This has to be the worst time of year for the dogs!

**mommy4ever** · 03-21-2010, 04:27 PM

The last couple weeks have been so hard on my girls

. -40º is better. They don't get soaked with mud in the winter. In the summer and fall if it rains, it's only wet a day or so. But in the spring? IT's a mud pit all the time. They get so dirty, and can't be let to roam the house as they get it all dirty! And we can't realistically bathe them after every trip outside.

So Friday nights is bath night, and then we carry them to and from the pen, so that they can play in the house all weekend with kids. Come monday, the daycare opens again, and they are in their pen alot, or kenneled

I can't let them play in the house at nap time, cause they are dirty, and it's not fair to kennel them all day in the house. Just so they can play with us in the evening in the house.

It sucks! So for now, it's kenneled in the house when in the house during the day, in the pen as much as possible and long walks in the evening. Friday bath, and packed to and from the pen until it dries up. It's the best I can do, but it is so not fair. It's too hard on their skin to bathe them daily

Can't wait until the yard is dry in a few weeks...providing it doesn't snow again.

**NewLeaf** · 03-21-2010, 04:59 PM

Our tiny yard is such a mud pit right now that we are getting ready to spread straw on part of it to keep the dogs a little cleaner. I have to wipe off their paws after ea. trip. Luckily, they can hang out on my covered back porch and dry out a little. I know how aggravating it is.

Funny that you mention bathing the dogs, I used to have to do the same w/my springers.

Now my short haired pound pup is really clean. He hasn't had a full bath for over a year and he smells clean and fresh. His coat is so shiny and soft. I have never had a dog that is so maintenance free.

The new dog, the cocker is going to be alot more work I'm afraid.

**Russ** · 03-21-2010, 05:00 PM

What we finally did was get a hot/cold spigot for outside. We rinse them off and put them in the garage to drip dry for a bit before coming in the house.

**krbshappy71** · 03-21-2010, 05:09 PM

Mud pit here, too!

I have a baby-gate at the landing blocking them from the living room. They have doggy-door to fenced yard, landing which is linoleum, stairway down to basement (carpeted and gets horribly dirty) and then cemented unfinished full basement for them. I play fetch with them down there or outside, their crates for dinner and bedtime are down there, I love having a doggy-area setup. Still, those poor carpeted stairs gets filthy. The linoleum is a soppy muddy mess most of spring and summer as they have a pond in the backyard as well.

Is there way you could baby-gate them to a non-carpeted area? Move the pen closer to the area of bringing them inside so its less of an ordeal? (maybe put down a shower curtain under the pen to protect the carpet?

**mommy4ever** · 03-21-2010, 05:14 PM

The garage is just as mucky from the vehicles being it with this weather, and add sawdust and other...not conducive to clean things..lol.

And we just tore down walls, so no where to put a baby gate!

NewLeaf! I guess it's the trade off.... we have long haired dogs as we didn't want to deal with the shedding. And we don't get much hair in the house. Only when brushing out. I shed more than my dogs. BUT, we do have to deal with keeping the clean and fresh. I don't mind giving the bath.

**frugalfranny** · 03-23-2010, 02:24 AM

Yep, almost the same here..........I let my little guys out in the AM but when I let them out again after they eat......they get chained up. This keeps them on the grass and their feet 'relatively' clean.

I mop my kitchen floor more in the spring time than any other time of year...........mostly due to muddy paw prints!!

Going to be worse this year as neighbor behind me got a dog..........now they have to have their 'tea parties'...which means going through part of my garden...........MUD!

**mommy4ever** · 03-23-2010, 09:00 AM

We have to keep ours on concrete, which helps, because they are both diggers..lol. But the concrete blocks still get dirty and bring up mud when it rains, it doesn't absorb urine, so I am always washing feet and sanitizing the pen. In the spring it's next to impossible as there is melting snow, so it can't be cleaned and it's mucky and melty...

**RABBIT** · 03-23-2010, 05:05 PM

I hate the mucky/muddy spring too! Only dog people would understand!

Mine come in from outside through the garage so I ALWAYS wipe their feet, everytime, everyday, all year through. In the spring though when their legs and feet are all muddy I have a bucket half filled with warm water and stick each of their feet in the bucket and wash their legs and feet. Then I squeeze them over the bucket to get most of the water out and then dry them with a towel. It sounds like alot of work but I can do all four in just a few minutes.

I have 2 Border Collies, a Poodle/mix and a Boston Terrier so if you have a long haired dog who gets mud all over their body this might not work so well. I am so looking forward to spring being over and it's just started!