Dirty Dogs, Clean House?

[Cedars]

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some help with this!

We have two fantastic, but crazy, black Labradors, in a smallish country cottage. They are almost never allowed upstairs, but they have full run of the downstairs when we are there. Downstairs consists of: the 'dog room', which is tiled, straight into our kitchen (also tiled), straight into our living room, which is floorboards. When we are not home, the puppy is in his crate, and the older dog is in the dog room, behind a babygate.

I love our boys, but the state of our house is driving me completely insane.

There is always dog hair EVERYWHERE - it sticks to everything and anything, and I can spend my life hoovering, only for them to be let out and cover everywhere again. The walls in the dog room and the kitchen are often covered in splotches of whatever they've brought in from outside - they can only get in through our front door (which is straight into our living room), so inevitably the living room gets dirty too.

They manage to soak the house by drinking water, then running through the kitchen and dribbling water as they go. This means the floor is always wet, so my socks are always wet, and the dog hair sticks to the wet so hoovering doesn't pick it up, only moping, which effectively just spreads the hair across the floor.

Our house always smells like dog, too. I don't notice (nor do I care) but it would be nice if we could remove the smell when we have guests!!

I'm looking for any smart ideas, secret tips or outside the box thinking to make my house slightly more bearable! Because we have no outdoor space at home, restricting them inside isn't an option. We can bath the dogs (in our own bathtub) but that is a nightmare because of the hair, and because then they're wet and spread water throughout the house and over the sofa.

Or if it's a case of 'that's what having dogs is like', a bottle of vodka will do!

Thanks.. x

 

[Follysmum]

Sounds like my house. I am constantly mopping floors , hoovering and washing walls. I wash their bedding everyweek. I spray them with dog groomers Fantasia ( smells lovely) after towel drying them after walks when wet, use shake n vac on stairs carpets and use tons of Fabreeze on their beds. TBH when its wet you will always get doggy smells in your house. If anyone has any tips I would welcome hearing them too.

 

[FubsyMog]

I only have limited advice here as not a dog owner (though a hairy cat who likes to 'kill' her food by dragging it across the kitchen floor is only slightly less problematic!), but I know that my friend has used Shake 'n' Vac with good results when the aroma of her lurcher became too all-encompassing. I think bicarbonate of soda may work as well.

If there are really filthy bits on the walls where they are always rubbing, could you put up plexiglass? You can buy flexible stuff now that can be cut with a stanley knife (with a bit of perseverance) or easily with a small saw.Screw or use sticky pads to attach to the walls. You can still see your decor through it, but is totally wipeable. I have used this as a splashback to good effect when I was at art college.

If anyone has a solution to the hair that furry pets love to leave everywhere, I would love to hear it. Pity it's not the done thing to clip and rug like a horse...!

 

[thewonderhorse]

Or if it's a case of 'that's what having dogs is like', a bottle of vodka will do!

Pass me a glass!

Sounds exactly like my house! I will be watching this thread with baited breath!

 

[Follysmum]

PS I also have the dreaded long haired cat thats always moulting and a hunter cat that drags in all sorts through the cat flap. Rabbits, pigeons and rats!!! yuk

 

[lexiedhb]

DECENT hoover- and steam mop. You have an issue in that you have 2 highly shedding breeds- which erm is not going to change (OH has a black Lab- OMG the fur compared to my Staff X)

Bicarb sprinkled onto soft furnishings and then hoovered will help massively with the smell- which is technically what shake and vac is made of without the vile floral smell. Wash bedding lots- keep pooches off furniture- dont have rugs - bath outside- it wont kill em- those super soaker mat things are good for doorways- microfiber towels good for drying said soggy pooches.

I think eau de soggy puppy is kinda standard once you get more than one dog with a decent coat living in a cottage

 

[thewonderhorse]

Yep Follys mum, sounds like my house. I large hairy dog. Four cats and whatever prey they have decided to drag through the house!

 

[Follysmum]

Yep Follys mum, sounds like my house. I large hairy dog. Four cats and whatever prey they have decided to drag through the house!

Ha ha, we have a Bulldog too that can trump for England. He really makes the aroma nice.

 

[thewonderhorse]

Its cheaper than a plug in i would imagine! haha

 

[MotherOfChickens]

ditto the bicarb (shake and vac used to be horrendous on dog skin) and a steam cleaner.

 

[Spudlet]

Haha, you would have dogs...

I have a few tactics which have some success:

1. Non-spill bowl to try and cut down on water spread, and set the bowls on a doormat to soak up the fallout
2. My old house had the door going straight into the living room - I had a cheap carpet runner which went from the front door to the kitchen, and used to frog-march the dog through to be dried!
3. Dog jumpers for wet dogs, to try and contain the splatter and dry him quicker
4. Throws on all the furniture, washed and changed regularly
5. Scented candles or plug in air fresheners for use before visitors arrive!
6. Wet dogs get crated or kept in their baskets until they are dry (obviously after being towelled off well) - we only have a tiny garden too but he can do running about on walks, he will cope with some bed time indoors.
7. I have heard sprinkling the carpets with bicarb of soda (dry of course) then hoovering it up will help get smells out of carpets.

Labs do seem to shed for Britain...

 

[cremedemonthe]

As some of the others have said a steam mop/cleaner
I have 3 dogs that make the house dirty.
I have a Dyson animal which gets the hairs and dried mud up, then hit it with the Polti small industrial dry steam cleaner (hard floor,walls,glass, carpets, furniture, everything really) the steam comes out at 135 degrees or more killing all bacteria which make the smell, it kills flea eggs, larvae and dust should you have any and any viruses. Beauty of it is, it only needs water out of the tap and no chemicals.
If the carpets are really grubby I use my industrial rug doctor hot extraction carpet shampooer.
If that doesn't work I give up!
Dogs also tend to smell depending on what food you give them,mine 3 are on raw meat, bones, herbal supplements and raw virgin coconut oil and dogs don't smell at all or have any fleas.
My Sister's 2 labs which have cheap dry food absolutely stink the place out.

 

[leflynn]

Great tip with the bicarb as I cannot find shake and vac anywhere!!! I don't think our house is as bad as we have a greyhound and he only sheds a bit twice a year and isn't pongy as he doesn't like being wet. Towel by the doors for muddy paws if I can grab him before he hoons off onto the carpet, I am forever washing rugs in the winter as they smell worse than him!

 

[MurphysMinder]

Some good tips here. I have recently got a steam mop and it does make a difference. I wouldn't advise using Shake n Vac, I have heard of quite a few cases where it has caused skin problems in dogs.

 

[tokiayla]

Bloomin hard work isn't it!
We come straight in the front door on to carpet - I taught my boy to shake on command (outside) then I have a towel by the door to rub down and wipe mud off - that seems to have stopped the wall splatter!
I just invested in a steam mop for the kitchen floor for wet footprints from the back garden - it is awesome - wish I had bought one sooner!
I have an awesome hoover too.
I thought GSD constant shedding was hard work until I looked after a friend's lab for 2 weeks - MY GOD!!!!! That's a whole different ball game!
Sorry, not a helpful post at all, but I can totally relate to the constant battle

 

[Copperpot]

I'm getting a steam mop after reading this. We have 5 in our cottage. And I Hoover up enough fur every other day to make at least one new dog!! And I'm getting throws for the sofa as they are allowed on them.

 

[MillyMoomie]

Is this the one thread I can be smug in saying my wonderful, gorgeous, friendly, well behaved ( most of the time) short haired, little RESCUE STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER (!) dries in about a minute, doesn't shed, doesn't really smell even when wet, doesn't seem to pick up mud and doesn't drool. I wouldn't change her for the world.

On a less smug note, she lives with a long haired cat who does shed. I Hoover twice a day. Have throws on sofas which get washed twice a week and am obsessed with Shake an vac and surface wipes. All animals are also neutered which really does help.

 

[tda]

Great thread - three Parson Terriers here, two of who currently STINK! they are well overdue a bath.

We try and keep them in the kitchen, so can sweep and then mop floor. Just got a cleaner for a couple of hrs on a Friday which helps too....LOL
Used to use a lot of shake and vac, then invested in a carpet vac/washer

 

[moppett]

my trick is having throws on all the furniture - but it has two downsides, 1) I am forever washing and trying to dry them in winter 2) my house looks like a student house

im still forever hoovering and mopping! will look to buy a steam mop though! - perhaps i could find one that is a steam mop but with a handheld steam attachement for furniture? - any recommendations?

 

[Copperpot]

Milly Moomie that's not fair. My staffy x moults like a buggar! Worse out of all the dogs!

 

[lexiedhb]

Milly moomie also not fair- my staff X is actually part hippo- ANY body of water he has to LAY in- GROSS- and yes he dries quickly but that just means dried in bog water smell........ yum........

 

[Inthemud]

Another vote for a steam mop!

 

[Leo Walker]

Echo whoever said RAW fed dogs dont smell. I have 2 lurchers and a cat in a tiny one bed cottage. Theres no doggy smell at all, although I do find hair everywhere as one of them has some collie inbher and seems to shed quite regularly. The other whippety one rarely sheds, tiptoes round mud etc and if he gets wet seems to magically dry before he gets home. Hes brilliant

 

[Clodagh]

Am off to look at steam mop.
You raw feeders - today do you have no smell of wet dog around? Today that is all I can smell when I come in the house. ours are only allowed in the back of the house until the evening so wet doggishness is confined to kitchen, office and back hall.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Am off to look at steam mop.
You raw feeders - today do you have no smell of wet dog around? Today that is all I can smell when I come in the house. ours are only allowed in the back of the house until the evening so wet doggishness is confined to kitchen, office and back hall.

There's a slight smell when they are still wet but once towelled dry, no they don't smell.Only time they might smell after being dried but it does go within a few hours is if they have been "pond monsters" and have dived in one of the local black swamp like foul smelling ponds!

 

[Luci07]

I have 3 staffords and don't really have the same problem. I do have throws my my sofas, no carpets downstairs an my dogs don't smell. They aren't on raw, but JWB and a special medical food for the boy, plus some Butchers.

However when my friend brings her lab over (who is lovely) I am literally picking up handfuls of hair and she is a bit stinky. I put that down to her double coat. I too have a steamer, use throws and do restrict my dogs access to certain rooms to try to keep control!

 

[springtime1331]

My house is like that too I have two terriers and they never seem to moult but I do have a massive hairy labradoodle who leaves a constant trail of blonde hair where ever she goes. My have furminators and slicker bushes dotted round the house and try to grab her several times a day to drag as much hair out as I can. I regularly dream of giving her a hunter clip at this time of the year.

 

[SuperH]

Ours never come in the house, that keeps the smell out. I have enough of a battle keeping the smell of cow out (gets brought in on clothing) there is no way the dogs are coming inside. Plus they make me sneeze.

We clip our dogs to keep them cow poo free (working collies), those of you with long haired dogs could consider that to help with the hair shedding? Dependant on your dog and lifestyle obviously.

 

[Leo Walker]

You raw feeders - today do you have no smell of wet dog around? Today that is all I can smell when I come in the house. ours are only allowed in the back of the house until the evening so wet doggishness is confined to kitchen, office and back hall.

Nope Not if they have just popped out for a wee. We got soaked on our walk today, but had a 5 min drive home in the car. We all smelt a bit damp, but no smell in the car or house once we had dried out. Definitely no lingering smell of dog

 

[cremedemonthe]

My 3 moult so much I've even considered flocking a saddle with it!