Or am I really a dirty git

[frostedviolets]

I've just got back from a long dog walk, wellies and boots are both pretty much covered in brown.

I haven't washed the wellies, in fact, I very rarely, ahem, virtually never wash them.

And I haven't washed the dog either.
I'll just brush her later, vacuum and wipe off any splatters on the wall.

DH thinks I should wash the wellies and dog (big double coated breed!) after every mucky outing...

He thinks I'm most filthy
🤣

AIBU?

I do now quickly rinse my wellies with the hose when we get back, partly as DS gets a bit upset if his are muddy. Also because I'm fed up of having even more cleaning to do

If the collie is especially grim, she's happy enough for a quick rinse. Poodle thinks it's an insult but shes tiny enough to pick up and just towel the worst off.

I dont wear wellies, find them hard to walk in for some reason. So my boots are left to dry on a newspaper then bashed to get mud off. The bloody dogs however are a different story. Why does the long haired one love rolling in mud? The short haired one sort of runs through the muddy puddles but never seems to come home dirty. I have a dog towel pile for the long haired one that at this time of year is greatly diminished. Also make her lay on a dry towel in the kitchen whilst she air/drip dries. They haven't been washed with shampoo since 1st January this year iirc.

Only wash em properly if they stink, a few beach trips sort of put off the smelly side for a while.

I have a big, but shorthaired dog. We have all hard floors and he doesn't go on any furniture. He hates having his feet wiped, so when it's wet underfoot I tend to just hose his legs and feet after a walk (and sometimes my wellies while I'm at it). In drier weather I wouldn't bother.

Anyway, there's evidence that having a pet helps your immune system, partly due to the very fact that your house is not spotlessly clean and bacteria-free. Apparently people with pets get fewer minor ailments such as colds, and being brought up with a dog can reduce the likelihood of children getting asthma, eczema and other allergies.

Wash the floor, not the dog. Dog does get towelled off umpteen times a day, and I have a Mud Daddy for basic washing off. She has a bath when she's either revoltingly muddy, rolled in poo or actually smelly.

Wellies go on a rubber mat just inside the front door.

Wellies only get cleaned when they’re too heavy to walk anymore! Doggos get a quick hose and dry twice daily.

For those saying they can't wear wellies, I have a very weak ankle from a massive sprain a few years ago and go over on it all the time.

These waterproof boots velcro above the ankle and are light and warm (lined). Highly recommend them.

I have a friend who has two Tibetan terriers, so a smallish breed, but they have a lot of coat.

When she had her utility room fitted out, she had an extra deep, large sink put in with a tap with a spray attachment. When they're muddy (most days, she lives in a rural part of the Midlands where they seem to have mud even during a drought), she dunks them in the sink and washes their legs and undercarriages.

It's easy when you've got small dogs and big sinks!

Let your DH wash the dog and the wellies if he feels that strongly about it.

Wellies are upside down on a rack outside. I hose them occasionally if they get very dirty.

I don't wash wellies either. They will only get muddy again! Dog will get wiped down with an old towel if really wet/muddy.

I wash wellies. Not every time ie a not for a slight bit of mud, but caked in mud - yes. I don't like getting them out all caked in mud crumbling about everywhere and it looks scruffy on the next wear. I would also wash a very muddy dog down. But I wouldn't judge people who don't. It's just personal leanings.

when my mother had 2 big muddy dogs we used to regularly put them in the bath (near the front door) and shower them down with the hand held shower attachment. She said it kept the mud down.

Like @LakieLady said, just the underneath so they didnt get cold

I live near an Alabama Rot Hot Spot and only rinse if very muddy, I had and must re-buy a little camping shower thing that I filled with hot water and took with me in the car and rinsed legs and feet and belly as little dogs, and I rinse feet if they are getting long as mine have 'snow shoes' or yeti feet that soak up water and gook, I rarely to never clean my boots. www.amazon.co.uk/Hozelock-Ltd-4140A0000-PortaShower/dp/B001ULCILM/ref=asc_df_B001ULCILM/?hvlocphy=1007116&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=224088607899&hvpone&hvlocint&hvpos=1o1&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-423615220955&hvrand=13693986099820500114 Such a handy thing.

My boots (laced walking types, I need the ankle and arch support) get left by the back door until the mud dries, then they're bashed together and rinsed to get the powdery stuff off before I walk it through the house.

If I were going between different areas, such as lakes, or somewhere where ticks were an issue/I was around at lambing, I'd clean them before putting them on again so I didn't carry any unwelcome passengers, whether bacterial or animal in nature.

A dog, though - I'd get most of the wet mud off with a towel/let it dry, and brush it much later. I'd only bath it if it's anointed itself in vintage bird or mustelid/vulpine turds.

Same way I treat the DTwatCats. One gets his paws and fur carefully rubbed dry because he's a wuss and likes being swaddled and I'm a soppy twat where he's concerned, the other is washed when she gets the shits and is a small, fluffy ball of venom and rage if you try and do anything for her at any other time.

But DP grew up on the moors. Animals and people traipsing mud into the kitchen is something normal - as long as dirt doesn't make it upstairs, he's fine with it.

A constantly washed dog would mean the place permanently stinking of soggy mutt - mainly because if they aren't bone dry, the first they do is roll all over the soft furnishings to finish the job off.

I have a small (white) terrier who gets bundled into the bath after walks at the moment as she is usually black by the time we get home. I find if I let the mud dry then she just sprinkles dry mud across the house for the rest of the day and I have to hoover up after her so easier to wash her.

I dont think I have ever washed my wellies though. Life is too short!

We have a boot scraper like this one outside the door and a boot/dog washing station in the boot room.

Boot get scraped before I go in then get a half arsed hose down if they're particularly bad.

Our JR gets a hose down as he's usually covered.

GSD and the Collie just get towelled off as their coats are so thick and they don't normally get as manky as the wee man.
I make sure to wash their paws and legs thoroughly though.

Going in without scraping your boots is a bit manky but I wouldn't worry about washing them.

I don't have a dog, but do a lot of walking each day, for exercise. I always remove my walking shoes/boots at the door and leave them on old newspaper to dry out, then scrape off the dried mud outside. Same method for wellies after using them to dig the garden. Seems like hard work to wash these things after each use, not to mention I'd never have any dry footwear for my walk.

Re the dog, some people keep a trough of water near their door to rinse dogs' paws in, then dry with an old towel before letting them indoors. Again, old newspaper around the floor can be useful, but I guess it's a losing battle at this time of year.

Sorry but this thread is making me feel

Unwashed dogs, their mud and hairs all over the house.

Unwashed dogs, their mud and hairs all over the house.

Washing your dog everyday is really bad for their skin and can cause all sorts of problems. They're not people - their coats and skin aren't designed to be washed on a daily, or even weekly, basis. If I wash my dog too often, he gets red and itchy skin and ends up very uncomfortable and sore.

A good scrub down with a towel will get all the mud off my short-haired dog. I'll rinse his paws off when he comes in but he rarely ever gets a full bath. I didn't get a long-haired breed precisely because I couldn't be bothered with all the mud and faff that comes with it!

As for the hair - that's pretty much what you sign up for when you get a pet, surely?

Unwashed dogs, their mud and hairs all over the house. envy

Pfft, there'll be plenty of dirt and hair and skin flakes and food crumbs falling off the human inhabitants anyway, especially if they happen to be children.
What's a little more hair and dirt?

I know it doesn't sound like it what with never washing my mucky wellies or my dirty dog but I am actually pretty houseproud.

I check the walls for marks and wipe down regularly and vacuum thoroughly at least once, if not two or three times a day.

My house pretty much always looks and smells neat, tidy and clean.

Ah sorry I feel bad now. I love dogs and love to fuss them if their owners let me, but I’ve never had my own. We had cats growing up but I don’t have one now.

Ah sorry I feel bad now.

No need to feel bad :)

Not everyone likes having pets and their hair and that's absolutely okay. We have a dog and two cats and part of that is doing a bit of extra housework. So I vacuum more than I would otherwise, we have throws on the sofas that need washing to keep the place fresh too, and the floors get cleaned more often than I otherwise would, but it's totally worth it.

Dogs and other pets don't need to result in a messy and unhygienic house.

@adaline - I am really interested about what you are saying about daily washing being bad for their skin. I have a basset hound who is short haired and invariably her stomach and legs at this time of the year are always filthy. She generally is wet too, especially over the last few weeks. I suppose I have an attitude that she's already wet, so me hosing the mud off with water is not making her any wetter (if you see what I mean). She also has baggy skin so I like to get off the mud between the fur. I can often hose her and then towel her dry and the towel still absolutely filthy. I have done this for 9 years and we have never had any skin conditions. I suppose I do this because I have always had horses (and I don't want the mud in my house) and they can get an infection called Mud Fever - so we always had to hose the legs off when the came in from the fields. Because she is short haired and I dry her off she doesn't take long to dry. I would never soak her over her body, I simply wash off the stomach and legs.

Cosmos - I assumed daily washing being bad for the skin to mean use of shampoo.

Our spanners go into water (voluntarily) every single day, and at this time of year are roughly hosed off (considerably less voluntarily, I admit) at least a couple of times a week.

I've never had any skin-related problems either.