Does your doggo enjoy a dip?

Whether your canine companion loves to plunge into the sea or dive into the river (or any available muddy puddle), a new Irish company has come up with a solution to that unmistakable whiff of a damp dog in the car on the ride home.

Invented by Waterford-based entrepreneur Frances O’Reilly, DogDry is a brand new innovative super absorbent dog drying coat for wet dogs.

Photograph: Patrick Browne

The design is inspired by the technical capabilities used in super absorbent reusable nappies; the soft bottom layer of the DogDry wicks away moisture and odour, the super-absorbent middle layer locks it away from the dog’s body and the waterproof top layer keeps the mess within the coat and out of the owner’s car and home.

Frances had a light-bulb moment while drying off her beloved dogs with a towel for at least the thousandth time.

Having researched the market, she decided to take the plunge and launch a collection of five different-sized drying robes, designed in Ireland by Sharon Maxwell a designer and lecturer for the BA in Fashion Design at Atlantic Technological University in Donegal.

“I’ve relied on skills I learned during my career leading innovation teams and put the idea for DogDry through independent quantitative research among a representative sample of family dog owners in Ireland before taking the plunge and deciding this would be my business and not a side project,” Frances told us.

“I know that 65 percent of dog owners in Ireland are interested in buying a DogDry. That one in four households has at least one dog and that 40 percent of dogs in Ireland are mixed breeds.

“I am 100 percent confident that the problem of wet dogs making a mess in the car and house exists, and that DogDry solves the problem in a way that works for the dog and works for the owner.”

DogDry comes in five sizes from extra small to extra large and all sizes in between, it is available online from €79 at DogDry.com.