My eco solution to rat problems

[CatieB]

I know this is a silly question, but I also know from chat and pictures on here that there are rural dog owners.

 

We live in the middle of agricultural fields so every thing is very muddy at this time of year. Including obviously my dogs. Hubby says I have to put up with dirty dogs and house. I said I am sure my wise omlet friends will have tips on how to minimise the mess.

 

I know you cant bath a dog regularly. Tonight we gave 7 month old scout his first bath after he'd been for his usual run and looked like a mud monster, and the mud that came out of his fur was endless. He loves bounding around but I hate messy floors and a dirty house.

 

I know its a petty question but there must be other clean freak dog owners. Thanks

[Lavenders_Blue]

I am by no means a clean freak but I don't particularly like mud all over the house either. If Tango gets mucky on a walk, I tend to towel her off as much as possible, let the rest of the mud dry and brush it off. If she's REALLY filthy, then I might rinse her off, but she hates being hosed/bathed so much that it's very stressful for us all if she has to be washed! Shampoo is only used for cleaning off stinky stuff like fox poo

 

ETA - it helps that Tango is short coated which makes towelling her off much easier.

[jasperaliceuk]

If its just wet paws - you can train to offer paws and legs for towelling off. If really muddy feet you can train them to stand in a tray of water outside to 'wash paws' then 'dry paws'. If a bit too muddy up legs he just gets a brief leg hose down in the garden. Body just towelled off and left to dry. Otherwise - if anything stinky - straight in the bath!

 

Sue

[kinsk]

The jack russells are fairly easy as they get towelled off. The collie and the rottie, if it's just dirty paws get towelled off, if more than that they get left in the dog room for an hour or so to dry off and then the mud brushed off. It doesn't stop the dirt in the house though so unfortunately it is something you do have to put up with to an extent.

 

We have hard floors and so I have a straw broom which gets a spin every morning.

[The Dogmother]

I am by no means a clean freak but I don't particularly like mud all over the house either. If Tango gets mucky on a walk, I tend to towel her off as much as possible, let the rest of the mud dry and brush it off. If she's REALLY filthy, then I might rinse her off, but she hates being hosed/bathed so much that it's very stressful for us all if she has to be washed! Shampoo is only used for cleaning off stinky stuff like fox poo

 

ETA - it helps that Tango is short coated which makes towelling her off much easier.

 

I do the same with my two lurchers - one smooth coated and one broken coated - they get a towelling down, only get a wash when they are really filthy or have rolled in something vile. My house has Victorian floorboards, and the kitchen is tiled, so they are kept in there until the worst has dried off.

 

You should ask LBB for tips - one of her labs is half dog, half hippo

[kinsk]

one of her labs is half dog, half hippo

 

 

Our rottie pup, he has long hair though, came in yesterday full of sticky bobs after rooting around in the field, then tried to pull them off and kept getting sharp bits in his mouth. Took me ages to brush them out, then he went to help husband fix the tractor and came back stinking of diesel

 

Meanwhile one of the JR's went ratting under a trailer chassis that's supposedly going to be made into something and came in covered in grease and oil.

[Redwing]

I would thoroughly recommend Thermatex dog bags for well behaved dogs, my dog also wears Thermatex and Snuggy Hoods coats, the Snuggy ones are great for keeping tummies clean and both wash and dry quickly, I don't bother to wipe over paws but if I did my house would probably stay clean as the coats are very good and keep my dog clean otherwise

 

How are you getting on with the house training?

[clucker1]

At puppy training we learnt how to towel dry your puppy which helped me no end as up to that point it had been more like a game and I was losing! This method works very well for us:

 

Ingredients

2 towels

1 dog

 

Method

Lay one towel out on the floor. Put dog on towel. Dry dog with other towel, working systematically drying your dog.

 

As soon as I started doing this, Maisy relaxed and it was no longer a game I was losing at ...a tug of the towel, she became a lot quieter, understands what is required of her and enjoys it a lot!

NB Sometimes, I use the doormat as the "placing" towel if I haven't left 2 towels out. Hope this helps.

[The Dogmother]

I remember that Ruby used to see it as a game at that age too, so I turned it into a training game, and rewarded her when she lifted each paw on command, and stood to be dried underneath.

[CatieB]

Thank you everyone.

 

It is mainly my hubby that takes the dog out as he works at home, when I mentioned dog coats etc I was scoffed at. I can only assume it's not a manly thing to do!!! I like the idea.

 

After his bath scout has looked like a new dog this week. We weren't aware his hair was actually so light. He looks like a shaggy boris Johnson. Ginger at the roots and practically white at the ends. I wish I did pictures so you could all see we are often stopped as he is so cute. (And naughty, the world is just one big exciting place)

 

I now have microfibre towels by the door and am trying to encourage hubby, not the dog to use them. Scout seems to like the rub down.

 

In relation to the dog training, we haven't had a wee in the house this week but I'm not sure that's his progress. It's probably more lack of opportunity. He has been taken out far more. Also we have been spending time in the kitchen rather than the lounge as we have a sofa in there and a Rayburn. Much warmer than our lounge and it's near the back door. I think as his crate is kept in the kitchen he sees it as more part of his territory so is less likely to wee. I'm just not sure how we extend this when we want to be in the lounge.