We are moving and question about house amenities for doodles

[jenn D]

I didn't really know how to title this thread. I haven't been on much lately. Big Mac and PB&J are doing well. I've been out of pocket due to medical issues with my youngest 2 legged kiddo. He has a lot of issues stemming from strokes before birth. Because we aren't getting the medical and educational support we need in New Mexico we are moving to Colorado in a year or two.
So, big adventure for us.
We get to find a brand new house and I'd love to hear things you love about your home that you have or modified for your doodles. I know I'm going to want a large Laundry room or something similar where I can groom the dogs since I do that myself. I'd love my own little "dog washing and grooming area" that I've seen some people do in their homes.
Do you have any cool dog things/amenities in your home or yard? I'm dreaming at this point so have at it.
Also what are your thoughts on doggie doors? We don't have them here and the doodles are fine with it.
Thanks for any help. :)

[Amy and Annabelle]

I love Colorado and lived in the northern Denver suburbs for 30 years. That was long before my doodle. My mini schnauzer I took to a groomer and my golden retriever only got back yard baths in the summer. Both of my Colorado homes we had built in subdivisions by the builder. Neither laundry room was big enough to do dog grooming. I suppose in the last house I could have bathed her in the laundry tub and turned the study into a dog grooming station if I had wanted. There was a laundry room, bathroom and study all in the same area. But by the time we had our second house built both pets were gone and didn't get Annabelle until long after we moved from Colorado. I will say moving was quite expensive. We had 20,000lbs of furniture and other items and it cost us $13,000 to move 1200 miles...OUCH. We now have a house out in the country in Michigan. We did fence off a portion so Annabelle could run around, girl loves to run. I myself do not like doggie doors. For one I want to supervise her when she is outside and 2 critters can get in the doggie doors. A racoon tore up my sister in laws house one night after coming in through the doggie door. I think you will love Colorado, I know we did. We only moved because we retired early and wanted to be near the grandkids.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

One great and very practical idea is to put a warm-water spicket near a side entrance. This can come in very handy if you need to hose your crew's feet after a muddy walk. Also, carpeted staircases are important, not just for humans going up and down, but for the dogs, as well. My Wally and many of our friends' dogs are nervous about using uncarpeted stairs. Our Cape house has a carpeted, finished basement. We use this space ALL THE TIME, when the weather is not great and my two need to expend energy. If you can fence all or a portion of your yard, that would be great, or if you have a plan for a railed-in deck, that can be a wonderful, safe outdoor space for the doodles, too. Have you thought about a first-floor master bedroom? For families without very young children, having the master bedroom on the main level is a good idea for the future, both for people and older dogs. Oh, and another idea - look for cabinet or storage space for dog food that's near the area where you plan to feed your crew. It sounds like moving to Colorado has the potential to be a very positive experience for everyone in your family.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I agree with everything you have said, Laurie!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I would be lost without my fenced in yard. I do have a doggy door but it is on my screened porch and I can close the door to the porch if I don't want the dogs out. I even had a little simple cover made to close the doggy door if I want to keep the dogs on the porch but not let them out. I don't use it much but it comes in handy like last night when my son's dog was visiting.
Having my washer dryer in an alcove off my bedroom is great. All the laundry except for a couple of towels is from the bedrooms. I do wish I had only one floor but you can't hav it all. A large mud room might work for grooming your dogs too.

[Shoney & Ruby]

What a timely post. Where are you moving in California?

We are relocating to the Central Valley for the next 11 months due to a job offer and great medical benefits I couldn't resist....so renting out our beautiful Boulder home and are going to be tenants for the next year. We looked for a place that didn't have carpet, some run-around room inside as it will be hot when we arrive and a park nearby. We found all of this after a lot of searching, the biggest challenge was finding no carpet. We have a garage with a laundry sink for dog bathing. We plan to get a kiddie pool for Ruby to enjoy. We also are hoping to put in a doggie door insert in the sliding door so she can go outside into the enclosed patio.

Biggest adjustement for us is that I have been working from home since we got Ruby and we wonder how to help her adjust to me being gone all day. Also she has taken to doing some barking which won't fly in our townhouse...so we are trying to train her out of that.

I wish you the best of luck in your move. New Mexico is such a beautiful state but it sadly is lacking in some important services. 

[Shoney & Ruby]

Sorry, just realized you wrote Colorado, not California. Love Colorado--it's sad to leave--but we plan on returning. Where are you hoping to live?

[Julie and Charlie]

Some of these are more like dreams: 

• No carpet! Ugh, mine never seems to vomit on the 70% of the house that is easily cleanable. 
• Good entry/exist from the back doors into the yard (I have two back doors- security risk, but it's great with the dog) 
• Fenced yard, designated potty area in the yard that is easily cleanable
• In addition to your laundry room idea, some sort of permanent vacuum set up in a grooming area to make fur clean up easier
• A place to gate the dog if needed- with cleanable floors and a quiet place

[Wendy and Myla]

I don't currently have this but if I were to build a house, what I would love is a tiled "mud room" when you first come in so that Myla could lay in there until all of the snow has melted, or the mud has dried or she has shaken off all of the rain.  Currently, we have a very large mat at the door which works all right but after she has "dried off" we have to dry the mat so it doesn't damage the hardwood floors.  I guess it wouldn't actually be a "mud room", more of a "Myla room" as I would have her water dish in there and her food and also set up her grooming table when we groom her (now we're using DH's workshop to groom her).  Have fun planning!

[Pauline Rackley]

My must haves

1. Dog door into fenced yard. Can be closed if needed.

2. Large tiled laundry room (dog door here) with walk in shower with hand held nozzle for bathing dogs. Mine are both about 75 lbs, so this saves my back.

[Wendy and Myla]

Something that I never thought of....we had carpet in our bedroom and every night Myla would jump on our bed and cuddle until we told her to "go to bed" where she would jump down and lay on her bed at the foot of our bed!  We loved it! Then we decided to rip up the carpet and put in bamboo flooring, which we love, but...when Myla tried to jump on our bed she slipped and fell on our footboard - she whined but wasn't hurt (just her feelings) but she put a huge scratch in the floor and also on our footboard from her claws.  We don't have enough room to put a "carpet" by the bed where she can get enough traction to jump on the bed so that nightly ritual is now over - we do make it up (sort of) by having an extra cuddle on the couch before going to bed but it's definitely not the same.  If I had known beforehand that she can't jump up from a hardwood floor, I would have left the carpet in the bedroom. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

We put wood floors in our basement before we decided to get Annabelle. Poor Annabelle, that is where she plays during the winter months and it really isn't the best type of floor for a dog that wants to run around. She will go chasing her ball and slide right past it.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Grooming: I use the garage  now to groom Spud.   Roger built a long table just for my height. Think-laying a door on legs.  I place a rug on the table ( makes him more comfortable and less sliding around) ,my grooming supplies to the left, and a Shopvac on the floor. I tell him to hop up and he is right on.  I pull up a stool and it cut the time in days... and days to just a few hours.  When not grooming, we use the table for other things that seem to collect there.  We use the basement shower for washing where I also have a stool and we hooked up a garden hose because the water savers on shower attachments did not have enough pressue. 

Fence- must have!

Good Luck on your move to a beautiful state