Muddy dogs

    • Gold Top Dog

    Muddy dogs

    Ok, I desperatly need any advice anyone has for keeping their dogs mud free!!! It seems like I can let my two dogs out for a ten minute potty session and they come back with mud all over their feet and legs. Other than having to rinse them down ten times a day, does anyone have any suggestions? I have a fenced backyard so I usually just let them out whenever they need to go when I'm home, most of my yard is grass but there are areas where it's just dirt (or in this case, a nice mud hole). I know I"m not going to have to deal with this for long since it's december in michigan so we should be getting a lot of snow soon, but I know spring will come and the problem will be back again. So what do you guys all do to keep your puppers clean during mud season?
    • Gold Top Dog
    [sm=rotfl.gif][sm=rotfl.gif][sm=rotfl.gif]
    Goodluck! If there is mud, Rory will find it, she even gets it in her ears.....ha ha!
    I have one of those handy shower nozzles that detach, thats the best I can reccomend I'm afraid
    • Gold Top Dog
    Ya, luckily my shower has one of those too,,,,but still,,,why can't they just stay clean and dry?[;)]
    • Gold Top Dog
    Ha ha, I wish I knew!  Ace loooooooves mud.  If there's a mud puddle, he will make a beeline to it and lie down right in the middle of it.  He also seems to prefer drinking stagnant, muddy water over the clean, fresh water in his bowl. 
     
    I can't stop him from getting muddy, but what I can do is monitor the access points to the inside.  During mud season I lay a towel on the floor by the back door, and keep another towel there too.  When he comes in, he knows he has to stand still on the floor towel while I dry off his paws, legs, and belly with the second towel.  If he's really dirty I will use those premoistened doggy-wipes too.  Then when I give the OK he can come in the rest of the way.  I also keep dog towels in the garage, so if we're coming in that way I can clean him off before we come into the house.   
     
    At the beginning of the spring I usually have to grab him at the door and I'll give him a treat after he stands still for cleaning, but pretty soon he remembers the system and will just wait there until I wipe him off and give the OK. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    With my big dogs that is all I had was mud in the backyard.  What I disliked the most was the muddy paw prints on the cement patio.  I installed artifical turf that totally got rid of the mud. You can see it in my signature.  I initially installed it as a practice (what the heck) and I was surprised it lasted 5 years.  It is ready to be replaced.
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: acesmom

      He also seems to prefer drinking stagnant, muddy water over the clean, fresh water in his bowl. 



    Oh, Gracie does the same thing! She digs up a hole in the pea gravel in the girl's play yard and drinks days-old muddy water!
    As for keeping them clean, I just keep an old towel by the back door and grab them when they come in. If that doesn't take care of it, I use the Costco baby wipes as well.

    • Gold Top Dog
    The back half of our yard is a mud pit certain times of year. We purchased a 50ft snow fence (wood so it looks cool) and put it across the back so she could get all the way back there. They still have plenty of room and it is not all mud!
    • Gold Top Dog
    I have given up. If it's REALLY bad, I rinse her feet, but I usually just give them a quick wipe and then give her a bath once a week. She's a dog, it's just mud, it's not a big deal.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I don't let the mud bother me.  Having two boys and living on a 260+ acre camp when they were little, I learned a long time ago that mud can be swept up/brushed off when it dries. 
    • Silver
    Try this on for size . . . Balto doesn't just wade in mud, he loves to just lay down in it and stay there. [:D]

    From a day hike:




    • Gold Top Dog
    Actually, I wouldn't mind the mud either, except for the fact that I'm renting and the carpet is a light tan color[:@]. You know, I've never before dreaded spring like I do this year, the only thing I can think of is a couple months of dealing with this, yuck.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I have to shampoo on a regular basis, and I own one of the best vacs around" The Dyson".
    We installed a doggie door, so the 5 dogs have access inside,as well as out.