Multi-animal households

[Carolinamidwife]

How do you all do it? I have 2 giant breed dogs and they are so hairy and so stinky and just generally four legged filth spreaders. I don't believe in outdoor dogs so they live in the house with the rest of the family.

I am already kind of germ-phobic as it is and I know when Stella starts to crawl and becomes covered in dog hair I will feel crazy. My main concerns are keeping the carpets and tile clean and it has to be easy and fast because she prefers to be held as much as possible.

Anyone got a routine or some tips?

TIA!

[shelbean91]

How did you end up with 2 giant dogs and still be germ-phobic??

We have 2 dogs (until 6 mos ago, it was 3) large dogs. I just try to not sweat it. We own a carpet shampooer and the carpets get shampooed every so often, but spot cleaned as needed. I try to vacuum every day, but since our 3rd dog died (and he was the major shedder) I can wait a few days, even up to a week between vacuuming.

I keep reminding myself that exposure to germ is the only way to build a stronger immune system.

Our dogs are indoor/outdoor dogs, but they do go out into the fenced yard if they become a nuisance (often during meal times) or if they need extra space away from the kids. The nice thing about the dogs is I never have to worry about cleaning up any food that the kids throw onto the floor!!

[SaveTheWild]

I too have two big shedding dogs. The only thing I can do is vacuum a lot. (twice a week). But one quick note: you shouldn't be too creeped out by the dogs/germs thing. A lot of recent studies have shown that babies who live in households with animals, particularly dogs, have fewer allergies than those kids who don't. Kids with dogs are exposed to a lot more "stuff" and it strengthens their immune system generlally. So when your baby has a handful of dog hair, just breathe in deeply and say "it's making her healthier!"

[rainsmom]

Ive got two shedding dogs....and a big hairy cat. Here is what I use:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?p=1373799


The best vacuum cleaner I will ever have in my life!

You also have to USE it I have low berber carpets.....and I also suggest having indoor/outdoor mats by each of the doors, inside and out. It REALLY helps!! Now that its nice, I put the lock on the dogdoor and let them hang outside a bit more......

[BusyMommy]

Hi, Just have a second, but we have 2 big dogs and a couple of cats. We have an air purifier and put in wood and pergo floors everywhere but the bedrooms.

[MiaPia]

We have two big shedding dogs (with a combined weight of over 200 lbs! :LOL ) and a cat as well. Our pets are all indoor pets too, and we have a major over-abundance of hair floating around.
We invested in a Dyson, and it is WONDERFUL. I vacuum usually every day, and sweep the floors 1-2 times a day. It really doesn't take very long, and I feel much better knowing all the stuff that is coming up. I usually do my vacuuming/sweeping/dusting with Isabella in her sling. She enjoys it, and it keeps her up and away from the mess that I'm cleaning.
We also just bought a steam cleaner. Once a week I'll work on cleaning the carpet in a different area of the house, so every room will get deep cleaned every 4-5 weeks.
Eventually we want to rip up most of the carpeting and put in Pergo, but for now I just vacuum every day!

Oh - and I learned early on when Harrison started to crawl that with all the animals around it was inevitable that we'd have to put up with a certain amount of dog hair on him. We just learned to live with it to a certain extent!

[Carolinamidwife]

Originally Posted by shelbean91

How did you end up with 2 giant dogs and still be germ-phobic??

LOL, good question. I am actually not that bad about myself (Around the house that is. At the mall or somewhere is another story.), it's more the babies that get to me. When we got the beasties we were not planning another baby, you know how that goes, lol.

So, we have started replacing carpet with pergo and we also have the Dyson so I'm glad to know others have found that helpful. I love the Dyson more than anyone should ever love a vacuum. Love it to pieces.

I should have added that I am wickedly lazy and hate cleaning... vacuuming every day sounds like a prison sentence to me. The amount of hair these dogs generate is UNREAL. Sigh. It's a good thing I love my poochies. :

[shelbean91]

Well, that makes sense, then. Actually, I found that when I was vacuuming every day, it wasn't that bad. It took less time each session and that was nice. I also am very lazy by nature and cleaning every day is nearly impossible. If my dh weren't the clean one, I have no idea how my house would look!!

Can you take them and get them groomed/clipped?? We could never do that with our dogs as they already have relatively short coats.

Also, I was very upset the first few times I had dog hair all over my dd, but eventually I got used to it. I know, that sounds bad, but we live in a house with dogs, it's impossible to get rid of it all. I just do the best I can.

[Carolinamidwife]

No, it doesn't sound bad. I want to get to the place where I don't mind that she is covered in hair. I mean, I KNOW she will not be harmed by the dog related mess, I just need my brain to convey that to my heart, KWIM? I know she will be more benefitted from having 2 big lovable doggies who would do anything for her than she would be harmed by eating a hairy cookie.

They're Great Danes, I wish I could trim them.

[Colorful~Mama]

yah, i have just a small dog and a medium sized dog...but she's part chow and sheds like crazy. I also have a teenage slob and a plumber slob of a dh. lol. So yes, i vaccuum the main living room every day. We also have a small steam cleaner.

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[hannahmom]

I can totally sympathize we have a big, hairy Lab about to blow her winter coat -- Hannah is sooo close to crawling. We use a big quilt on the floor for her to play on now - but she will be mobile soon!

Our saving grace = SHOP VAC. It is the only thing that sucks up the hair instead of blowing it around.

Unfortunately since I don't have time either to vac every day, occasionally Hannah will look up at me and grin - with dog hair stuck to all the drool on her chin... How endearing...

[rainbowmoon]

we have 4 dogs and 4 cats (3 dogs are large breeds and spend most of the time outside). my babe is not crawling yet but I still sweep and mop the floor and vacumn the furniture off almost every day as I'm a freak when it comes to cat hair. we also brush them which helps a little. we also have an air purifier.

[MikahsMomma]

My MIL has 3 indoor Great Danes (one alone weighs 220 pounds!!!) and she swears by her Roomba vacuum cleaner. It does all the work for her and all she has to do is empty it (fairly often). She got it when Mikah was born and I can tell a MAJOR difference in amount of dog fur!

[Carolinamidwife]

Oh lordisa that Roomba makes me drool. A vacuum that does all the work for me.... mmm...

[rubysmomjess]

Haha!!! this all make me laugh...I was all uptight about the dog hair too, until one day I watched my daughter touch her cracker to the hairy dog...apparently food takes a little better if it has a little hair attached to it...ugh. I try to vaccum 2x a week and spot clean when possible...you just to remember that once they start crawling and walking kids eat dirt ( and dog food and ...) when you're not looking.

[3girlsmommy]

We have two mutts. One is an Akita mix that sheds so much you would think she'd have to be bald by now!

Anyway what we do is keep them off the carpeted areas. We have baby gates for the dogs : so that they can't go on the carpet. The other alternative is vacuuming everyday and there is just no way that is going to happen!

[tracymom]

Originally Posted by rubysmomjess

Haha!!! this all make me laugh...I was all uptight about the dog hair too, until one day I watched my daughter touch her cracker to the hairy dog...apparently food takes a little better if it has a little hair attached to it...ugh.

My main concern when DS1 was a baby was the cat hair, not because I worried about it, but FIL has this thing about hair. I would always sweat bullets when he ate at our house for fear he'd find one in his food and ever eat anything I ate again (That is, til DH said, "don't worry, he can't see well enough to see a cat hair in his food! :LOL). I just didn't want him finding hair all over DS and grossing out when we came over. Other than that, I didn't worry about DS's exposure to it. :

[Carolinamidwife]

Sigh, I HATE CARPET!!! I wish we had no carpet but nooooooo dh would not listen to me when we bought the house. Blarg.

I can't keep them totally off the carpet because it hurts them too much to lie on the ceramic even with pillows, Danes have big hips. Plus, we gate them into the front of the house and half of it is carpeted.

Our house is pretty big, 2500 sq feet... if I vac every day it will take up half my morning. Hmmm, perhaps I should get my butt off the computer and go vac... lol.

[shannon0218]

Yeah our Roomba looked great while Bedlam trotted around the yard with it and then dropped it in her kiddy pool. (we'd had it a week--but found it really didn't pick up fluffy undercoat type shedding)
I've worried about all this--alas, we have no baby yet.
With your danes, what works great as a cleaning deshedding thing is to use a combo of water, apple cidar vinegar and a few drops of tea tree oil, put it in a baby wipes container and use that to wipe the dogs down. You'll see a big difference in the shedding and stinkiness