed lol
Rate this comment:
0 
1
From my experience, I say suddenly shocking the cat with that jet(s) of water is pretty traumatizing.
The first time my cat (then a kitten) went outside, I caught it playing around in a big bundle of spider webs, spiders, and dead things. Being the deathly arachnophobic I am, I was completely horrified so I just took it and ran it inside the bathroom to shower it off. It reacted similar to, but not as extreme as, the cat in that video.
That was pretty damn painful for me being the one to hold the shower head, but I think the experience left a bigger impression on my cat. He’s been afraid to go outside since. It’s been two years, and my cat still hasn’t dared to go out the door again… At least I haven’t had to wash him again, since cats generally lick themselves very clean.
My older cat, 15, was once showered by my mom when he was 4, and to this day he still freaks the fuck out just over the sound of running water.
If I had a do-over with another kitten, I think I would introduce him to some calm water from the faucet first then work my way to bathing him more gently…
In regards to the pet washing machine, I think the thought of your cat associating a traumatizing experience with you should be pretty heartbreaking to any cat owner. I mean, that cat in the video looked like he actually trusted the lady. I feel like it was inhumane just to watch that…
Rate this comment:
1 
0
Thanks cat whisperer for telling us how your cat, an animal is traumatized by water, a natural element of this planet. Unless you were holding it under water not allowing it to breathe, there shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe you and your mom are the problem. Think about that one buddy. Fail.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
Tweet about it tatoko.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
The Kitty video cracked me up. Cruelty would be harming the cat, although it certainly didn’t enjoy it! Playing “Under the Sea” was a nice touch!
And no, I wouldn’t do it to my kitty.
Rate this comment:
0 
1
This is cruel and sick. There is soap going right into the animal’s eyes. The cat clip REALLY pissed me off. I am glad to see that 855 people think it’s cruel. I would like to torture the 313 people who voted not cruel.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
very very cruel; did anyone ask the pets if THEY would like to be washed this way?
Rate this comment:
1 
0
absolutely ants animal cops needed here for sure, another just like the ASPCA would never let this go for sure
Rate this comment:
1 
0
if you asked the some of the cats and dogs, they’ll never want to be washed… in any way
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Wash the dog normal way outdoors or in the sink or bathtub depending on the size.
Are we that dog gone lazy that we just throw our poor pets into a machine like this, this is unbelievable!
Washing machine for dogs is just ridiculous and wrong wrong!!
ASPCA would never ever accept this, ASPCA should be a worldwide organization being the authority over the proper treatment of animals seriously! In fact they should say something!
Rate this comment:
1 
0
If you’re that lazy there’s Petco to go to to have someone else do it for you for cryin out loud, but sorry the world has become a rather lazy unfortunately
Rate this comment:
1 
0
so cruel, imagine any animal locked up in a container for over half an hour, no way to get out. It’s like trapped with no escape!!!!! this is WAY TOOO CRUEL, it’ll cause psychological damage to pets.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
No cat needs a bath. Cats don’t have showers in nature. They clean themselves. Why are humans so stupid? I’ve heard of idiots trying to give baths to their rabbits, which is also totally unnatural. Often rabbits are so traumitized they die. The endlessness of human stupidity is astounding.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
I totally agree, we shouldn’t pick up dog poop either, it just doesn’t happen in nature! We should probably stop vaccination too, that’s so unnatural! VIVA luddite culture! Humans are so stupid!
Rate this comment:
0 
1
An appropriate name for you. So you feel any disagreement with a machine design is Luddite culture? I guess you’re one of those people who thinks factory farms are a good idea, too.
Rate this comment:
1 
0
I have bred and raised several rabbits. I also gave them baths. I have given at least fifty rabbit baths and in that fifty rabbit baths I have had a grand total of ZERO rabbits die. Neither were any traumatized by it either. In fact; I had one that you could lay on her back under a faucet with warm running water and as soon as the water hit her she would relax and close her eyes and nearly go to sleep on you.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Congratulations on your legendary exploits. Some rabbits will survive, some might “relax” as you say, but it is also true that others will go into shock and die. You didn’t know this as someone who keeps rabbits? What has your comment got to do with the issue of a dog washing machine that traumatizes animals that are put into it? I reiterate, it is a stupid invention and in many cases it is plainly cruel, while stupid humans stand by watching. Do you have any more tangents you would like to pursue?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Anyone else that totally misses the point got something to say?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
this is so cruel!!! D: i feel so bad for the little animals, this is one job a machine shouldn’t do, and a human SHOULD do. if your to lazy or scared to wash your animal yourself, get a groomer to do it, don’t let a psycho japanese machine do it! >:[ the animals look so scared and defeated and pissed off when they get out, that husky and cat was pissed!! =[
Rate this comment:
1 
0