How to have multiple pets and a clean home?

[C&L]

My dog just peed on my mother's rug but thankfully she isn't in the country.  If it was my rug, I wouldn't mind because it cost under $30 from IKEA. Their hand-woven rug cost more than most cars and was bought in an art auction years ago.   Thankfully, anti-icky poo is plenty powerful and I managed to make it undetectable. Most of my furniture comes from IKEA and I replace them readily.  I had been thinking about investing in a sectional from Restoration Hardware but I have 3 dogs.  I was wondering if there are people on this forum who manage to have an immaculate home with multiple pets.  My home is clean but I would hardly call it immaculate.  My mother, in particular, doesn't like to visit because some of my pets do shed.  How do you keep your house clean? Do you allow pets on furniture? Does your pets mess up your furniture? Is being a pet owner and having an immaculate home a non secquitur? 

[C&L]

:-) I've mount my gopro to it and goes nuts because of the spinning brush.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Glad to read this about a Roomba because I was contemplating getting one, but since I don't have a cat to ride on it........ :-}

[C&L]

I have a pet model from 2013 and I got it from Costco years ago for under $400.  My parents recently bought the deluxe $800 version (I think it is the Roomba 980) and I think my mom didn't have a problem it and controls it via iPhone.   Then again, her dog is a small Maltese who doesn't shed, whereas I have three dogs and two cats. She said the newer version is a lot more advanced than mine.  I think for $800, I'd much rather have another Dyson.   The Roombas do go on substantial discount for Black Friday.  If you get it from amazon you don't have to go to a store. 

[C&L]

I can always tell when a guest is not big on animals.  They sit on the high bar chairs with a smooth back and seat.  Those who like dogs sits on my couch full of dog hairs. 

[Adina P]

Our dogs don't use any furniture and it's still not clean around here.  I blame the human kids ;-)

[C&L]

Hahaha... I think my bf is messier than the dogs. He doesn't like to hang up his clothes.  Although I am way less strict than my mom.  She was the reason I couldn't have dogs growing up.  She had a rule: no bath, no bed. I remember when I was in elementary school she would check the back of my feet every night.   Now it is my house and I let my two dogs sleep in bed with me.  She emails me these articles about the health hazards of allowing pets in bed.  I thank her but I prefer my fuzzy animals. :-D 

[Adina P]

LOL at the clean feet requirement and warning emails ;-)
I will wash my kids feet if they've been barefoot outside and are visibly ick.  But otherwise they have their 3-4 baths/showers a week whether they need 'em or not!

ATM, we have a couple piles of clean laundry next to me on the couch, a tarp on the floor with two pumpkins and some printouts of how the kids wanted them carved and many other misplaced items and rugs that need vacuuming all in my view.  I just can't.  I can't keep up.

[Gail and Bailey]

My daughter and her family have 2 large short haired shedding dogs.  They have everything from IKEA also!  The white leather sofa and chairs always look clean because it is easy to just wipe them with a damp cloth!  The dogs are always climbing all over this furniture and it is amazing that there are no claw marks!  I think it is smart to have inexpensive rugs that can be replaced every few years and leather furniture that is from IKEA and proven to be dog proof and cheap enough to replace if you wanted to!  They have all tile floors and every Saturday morning they dust,vacuum, damp mop (using some great smelling cleaner) and the house is always clean and smells great!  These are red haired Viszlas and they shed lots of short hairs!

[C&L]

Ikea is the best for those with young kids or pets!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

So I'm sitting here on my 'non-stay-put' couch cover looking at my carpet speckled with stuff provided by the dogs - plus all of their toys. Two puppies are sleeping next to me. My house isn't as clean as it should be, but the puppies and I are pretty content with our home.

And no Roomba for us. It took all of 5 minutes for baby Desi to figure out how to turn it on.

[C&L]

I also have non-stay-put blankets I use as sofa covers.  They have stains all over it.  I got mine in white so I can bleach them. hehe.  My house is clean enough for me. Doodles are so smart and has been one of the easiest training experience. 

[Stacy]

I think it depends on your definition of clean. I am pretty neat. And the dogs help with that. They have trained me that if I leave a napkin on the table they will help me turn it into a hundred little tiny napkins. And if I leave my socks on the floor they will take them outside and play tug with them. So my house is always picked up.

Clean, as in lack of dirt is a different story. What dirt is seasonal. I traded shedding dog hair for dust mop. They bring so much of the outside in. Right now, no matter how I try they bring leaves in. I pick up the majority of them, but it’s a battle that I can’t win. Later it will be wetness and snow sludge. In the spring it’s mud. Summer it turns into grass clippings and just dirt. The other day when Katie rolled in whatever stinky thing she rolled in she immediately came in and jumped on the bed, spreading the stinky stuff to the quilts. I don’t own anything that can’t be thrown into the washer.

 I purchased one of those nonslip couch protectors for the garage sale, light colored couch. I really like the couch! It slips. So the couch protector is on the seat cushions only. But I can throw it into the wash, and I discovered recently that blood washes out of that really nicely. I also don’t own anything that I would be devastated to throw away.

This house had brand new carpet in it when I bought it. I like the carpet, but I never would have picked carpet. I know it has a very definite life span. I’m thinking about 5 years, maybe. But in good conscience I couldn’t rip out and throw away new carpet. There are hardwoods underneath and when the time comes that will be our flooring. I can’t bring myself to rip out 60 year old hardwoods either, but if I was building new I would have heated tile. I love tile. And I would have an inexpensive throw rug that could be replaced as needed.

No, I guess my house is not clean. There is sometimes pee, poop, vomit, mud, bugs, blood. But a clean life would be so boring! And I think it’s a good test for people. I like people who are okay with a little dirt.