If you take your shoes off when you get home, and you have a dog...

[ChristyMarie]

....where do you put them???

This is driving me crazy.

We used to have a nice little rug in the laundry room. You'd enter from the garage and could take them off. Well, then we got the dog. The dog who has a weakness for shoes. They call to him. "come chew me, eat me, destroy me"

So, where do we put the shoes? I have a basket on top of the dryer but people come in, take them off in the kitchen and don't walk back out to the laundry room.

There's a closet in the laundry room but no one seems capable of opening the door. Plus you usually have your hands full and walk straight to the kitchen. PLUS the dog, who is 80 pounds, loves to sleep leaning against the closet door and will not move his puppy butt.

So they end up in the kitchen. On the counters.

The only thing I can think of is a wicker basket type thing with a hinged cover that would fit in the kneehole under the kitchen desk. But would people use it?

I also want to keep our "house shoes" there so that it is an easy switch.

Ideas?

[Alyantavid]

I'd try for the closet.

We leave ours right inside the door (neatly on a rubber mat). Our 4 month old puppy is learning pretty quickly to leave them alone.

[Ola_]

How about one of those tilt out shoe cupboards? Something like this (I think the one in this picture has two stacked on top of each other):
http://www.amazon.com/ClosetMaid-Sho.../dp/B00005OU7C

We've been lucky with our dogs and they don't chew up shoes. One does love to bring our slippers to his bed to nap with though. I think I'd flip out if someone put shoes on the kitchen counter!

Edited to add: I did a Google image search and there's some much nicer looking versions out there!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tfGC7tOlrd...oe-cabinet.png

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by Ola_

How about one of those tilt out shoe cupboards? Something like this (I think the one in this picture has two stacked on top of each other):
http://www.amazon.com/ClosetMaid-Sho.../dp/B00005OU7C

Oooh, I love that idea!

I had no idea those existed. I wonder if I can find one that would fit under the desk.

[sunnysandiegan]

Hmmmm....

Do you walk from the garage into the laundry room and then into the kitchen? Is there a door between the laundry room and kitchen?

If so, then perhaps the shoes can stay where you had them all along (on the rug in the laundry room). Train the humans to close the door between the kitchen and laundry room to keep the dog away from the shoes.

We use our front door and kick off shoes on the raised foyer. (No closet or garage available. Coyotes and rabbits outside along with neighbor's pets.) We have a kitten who thinks she is part cat, part dog, part rabbit, and part bird. We redirected her every single time she messed with our shoes (and only left the least favorites there during the training process) and she finally got it. She is over a year old now and leave shoes alone completely.

Either training the dog or training the humans will work, but both take time and patience and love.

[gini1313]

What about a shoe rack hanging on the back of the door that you enter through? Would be easy enough and *most* dogs couldn't get the shoes back out of them (although some could)...

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

Hmmmm....

Do you walk from the garage into the laundry room and then into the kitchen? Is there a door between the laundry room and kitchen?

If so, then perhaps the shoes can stay where you had them all along (on the rug in the laundry room). Train the humans to close the door between the kitchen and laundry room to keep the dog away from the shoes.....

Either training the dog or training the humans will work, but both take time and patience and love.

1. Doggie door and food are in the laundry room so he has access at all times. Plus, since he's still a puppy with puppy behavior, he's confined there when we're out.

2. On the shoe issue I think human-training will be easier! Even with a husband.

Originally Posted by gini1313

What about a shoe rack hanging on the back of the door that you enter through? Would be easy enough and *most* dogs couldn't get the shoes back out of them (although some could)...

You haven't met Sam.

I found a shoe cabinet I like at Ikea but it doesn't look like it has a back - just open to the wall behind it which might drive me crazy:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60156121

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie

2. On the shoe issue I think human-training will be easier! Even with a husband.


I found a shoe cabinet I like at Ikea but it doesn't look like it has a back - just open to the wall behind it which might drive me crazy:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60156121

@ #2

I don't think any of Ikea's shoe cabinets have backs. I have several friends with a variety amongst them and none have backs. You could always add a back on it by taking a walk down the appropriate aisle at a home improvement store.

One thing to keep in mind with the shoe cabinets: adult shoes may not fit well if they are anything except flatish, average size shoes. Boots don't generally fit at all and even my bulkier shoes don't fit (women's size 9). I'd want to check in person with my own shoes before purchasing.

[gini1313]

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie

I found a shoe cabinet I like at Ikea but it doesn't look like it has a back - just open to the wall behind it which might drive me crazy:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60156121

On the page about it, it says that it must be fastened to the wall, "back panel has predrilled holes" and that the back rail/back are made of particle board, so it sounds like it has a back. Do you have an IKEA you could go look at them at? Also, I think Target has some stuff like that.

Thanks for making me feel better about my dog He is a pain in the rear, but at least he doesn't chew up my shoes!!! We just have a bench in our entry that has a shelf underneath and we throw the shoes there. Even when they are all over the floor (most of the time), he never touches them!!! I once had a dog like that, and it was a super big pain!!!

[busymama77]

We have ours piled in a basket by the front door. We take them off when we walk in from the garage to the family room and take them there. We have two dogs and they have yet to touch them. They're older dogs (6 and 7), so I think they are past that shoe eating stage.

[ChristyMarie]

Hrm, I wonder if one is set up at my Ikea I could see? May have to go check it out in person to check on the back panel and size factors.

Sam is sneaky too - he can get an entire child's shoe in his mouth without you being able to see the shoe. I've gone to get him up in the morning twice to find a shoe he's smuggled into his house.

He can fit an unknown number of socks in there but a little bit of those always hangs out.

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by gini1313

...

Thanks for making me feel better about my dog He is a pain in the rear, but at least he doesn't chew up my shoes!!! ....

Oh, he doesn't chew up MY shoes. I put MY shoes away.

[elsie]

What about making the shoes taste bad? (I have no idea what I am talking about)

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by elsie

What about making the shoes taste bad? (I have no idea what I am talking about)

Like when I put hot sauce on the wall he was eating and he licked it off, wagged his tail, and looked at me for more?



Honestly, he's not as bad as he sounds. The laundry room wall when he was younger and shoes left out on the floor. He leaves everything else alone. I swear!

Now, the husband, grandma and child who won't make sure shoes are put away...well, that's another matter.

[abiyhayil]

maybe a tall hamper in the laundry room with a brick at the bottom? I would get really peeved with shoes on the counter!

[ChristyMarie]

Ok, so an amazing thing has happened, DH has not only agreed to buy a pair of "house only" shoes but he agreed to use the closet in the entry way to put shoes when he gets home. That means he has to come in, through the laundry room, little hallway, kitchen *take off shoes*, through little hallway and into the entry way to put them away.

I'm amazed! We'll see how long it lasts.

[abiyhayil]

yay hubby!

[nd_deadhead]

Funny how things can wor out - congratulations!

I do recommend crate training the dog, for when you aren't home - it keeps him and your possessions safe.

[Gray's Mommy]

We use a small amoire that is housed in our living room. You have to walk through the kitchen & eating area first though. My baby ate 5 pairs of my best shoes before I figured out we needed to do something about it

My kids & DH are well trained also--their shoes were nibbled a bit too.

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by nd_deadhead

Funny how things can wor out - congratulations!

I do recommend crate training the dog, for when you aren't home - it keeps him and your possessions safe.

He IS crate trained.

The problem is this dog is capable of getting a shoe while my DH or my mom are like 3 feet away and they don't see him do it. Sneaky little fellow. Note that he does NOT try this with me.

My DH has put him to bed, in his crate, with one of my son's shoes in his mouth.

The dog has skills.

He does leave them alone on any surface (counter, desk, whatever) but he views things on the floor in the kitchen as HIS.