The mud. Please help me with the mud!!

[Rockbird]

Got a rescue pup back at Halloween. All good. But one of us has to leave this house and I'm the one who pays for it 😉

The issue is mud. Everywhere. We don't have a neat little utility room or nice area for muddy boots/paws. Back door straight into the kitchen, front door straight up the stairs. So please for the love of all that's holy, tell me how you deal with muddy paws. Yes we wipe them, yes we clean them (although DH sucks at washing anything throughly) and I'm on the verge of painting the house brown just to disguise it.

Are those paw scrubby brush or cup things any good?

I love winter, detest the spring and summer but for the first time ever this year I'm looking forward to it!

My pug won't go near the rain or mud now (only as a tiny puppy) he's way too much of a diva now so it really depends on the dog I guess. The other one would live outside if he could.

😂 one for me, 2 for him!

Oh wow!! You sure they're boxers and not hippos 😬

@BoxerPups 😳🤦🏼‍♀️

Dog walker here OP. Muddy dogs are a big part of my life for several months of the year.

You said you'd hoped someone might tell you it gets better as they grow up . There's a decent chance that it will get a bit better once they slow down a bit, but I can't promise anything!

Equafleeces are a godsend- the under belly and front leg (plus back leg if you get the full version) protection is just brilliant. They are expensive though, so it is worth looking for second hand ones or considering similar cheaper brands- just make sure they fit and offer the same coverage.

Different dog coats (as in their natural coat) deal with mud, water, being washed and dried differently. For example, mud seems to evaporate from beagles, washes off labs and springers relatively easily and is hell to rinse out of many of the gorgeous poodle crosses. So, much depends on the type of natural coat that your dog has and whether they are groomed short or not.

Similarly different dogs feel the cold a lot more than others depending on their coat, health, size and weight. Some can tolerate cold water well, others will find it genuinely unpleasant so don't let anyone tell you that dogs should easily tolerate being washed in cold water.

I've used lots of dog washers and have gone back to a pump action hozelock as suggested by other posters. I fill it with hot water and a little drop of gentle dog shampoo before I leave. I wrap it in an old blanket and it is usually nice and warm when I need it.

Dogs are rinsed off at the end of the walk. I then get the worst of the wet off with an aquasorb towel. These are bloody amazing, I can't recommend them enough. They are pricey but worth every penny. I have two and use them for loads of dogs each day- I just wring them out as I go along. Hopefully this link will work: amzn.eu/d/9aNSUGn.

Then they go into my van with loads of old towels. The best towels are old and crispy and just suck out the residual moisture.

Another useful thing is a mitt style washcloth for wiping or drying muddy paws. They are easier to wrangle with than a large towel, and take up less room in the washing machine.

If your dog dislikes being washed or dried it is well worth working to slowly and gently help them feel more comfortable. The best way to do this depends on how uncomfortable they are but googling force free, reward based desensitising methods should give some good suggestions. I've had great success with a lucky matt as a distraction which quickly leads to the dog no longer having an issue with being rinsed or dried.

Finally at this time of year I try to pick walks that aren't horrendously muddy. Or that have plenty of long grass or puddles towards the end which offer a bit of a foot clean and rinse.

Hope that helps a bit OP. Warmer times are coming and then the mud will ease off a lot until the end of the year.

we have always washed ours off with a hose outside, they shake on comand outside, and then have a large turtle mat by the back door.

stay on mat until released. Towel down. then they go in their bed til dry.

But dh seems unable to rub down properly!

Back door only, dog never allowed in through front door.

so training has a lot to do with it. The worst is run straight in to the house wet/muddy and shake.

Thus is such a good idea.

Luckily, I live near a lake. Ddog gets a lovely long hill walk, then comes home via the lake where he has a good swim. Job done.

I appreciate this is not a solution for everyone but I am very grateful for it.

actually we sort of do this too. Our muddy walk finishes by a bridge and a little stream/river.
Our old dog was a white springer who was always black by the end of his muddy run, and I used to make him go in the river and wash off the worst of it.

@freckles20 excellent advice!! Thank you will be following these tips 👍

@steppemum ours is a mainly white springer too. Total mud magnet who fortunately loves water

My dog used to have his legs and belly cold hosed all year round. I reckoned if he could lie in the north sea in January, he could take a quick blast. It was the trade off for being allowed to roll in mud, sit in muddy puddles, as much as his heart desired . He was nearly 17 when he died, so didn't do him too much harm, and his walks were good fun.

Least it's not a horse then you just spend the whole winter full of mud and shit
To make you feel better, my horse escaped once into the cow field when it was pouring down
He then rolled in cow shit. From ear to tail. I ended up power hosing him, have never seen such filth in my life

Definitely useful. We have one and it is much better for me and the dogs. No more cold hands and paws.

It’s the best thing we ever installed! For all our labs swim in cold water I couldn’t bring them home and wash them with freezing water. Ours are gun dogs and we like them to be clean, warm and dry after a walk/training or working.

How do you all stop your outside hoses and showers freezing up in Winter?

@PugInTheHouse

aww cute little Diva!

I want another spaniel (well what I really want is my spaniel back!! 🥲 but as that's not going to happen, I would like another spaniel.). Mine was a (physically)perfect show spaniel, but without the temperament for it! (Fine by me as it's not my thing). She hated the water, but loved the mud!! Oh did she love the mud!

My hose is on a sheltered south facing wall in a mild part of England, so rarely suffers with freezing. On the rare occasions that it has frozen, we haven’t had to use it because that means that the ground has frozen too and so the dog doesn’t get muddy anyway.

It depends so much on what type of coat your dog has. I have a terrier with a coarse, wirey coat. His whole bottom half is black with mud after some walks, but as soon as it dries it drops off readily. Sometimes I let it drop off in his most basic bed (he is a spoiled prince with many beds), then shake that outside and sweep the kitchen. Other days I use the brilliant dog-grooming gloves I got in the midl of Lidl. Black rubber with nodules, like some weird kind of sex toy. The dry mud just falls from him, ready to be swept up.

While he is still wet, a couple of mats on the floor help a lot -- he goes crazy for the self-towellng opportunities they present.

Personally I would not under any circumstances put a coat on him to keep him clean, They look hot and uncomfortable. But I do understand that some breeds need more help than others when it comes to shedding mud.

Another thing that can make a huge difference depending on breed/fur type is keeping their paws trimmed if they have hairy feet. Some dogs have a lot of foot fluff and this tends to collect the mud and can be slippery for them on hard floors. Regularly trimming the fluff from underneath the paws and lower legs can really help reduce the dirty paw prints.

This is very dependent on fur type though as we have a dog currently who absolutely doesn't need this as she does not have hairy feet or legs. Previously had a spaniel with very hairy feet though!
Also if your walks are like mine (drive dog to woodland, then walk off lead), you can use the car boot to get some of the dirt off. It's much easier to clean off the dog when they are closer to eye level in the car boot than trying to get them to cooperate once indoors.

We have a strict dogs and muddy boots only come in the back door rule. Dog bed is close by and the dog is trained to go straight to her bed (old towel for wet days) The dog gate closed after walks/wet garden visits so that the dog can't wander until dry floors stay cleaner. It's not so bad dealing with dry mud which can be vacuumed/swept.
There is also a level of acceptance needed. Your house will not look the same now you have a dog but it will be better in lots of other ways 🐕

Sorry that made laugh!! Such elegant creatures aren't they? 😅 2 horses and 8 dogs here... I love winter 😭

I have one of these for my dog:

https://ruffandtumbledogcoats.com/products/classic-dog-drying-coat-sandringham-blue

It's brilliant! She's dry in 5 minutes. Unfortunately it doesn't help with her legs but at least it has a proper piece of towelling under the tum. We also have a Turtle dirt trapper mat just inside the front door. She's trained to shake on command so we have her do that before she comes in, and then she comes in and lies down on the mat to get the worst off her tummy and legs. Then the towelling robe goes on and we dry her legs with a towel. Then we line her bed with another towel, and after she's had a drink ask her to go to bed so she'll get in there then and sleep the mud off.

Lolol at the horse trying to go undercover as a cow with poor hygiene standards.

My terrier treats badger poo and fox poo as the opportunity for a pampering full-body spa treatment.
He started young by rolling in a dead worm at just a couple of months old.

The hozelock portable shower thing is great. My dog has a love hate relationship with it. She knows if I fill it up with hot water and dog shampoo she's getting to go on the REALLY GOOD walk. Then when we get back and she sees it she looks glum and dejectedly offers up a paw in turn.