We got a dog! how do I keep everything clean.

[Astrabees]

We had been without a dog for 4 years and adopted a new rescue dog just before Christmas. She is 10 and we were expecting a rather sedate attitude t life but now she is settled in it is clear she wants and needs lots of exercise, so out in the garden playing ball, 2 short and one long muddy walk every day. she will not sit in a dog bed and has helped herself to the sofas in the kitchen and sitting room. I did have a lovely house but it is already looking a bit grubby, m lovely sofas are covered with some cheap IKEA throws as a short term solution. I need to up my cleaning regime and ideally find some nicer throws for the one sofa which is a teal sort of colour. How do you all cope with having a lovely but big bouncy dog around in this sort of weather?

Lower standards!

Wash her legs down after the muddy walk. Train her to use one sofa so she doesn’t feel deprived. There are drying coats you can buy that will dry the mud and wet hair.
But yes, lower standards!

😁 She sounds fabulous. I second lowering your standards and enjoying your dog instead. Yours might be a bit old for this but the dog and I have rules about which sofas are okay and which aren't. Don't ask me how I trained him though, he is just clever.

Lots of throws and a nightly quick wipe down of the kitchen cupboards here. I seem to be endlessly vacuuming to no effect whatsoever as well.

Look at her and tell yourself it's all worth it.

Equafleece coats and a dog drying bag is my answer to muddy walks . Dog comes back from walk , equafleece onsie comes off and goes into dog washing bag with the muddy harness , dog goes into dog drying bag . Once dog is dry dog, drying bag goes into dog wash bag and it all goes in the wash . Wilkos , dunelm etc do reasonable sofa throws in a selection of colours .

And show us a picture (of the dog not the mess, have enough mess of my own).

More practically maybe.
Hoze down after walks (my spaniel hates being bathed, or wiped down, but is fine with being hozed off).
Drying bag (mine goes in for 15 mins after a hoze down and is pretty dry after that).
Restrict to a small hard floor room when wet/dirty if possible.
Don't allow on sofas (mine is currently on my knee on the sofa 🤣).

Struggling with a picture but I'll have another go later. She is a Staffie x sighthound, with a white head, with brown spots and a brown blanket type marking on her back. One ear up, one ear down (very cute). She also thinks she is a lap dog.
Thank you for all the advice!

you dont! its the price you pay for the love of a dog.

Surrender to the mess while you still can

Get old towels, rub her down at the door to get as much as you can off of her. Throws get washed weekly here, primark n ikea cheapies that become dog beds once they’re goners.. never buy anything white or black either.

If it smells wet doggy we use a carpet fresh spray thing you just squirt over fabric before vacuuming it’s like £1 a bottle and since it’s a foamy thing you can see where you’ve got and it’s not overly wet.

Ideally you need a wet room facility with a waist height shower to rinse her paw paws off with warm water by the back door & a really good mat.

Drying bags are brilliant if your dog will use one. Ours never would and had such long legs it was more of a hazard than a help but friends swear by them.

Yup, you've got to lower your standards. I only know one person with a dog and a clean house. The dog is a tiny short haired thing, easy to keep the dog clean, therefore easy to keep the house clean.

Buy furniture and furnishings the same colour as the dog's hair. This helps immensely

Yes to lowering standards. My house is still very clean, but I’m more relaxed about the mess that comes with having a dog.

I wipe her legs and paws over each time she comes back in the house and her face as she loves to rub her nose all in the mud.. also we have a no dogs on the sofa/bed rule here after getting new sofas a couple of years ago!

We've just acquired a robotic vacuum which helps keep on top of the daily hair. Creamish carpets to match the dog hair. Regular wiping down of skirting & cupboards. And just generally not having a very clean house!

Robot hoover to keep on top of hair, leather sofas so they are wipe clean and washable paint on the walls.

We found having long door mats helped to keep mud at bay.

I second an Equafleece (or 3). I have labs and they’re filthy beasts who will find the dirtiest puddle to play in 😂. I also have a warm hose at the back door for mucky paws once the fleeces come off. A quick dry of the paws with an old towel and your good to go. A Roomba is fab for the floors and keeping on top of the hair. We redecorated last year using scrubbable paint and it’s worked well, we also wipe skirtings and the bottom of the walls every day or so.