What have you bought for your doodle?

[Lynda Kamrath]

I don't mean toys or grooming tools, I mean what personal purchases have you made that were influenced by your dog? I was thinking about this as I looked around in my bedroom while the dogs were lounging on the bed and we were having morning coffee. When we got the bedspread, we considered what colors would be best for the dogs. When I got new carpets, you guessed it, what would be best with two big dogs. My clothes? Yep, there too. But the big one was the car! I got my new car with the dogs in mind. I traded in my sporty car (work commute) when I retired for a Ford Freestyle and built in a back area for the dogs with a plastic bed liner that was easy to take out and clean after our trips to the beach. When we go on longer trips, they have a memory foam pad covered in lamb's wool that is custom made to fit. My dogs spoiled? No, but I have made my life with my dogs as easy as I can for ME.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

I have no grass in the backyard - if youve noticed in the pics. Lovely yard sans-grass. Makes for clean chit-pickin. We put on disposable gloves and a bag and literally pick it up with our hands. Much more efficient than using a shovel with all the potential for smearing. (I cant believe I am talking about this) You can buy bulk boxes of good disposable rubber gloves that fit tight like a Dr's glove but are made for people who handle strong chemicals so they are tough. All the poop goes into a bag and the gloves get tossed in with it. The whole thing then disposed of. And then the clean hands scrubbed well with disinfectant soap anyways.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

JD will not poop in the yard. He only does that on walks. Hence, the fake Coach poop-bag carrier.

[Kyoko]

Good stainless trash can !

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Many of the things that have been mentioned including. Cheap washable bedspreads, leather furniture, two car fences so either car can carry dogs, etc etc But by far our best purchase has been Easy Turf grass for the area of the back yard the dogs have just for them. It is soooo great - it stays green, does not need to be mowed or fertilized, etc. But best of all NO MUD!! Life is good! I had to choose between a new kitchen counter (mine is over thirty years old ) or Easy Turf and I chose well!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I would have to say that they factor into almost every purchase I make anymore. Especially clothes. I'm looking to redo our MBRoom and they are taken into account on comforter colors. We have also purchased:
Invisible fence
Real Fence
Honda Van
Wagon to pull Sophie in while leg was injured
Flooring
Multiple throw rugs
Elextrolux Battery Broom
Swiffer Sweeper Vac
Getting ready to remodel home to add mudd room and dog bath
Bagger for the lawnmower because they love eating the grass clippings
Relandscaped the backyard after we had just landscaped it because they love to eat the trees and bushes

However, I would still have to say that all of these were done to make my life easier, they were just fine eating the trees and grass clippings and with hair all over the place etc.

[Ladd Hill Labradoodles]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! My husband and I both have Volvos so we can either fit the crates in for the puppies or have the riders loose in the back seat. Our grown up kids make fun of us because we bought a carpet runner that we keep in the back seat of my car to make the ride more comfy for our Doodles (and of course so they don't scratch the seats). We bought durable carpet all over the house too or switched to hard woods for easier clean up. We even put fencing around our deck and grass area so that the pups all have a clean place to play during the rainy season. And I agree, it isn't that they are spoiled (well, maybe a teensy bit), but I have made my life easier for me to handle all the dogs.

I must admit though, my favorite purchase is still dog collars. Each Doodle has at least 10 different colors so they can stay hip to the season :) Again, though, this is really for me since they don't even notice what collar they have on but it makes me smile every time I see them!

[Lynda Kamrath]

What a kick! So we are not the only ones who make personal choices according to our dogs. It was fun reading all of your comments and it made me think of many more items to add to our list. My DH says that we have a large dog house that we share with our dogs. When we remodeled our house, we built a new laundry room with a dog wash area. But we had to have a ramp because the dogs are too large to lift up. We built a great dog run for the dogs and fenced the garden areas to keep them out of the gardens. All natural landscaping and no pesticides in the vegetable garden. All of our furniture in the house is leather and car interiors are also leather so they can be cleaned easily. SO, it goes on and on. Ahhhh, for the love of a dog!

[Richard Crowe]

Not just for Holly, our Doodle, but for all of our dogs over the years:

We replaced carpet with tile throughout the home. That was the one primary change which has paid great dividends. Especially when we were breeding Maltese and had regular litters of puppies. However, since we usually foster at least one rescue Maltese (sometimes of undetermined house training) the tile is still a great idea.

We selected our vehicles with our dogs in mind. Judy drives a Honda Pilot and I drive the little Honda CRV. We can fit all of our dogs (4 Maltese and our Doodle) in either car. We replaced a Jeep Wrangler with the CRV (which we also tow behind our motorhome) because our older dog (who has since departed) had problems entering and exiting the Jeep. We have a ramp which we used to help our old dog enter and exit the vehicles.

We have throws on our furniture to keep it clean when our dogs are on it (we bought a set of steps so our Maltese could climb up on our couch).

We have what we used to use as a dog room however, since all the dogs stay full time in the rest of the house and sleep in our bed (except for Holly who has a bed besides ours and just hops up and down at her leisure); the "dog room" has become Judy's hobby and sewing room.

I built an oak and wrought iron divider separating our family room from our living and dining rooms where we have area rugs.

I am sure that if I walked through and around our house, I would find a lot of other dog oriented additions and changes.

[Victoria Kuttner]

I bought my first house so my golden retrievers would have a back yard to play in!

Cars -- can't have a car that isn't dog friendly.

Tile floors.

But perhaps the biggest thing -- not purchase, mind you -- my husband. My best friend made me promise I wouldn't date anyone my female golden retriever, Kate didn't like. (The male liked everyone but Kate was picky.)

I dated a few men that Kate didn't like but quickly learned that her judgement about men was more reliable than mine. When DH and I started dating, Kate decided she was HIS dog. When we married, our first purchase together was our standard poodle, Lucy. My male golden had died at 14 and Kate, who had never before been an only dog, made up her mind to join him. The vet advised us to "get a puppy. It'll perk her up." Now we have our goldendoodle, Sam.