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Original poster

Dog owners: How on EARTH do you keep your uose clean?

54 replies

DrNortherner · 21/01/2009 13:08

Cause I am sick of sweeping, hoovering, wiping etc etc.

I have a dyson vacuum, a dyson handheld and a sweeping brush and they all get used every day. The handheld and sweeping brush many times a day. We have laminate floors downstairs and I can not beleive the pile of crap and hairs we colect on a daily basis.

We have a black lab, he gets groomed weekly and is not particilularly (sp) long haired. We have had him since November.

So my question is, is there something I should be doing to him/giving him to stop shedding? Is there a wonderous hoover on the market that I don't know about? Or do I just lower my standards and live among dog hair till the end of his days?

OP posts:
mouseman · 21/01/2009 13:09

lower your standards and weep silently every time you hoover/sweep.

hercules1 · 21/01/2009 13:10

Wear blinkers, keep telling yourself you'd rather have dogs and mess than no dogs, apologise to visitors and say but we wouldnt be without them, keep them limited to certain areas of the house, dont cuddle before going to work etc.

Onlyaphase · 21/01/2009 13:13

One of our labs doesn't shed much, the other sheds what appears to be his own body weight in hair every year from Oct to Jan. I feel your pain.

FWIW, carpet is easier to clean (or shows dirt less). And it is easier in the summer too as less dirt gets tracked in.

IAteMakkaPakka · 21/01/2009 13:14

You don't. You live in a filthy hovel and spend spare moments dreaming of how your home might look if it were child and pet free.

snoringnightmare · 21/01/2009 13:16

Roomba. I have two Labs and hard floors downstairs. It really does help to keep the hairs under control.

Now as for the muddy paw prints ........ drive me insane but agree with Hercules, I'd rather have my dogs than a showhome.

Lauriefairycake · 21/01/2009 13:18

Every day - are you mad

What you do is live in a hairy/tumbleweedy/suspicious brown marks sort of house.

And eat cake.

And Mumsnet with back to mess.

Followed by chocolate.

and then the phrase "Goodness gracious it's almost time to pick up the children".

Back hastily out door.

Repeat for 15 years til death of dog.

Original poster
DrNortherner · 21/01/2009 13:19

Right, will check out the Roomba.

OK, so, as we got him in Nov could it be that his worst shedding time is Oct - Jan and it might improve? Plus, I assume the crap weather makes it worse?

I suggessted carpets to dh, but he said it would be worse?

OP posts:
IAteMakkaPakka · 21/01/2009 13:22

Laurie you made me smile.

bella29 · 21/01/2009 13:46

pmsl laurie - you are so right!

Takver · 21/01/2009 14:18

Sounds par for the course to me.
My DPs have a garage attached to the house with a door into the kitchen - there you can bring dogs in via the garage & rub them down or leave them in there until they have dried off a bit if they are super muddy. It definitely helps, but not practical for most!
The positive is that people will assume that your house is dirty because of your dog, not because you never clean it

georgimama · 21/01/2009 14:21

With significant difficulty.

"I'd rather have my dogs than a showhome."

Is it wrong that I'd rather have a showhome than my dogs?

I do love them but they drive me mad with the mess, particularly the lab as he molts long black hairs that get everywhere. I have found them in DS's cot. The dogs don't even go upstairs.

I have told DH we are never having another dog.

snoringnightmare · 21/01/2009 14:56

"OK, so, as we got him in Nov could it be that his worst shedding time is Oct - Jan and it might improve?" Do you know, I've never known anything to improve it. My Labs seem to lose hair all year round. Wouldn't recommend carpet as if the hairs get stuck in the pile the smell is even worse over time.

Georgi, that must be really frustrating finding them in the Dc's cot. The hairs really do get everywhere don't they. I'm sure Labs are worse then most dogs as well.

georgimama · 21/01/2009 14:59

When dear labrador shakes himself it's like a atomic cloud of dog hair, it lifts into the air and then scatters across a wide area.

Even when I hoover I find more - then I hoover again. I have a Henry and I do find it better than the Dyson but even so, it is a nightmare. Living in an old dusty house to boot doesn't help.

bramblebooks · 21/01/2009 15:02

definitely roomba - our old boy died last year and with him the mess. But we'd rather have him. If we get another it'll come with a roomba. We got hens instead - mess on a totally different scale!!

Bubbaluv · 21/01/2009 15:06

I find squinting helps.

GrimmaTheNome · 21/01/2009 15:07

Its very easy. Just wipe off the mud either before he gets back into the car or into the house. Comes off like he's made of teflon.
Turtle mats at back and front doors deal with the paws.

He being a short-haired dachshund. He sheds far less than DD and me! He hardly smells either.

This thread should have been titled Lab owners, not dog owners in general .

muppetgirl · 21/01/2009 15:08

I don't and won't be having any more pets after our 2 have gone.

georgimama · 21/01/2009 15:12

You're right Grimma, it is labs. My westie hardly makes any mess at all.

She is evil though and that's another issue....

snoringnightmare · 21/01/2009 15:17

"OK, so, as we got him in Nov could it be that his worst shedding time is Oct - Jan and it might improve? Plus, I assume the crap weather makes it worse?" I've never found a difference in weather, time of year, anything. They seem to lose hair all year round.

Wouldn't go down the carpet route personally. If hairs get entwined in the pile eventually the smell becomes worse. That's why some houses smell more "doggy" than others.

Georgi, that must be frustrating finding hairs in the DC's cot. I'm sure Labs seem to be worse than most dogs for moulting or seems that way to me anyway.

snoringnightmare · 21/01/2009 15:18

Whoops sorry. thought I'd posted then it didn't appear so typed again.

brimfull · 21/01/2009 15:24

The main reason I didn't get a Lab despite loving the breed.

I have a bearded collie which doesn't shed unless you brush them.Doesn't stop the mud though.

Hoovering everyday is madness unless you have a roomba.

I am supping my tea from a mug that says on it

"A clean house is a sign of a wasted life"-dd gave me for xmas

twoluvlykids · 21/01/2009 15:34

my springer also seems to lose his entire body weight daily in fur.

and he smells dreadful most of the time

all dogs shed hairs indoors, the answer is to keep them outside in a kennel, then they keep their winter coats on, as they need them, and molt (?sp) in the spring.

i don't know anyone who does keep their dog/s outside.

i never found the dyson much good, tbh, and have a vax which works quite well.

mcfee · 21/01/2009 15:34

I think every single thing in my house has a black labrador hair on it! Despite the fact that he isn't allowed upstairs! I was thinking about making wigs from all the shed hairs and marketing them to the follicly challenged!?!?

Original poster
DrNortherner · 21/01/2009 15:37

Hmm, maybe I need a new hoover then. Never heard of turtle mats, off to investigate.

Why didn't I know that labs were notorious for shedding?!!

Changed my mind about the carpet route, you are right, then my house will stink to boot.

OP posts:
georgimama · 21/01/2009 15:38

Or knit a jumper?

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