...to think clean floors and dogs are incompatible?

[BigDamnNCFail]

We've just moved house. For almost two years my lovely parents put up with me, DH, the two DCs, our two dogs and two cats (they also have a cat and dog). They have a large house and the dogs spent most of the time in the 'sun lounge' so all the living room floor had to content with was the cats and kids (granted that was more than enough considering autistic kids' tendencies to throw Cheerios around mid-meltdown). The soil there is also pretty sandy so dries quickly and doesn't really track much mud inside.

In the new house, however, the garden leads straight into the dining room/living room (open plan) with some weird painted wooden floor. The soil here is regular mud and it's been raining quite a but the last few days.

AIBU to think we're never going to have clean floors except for the five minutes directly after wiping a wet towel or cloth around the place halfheartedly with my foot mopping?

Do other people with dogs and no extra room to put them in manage to have clean floors and if so how? They're big dogs (German shepherd and husky) and within seconds the floor is just covered in mud when they come in from the garden.

[MewlingQuim]

We have a towel by the back door and wet doggie paws wiped on entry. I am strict about this and DDog knows it and waits for the towel when her feet are wet.

There is only one patch of the carpet which gets grubby due to the dog. She sleeps there every night rather than in the washable bed I provide for her but the steamer cleans it easily enough.

DH is the sole cause of muddy footprints in this house. The dog has proved considerably easier to train

[AvonleaAnne]

YANBU. I now own three different mops just so I can mix it up a bit when it comes to the non-stop cleaning.

We have the entire ground floor tiled in white. If only I had picked mud brown.

It's crazy that I love her so much!

[Alexa444]

My nan used to put her westie in sandwich bags when she got too old to be able to do the bending and wiping and mopping thing. She just stuck his paws in them and wrapped rubber bands round them. He was so good not ripping them off lol.

[MissBeaHaving]

Aw lovely MadBengal
My mat is called DirtMagic I think,it doesn't really help though as our garden has been so sodden.

Tornado dog has worked out how to open the back door which is a nightmare,the other week he let himself out in the rain little piggy followed & they had a whale of a time in the mud for about 10 mins before anyone realised they were out in it
The towels would've been a waste of time they were so black,they both needed bathing!

[TimeToMuskUp]

This is the fool spaniel who enjoys a regular roll in puddles, mud, fox poop and, if there's one available, cow pats. She is close friends with our local dog groomer because last time I tried to bath her in a human bath the house reached Def Con 4 and she still stank of shite.

We have a towel hanging at the back door and one of those absorbent mats, plus a stair gate on the utility room door so she stays in there til she's dry. Between her, the two DCs and 4 cats I have no hope, I'm looking forwards to when they all go to Hogwarts/Uni/Borstal.

[Madbengalmum]

Heres my puppy too..

[Madbengalmum]

Turtle mats and before dog comes in wipe her feet, i have very clean floors.

[MissBeaHaving]

Here's the other fella... Not such a big clean up job with him at least

[MissBeaHaving]

We've a decked area after the lawn but still end up with mud tracked through,had enough now so will be doing away with the lawn over the next few weeks.

Here's my solution for now ....

[SquidgeyMidgey]

I bought a brilliant magic mat, but the dog ate it

((Landrover))

My mucky-footed dog, hard at work...

[Dunkling]

.... and Bob The Cat joins her too!!

[Dunkling]

We're semi rural so lots of mud. and the back door leads directly into the family room.

We have trained our goldie to sleep off her walk lying on a huge bath sheet. She now knows what is expected of her as soon as she sees it is down, and stays on it until she is dry, and actually loves it.

Clean floors here!

[BigDamnNCFail]

I bought a brilliant magic mat, but the dog ate it

I'm glad I'd just finished my tea before reading that or I fear I would have had a laptop covered in tea.

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

This is not a spaniel, it is a fecking sponge. Luckily the dogs have to come across quite a large patio before they come in the back door and we use a big turtle mat right by their dog flap which seems to solve most of the problem. Our collie is a bit of a little flower and doesn't like the feel of wet grass under her paws so mostly stays off the lawn in the winter months.

[landrover]

Dog pics are fab!! I miss my dog but am indeed getting used to a cleaner house!! (Im guessing it doesn't smell like it used to either!!!) When the dog gets up and leaves a circle of dried dirt on the floor!

[almostthirty]

I bought a brilliant magic mat, but the dog ate it

[SpringerS]

On the plus side, studies do show that children who grow up in houses where dogs track mud all over the place have significantly lower incidences of allergies and 6 times less incidence of common childhood ailments like ear infections, sore throats, colds, etc. So as annoying as it is to have to constantly clean or live with dirt, it does actually have a positive impact on our children's health.

[SpringerS]

I mainly keep the dogs in the kitchen but I have springer spaniels and they are like muck magnets. They don't just destroy the floor but they shake and cover the cupboard doors, washing machine and fridge in mud spatters. I have to scrub them at least twice a week in wet weather. They also seem to fill the air with dried muck so if i don't dust for a couple of days, there is a film of dust over everything. And to make matters worse, my kitchen floor is tiled with deeply grooved cream tiles. I swear I have to channel Ruby from Upstairs Downstairs and get down on my hands and knees to scrub the dirt out. It's hell.

And lastly, despite the fact that the dogs are mainly kept in the kitchen, somehow their hair gets all over the rest of the house. I do love them but they make so much more work than my toddler.

[BigDamnNCFail]

Sounds like the only real solution is a lot of faffing around with towels etc. Might be more realistic once the boys are older and I have more time.

[FriskyFrog]

Hosepipe and towels by the back door. Dogs washed before they get in, then towel dried once in. Not let out of the kitchen till properly dry. Helps that they have short hair. Our house is clean. It's time consuming though.
Lots of old dogs towels needed, plus extra wash loads. Also, a wet wash vax is a necessity for when the process fails!
I care less about the tumbleweeds as they are easily hoovered up, I just won't have dirt.

[pearlylum]

Dogs bring in muck. One of the reasons I don't own a dog.

[Junosmum]

My mum hoovered twice a day and mopped once. Every. Flipping. Day.

[chickenowner]

Since getting our lovely dog I have had to lower my cleaning standards considerably! I sweep our floors every day (downstairs is all either terracotta tiles or wooden floorboards) but they still are not clean for most of the time. It used to upset/annoy me, but I'm learning to let it go...

[Victoriaplum79]

4 dogs here, so we paved over the entire back garden which keeps everything much cleaner, it's easier to pick up poop and we can hose down the yard regularly.
The hairs inside well that's another story!!!

[MetalMidget]

We don't tend to have issues with our dog and the floors - he's a long haired breed that sheds hair the same as humans, but I think I lose more hair than him, judging by what I vacuum up/have to remove from the rollers. -_-

We did have a terrible patch a few years back before we turfed the lawn - we'd rotovatered it, then we had a few days of horrendous rain, which left the kitchen in a right state - fortunately only temporary! We're also lucky in that our dog will delicately mince around puddles and mud (although will throw himself ecstatically into fox poo, fortunately we don't have that in the garden...)