apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We always wipe our dog's paws with old towels that we've designated "dog towels". We have little kids that crawl around on the floor. The less dirt and mud on the floor, the better.

Well they have a dog door and play in my dirt backyard (AZ) all day when I'm at work so I don't have control over that. Yesterday when we ran to the dog park and they went through water and mud and dirt, yes, I wiped their paws before hand.

When I can control it, I wipe their paws.

I wipe muddy paws off at the door (I've been known to dunk their paws into their water bowl which is by the door to rinse them when they've been digging in the mud - changing the water after, of course).

Wet paws are okay, damp dogs are okay, dripping wet dogs, get toweled off.

They are in and out all day long, so unless it's going to leave muddy paw prints or puddles on the floor, I'm not going sweat it.

we have dog towels at the door. We have a Corgi, so not only do his paws get a wipe down, his entire stomach gets it too. He's low enough to the ground, and now that the snow is here, he just drags his stomach though it.

Year round I keep and indoor-outdoor rubber-backed carpet at the kitty door to help keep the rest of the house clean. Whether it's raining or the sprinklers have just run, they always seem to come in with muddy paws.

We too have the "dog towels" at the front and back doors, and our golden retriever dutifully responds to "sit" when we come in from a walk and gives us his paws (after which we give him a cookie!). We also have an old pot which we fill with water to melt compacted snow between the pads of his feet during the worst of winter.

We have 3 Komondor (Komondorok), Huge white hungarian sheepdog with 3 foot long dreadlocks. Not only do we wipe them down but they only go outside in the winter with cordura boots on. When it is wet out during our minimal summer they wear gore-tex boots.
When we bought our house we renovated our back entrance for the dogs. We have a drain in the slate floor and two sprayers to clean them off.
When we bathe them it takes 6-8 hours under 4 commercial dryers to get them half to three quarters dry.
And yes they are worth all of the work and more.

Our cat is inside only, but he still tracks dust and litter bits around the house.

I just leave him be and sweep and wipe stuff off every few days.

Northern Dad- that is so cool! I love it, a doggie cleaning station :-)

For my Great Dane, I wipe her paws... and for my mini dachshund, he gets his paws and belly wiped. I have to, my carpet and couch is beige. Plus I can't stand the mess.

We have two Jack Russell Terriers, one of which loves to "turn over" our garden beds. We have a doggy-door in the back door off the laundry that leads straight to the back yard and a baby safety door on the internal laundry door. When its raining or we're not home, this stays shut so they can play to their hearts content and only muddy up the laundry, which is easy to mop up. We also keep a 'dog towel' in front of the doggy door to help wipe some of the mess of their paws as they come in. Once this gets a little muddy our male seems to love sleeping on it too. He's a little strange though.

Yes.
I have a terrier-healer-something mutt who will run through mud without a worry. I found a "paw monster" cleaning tool on sale at a local shoppe and gave it a shot. It does a good job quickly getting out the mud from between the claws and wiping the belly. But sometimes she needs more than just a quick paw wipe and requires a towel.

In my situation, the door from the backyard to the kitchen is enclosed within a small enclosed stairway. When I let my dog inside she will wait for me at the top of the stairs and not go into the main house until I say "okay". If she sees me grab the cleaning tool or towel, or if I say "paw" she will raise her right front paw. After I finish cleaning one paw, she will lift up another, and then turn around and raise her rear paws one at a time. She knows the drill. :-)

We have two young large dogs who are always in & out of the house (they get kicked outside when they start wrestling, which is often). If their feet are disgusting they get a rub from the dog towel; otherwise we just keep them off the furniture for a few minutes until they've wiped off the dirt/mud/water on the hardwood floors. Then the Swiffer mop comes out for quick cleanup. It helps that we have a large deck and a flight of stairs between the main entrance to the backyard and the grass and mud.

I keep a large dark towel on the floor. When the dogs (a bearded collie and Old English/poodle mix) come inside, I tell them to "wait" and pet them while they stand on the towel. As they walk on it, turn a few times, I brush out any leaves, etc. from their fur. They essentially wipe their own feet. In winter I dunk their feet in a large drink cup saved for this purpose, then dry on the towel.

Northern Dad, your doggie entry is my dream room! Long-hair breeds are tough, but the Komondor makes the beardie fur look like a piece of cake. Great dirt removal system!

My mom has actually trained her Scottish Terrier to wipe herself off on a heavy beach towel she keeps on the floor. I didn't believe it until I saw the dog do this several times. If she isn't quite dry, my mom says "dry yourself off again," and she goes right back to the towel and does it again.

I don't know how my mom trained the dog to do this, but it certainly takes the drudge out of walking the dog.

Add me to the "dog towel by the door" contingent. I live on a beach, so if it's not mud or snow it's sand and LOTS of it. Wreaks havoc on hardwood floors, and is SO annoying to find in the bed (Hey! How'd THAT get there??), so I wipe paws constantly.

My trick for toweling off the dog is peanut butter on the fridge door--he licks it off while I dry him, and he's happy as a clam!

Wish I had Northern Dad's dog wash room, tho... sigh.

After living in a house with no mudroom or even entryway to speak of, I designed our new home with a mudroom that is largely dedicated to our dog. She has a dog door in the mudroom, which can be closed off when we aren't home so she isn't tracking dirt all over. It also has a tiled "doggy shower" that is raised 18" off the floor. She hops in on command and we can spray her down and towel her off easily. It also comes in handy for cleaning anything big and dirty, rinsing sand off feet after the beach, watering plants, drip drying clothes... One of the best uses of space/money in our house!