Muddy paws and dirty doodles. How to manage daily dirt?

[jenn D]

We have moved and the PB&J and Big Mac Gang are loving their 2/3 of a fenced acre. However, they come in constantly with muddle paws and they are dirty. How do I keep things clean inside? How do you keep your doodles clean if you live in a rural area. I really need some help. I'm so glad the dogs are happy but I don't want our house turning into a dust pile or looking like pig pen on Charlie brown.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

We use the Paw Plunger for dirty/muddy feet and to help melt snowballs off.  Each of my girls have a Soggy Doggy mat to lay on while they are wet.  We love each of those items and the mats are almost always on the floor, the girls lay on them if they are in that room.  Also the soggy doggy helps pull some dirt off the feet as they walk over them.  Both of these items are available through Amazon, come in various sizes and colors.  Now if there was only something to pick up the hair, sigh!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

If you solve this problem you just might become a millionaire.  Having a big ole yard is wonderful, but it creates other issues.  Right now ours is so wet and muddy from all the snow and then the warmer temps yesterday that the girls only get to go out on leash in the front yard to potty.  Outside of that they gets walks on leash.  If I let them out in the back yard off leash they would need a bath every single time they went out.  A solution for dry dirt and dust/sand is a high volume air dryer.   The type they use to blow out the water after a bath.  We take ours with us to the beach and use it to blow out any sand that gets stuck in their fur.  Mind you, ours don't normally get in the water to get sand on them, but sand still sticks to their feet.  I just blow it off.  

[BG and Gavin]

Towel on the kitchen floor and an extended down stay is what we do here. We have a small pail for paw dips when necessary, but if we wait long enough on the towel the sandy dirt usually just drops off. The kitchen floor gets swept a lot!

[Sally M]

I don't live in a rural area, yet I have the same problem. We have 1/4 acre that's fenced in. Mud-city, especially after a snow melt. How do we keep the house clean? We don't. That's life with dogs. We keep "dog towels" at the back door (kitchen) and wipe our girls off as best we can. I have 12 paws to wipe, not to mention wiping almost everywhere on Penny. If there's mud, she'll stick her face in it and roll around in it to the point I wonder if she has some pig in her. Yikes, it IS a mess!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Pretty much the same with us.  We live on an acre in rural California and in the past few years there has not been much rain - but this year YES finally.  We have a pail in the laundry room (outside) and I fill it with warm sudsy water and dip  their paws one by one in the pail and then dry one by one with a shamwow.  You just have to squeeze the towel around each foot and it is basically dry.  The laundry room has a cement floor so a little spill is no problem.  Then we keep towels by the sliding glass door off the kitchen and they know to stand and get wiped down as they come into the house after a pee run.  Rolling in mud is another issue altogether and I have one dog who LOVES to roll in the wet sand at the beach.  Mostly, it just dries and falls off by the time we get home, but brushing helps.  So, for that we have a truck bed liner in the doggie area in the car which is very easy to clean with a vacume.  Thirteen years and four doodles later, I think we have the problem areas covered.

[Jenny and Cooper]

Funny I always wonder how others keep their doodles clean. Everytime I see pics of doodles, they're all so adorable and CLEAN!!! Lol what I do is leave a kiddy pool in the backyard. Before he comes in (if he's muddy), I would fill the kiddy pool with about an inch or half an inch of water. You don't need much if it's just the paws that are dirty. Let him/her walk over it a few times if he doesn't stay til, it'll get the dirt off. If he/she stays still then just wiggle each paws to help get the dirt off. I have towels on top of my door mat so as soon as he walks in the dry his paws. Oh and if it's not too dirty, I just use wet wipes.

If anyone has a better method, I'd like to hear it!!! :)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Only a few options here and they've all been mentioned. Avoid the muddy area with leashed walks, bathing or washing paws at least and blowing/brushing off dirt, or ignoring the mess.  Depending on which house we are in I do a combination of all the above. So you will find what works for you and your area. 

[Adina P]

I wish I could find an easy solution, but for us I think the only way we'd ever have a 'fix' is if we could cover our backyard in artificial grass.  I don't do 'walks' very often so the backyard is all there is for potty and doggy play.  Our back entry area is constantly covered in paw prints, but I can gate the dogs in there for drying off.  But with the frequent in/out there's no way I could keep up with wiping 8 paws umpteenth times a day.  What would be cool is if the mudroom had a drain in the floor and I could just hose it and the dogs off all in there :-)

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

Wow!  I like that idea of a Mud room with a drain!

[Cathy Murphy]

No big ideas here but Finn loves to be outside (2+ acres).  One thing that helps is when he is done romping he comes up and sleeps on the deck and dries off out there.  While I feel guilty with him being outside so much, if I do call him inside to nap he's whining at the door to go out and lay on the deck!  ( obviously in the bitter cold he is easy to convince to come into the house). 

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have the same problem and use the method mentioned of having a big towel at the back door to wipe the feet of the three dogs--I also keep the hairs on the underside of their paws clipped short to lessen the amount of dirt coming in. We in the northeast have had 6 months of Spring weather--no snow, lots of rain and gobs of mud--t heyhave an acre to run around on but the area around the back door where they romp the most is very muddy. 

After they are inside and paws are wiped, I keep a sponge mop handy to wipe up the paw prints that are still going to be here despite the towels. Oh and in the nice weather, I take them out to the creek we live next to and get their feet clean then walk them on a leash over the grass to the door--HAHA!!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Living in the NW, we just avoid muddy areas in the wet months. Even then, going for leashed walks the dogs inevitably come in with muddy paws from walking into grassy areas along the sidewalks. I use utility towels (basically wash clothes) soaked with water and a bit of dog shampoo to wash muddy paws, and then dry with a clean towel. Its a routine they're use to and wait just inside the door for me to get the towels ready. After battling muddy paws for years just walking to the potty area in our yard, DH finally put in paving stones as a walkway. Makes a world of difference!