In a series of trials, we evaluated several factors that may influence electrical contact resistance of dairy cattle: manure depth, standing surface, hair coat condition, mouth area connections, and bedding in manure. Mouth to single hoof pathways were created by placing a metal bit in the mouth while the cow stood in separate plastic trays for each hoof. Treatments were applied equally between right and left hooves. In trial 1, 2 manure depths (0.3 and 2.5 cm) on metal grids were compared with 20 cows on 2 consecutive days. In Trial 2, 30 cows stood in 2.5 cm of manure with half their feet on a metal grid and half on concrete. In Trials 3 and 4, all 4 feet stood on metal grids with manure. Trial 3 treatments (n = 20) varied by contact location (neck and rump) and hair coat condition (dry, mist, and wet), whereas Trial 4, treatments varied by mouth area contact (bit in mouth, nose tongs, drinking water). Trial 5 was a laboratory study comparing the electrical resistance of manure:bedding blends with 0 to 25% (wt/wt) added bedding in 5% increments for compost, sand, and straw. In trial 1, resistance of the mouth to single hoof pathway was significantly less (P < 0.01) for deeper versus shallow manure. In Trial 2, the resistance was less for the metal grid standing surface than the concrete standing surface regardless of manure presence (P < 0.01). In Trial 3, resistance of the rump to all hooves pathway was less than the neck to all hooves pathway (P < 0.01), and regardless of body location, decreased (P < 0.01) as hair coats were either misted or wetted to the skin compared with a dry hair coat. In Trial 4, resistance for the mouth to all hooves pathway was significantly greater (P < 0.01) when cows drank water from a metal bucket compared with a bit in the mouth or nose tongs. In Trial 5, adding compost or sand bedding to manure has a minimal effect on resistance whereas adding straw (over 10%) significantly increased electrical resistance (P < 0.01). We concluded that contact resistance of varying pathways through dairy cows are influenced by manure depth, standing surface, hair coat condition, mouth area connections, and straw bedding in manure.