DIRT

[BeccaaStancil]

Okay so this MAY not be the right spot for me to post this... But if anyone has any advice for me that'd be great. So my husband and I have 6 dogs (I know, hoarders right) 6 BIG dogs at that, who are all treated like our children, have their own bedroom and come in and go out as they please.

Well with that being said, they bring in a LOT of dirt. Hair isn't so much of an issue. Mainly the dirt. Well, we also have a human child on the way... and I can't just throw my dogs out... but I don't feel it's sanitary to have a child in a house with this much dirt. I sweep twice a day - everyday (okay sometimes I don't but mostly I do) and get a dustpan full of dirt each sweeping. Also in their bedroom, I guess the dirt off their coats flies through the air and settles on things. So I have to wipe their whole room down twice a week.

Basically, I'm asking if anyone has any sort of magical potion I can use to make this easier.. I've tried wiping their paws off at every entry, not only is that a task with one 40 lb and five 65-100 lb babies but it just doesn't work that great. I've tried door mats - and still use door mats but it doesn't catch it all. Does everyone with dogs have this issue?! I guess this is more of a rant post but if ANYONE HAS ANY solutions PLEASE feel free to post them here.

 

[Tumbling K]

I remember as a young feller, growing up with dirt.......mostly the dirt that got tracked in, was tracked in by me......

I don't think it affected me much......and I was pretty much a human child....


dirty faces, and dirt between my toes growing up......I miss them times.....

 

[mimsy]

Yep I grew up dirty too. Sure my parents are obsessive cleaners, but they were unable to keep me out of dirt by the time I was two.

I have two dogs who have access to the mud room and the backyard through the dog door. The mud room is my husbands hording room for tools, so it's not clean, except for me giving it a sweep daily and a mop weekly. between chickens and dogs the backyard is mostly all dirt, so it gets brought in a lot. Rugs do help, though I prefer throw rugs that can be shaken and then washed regularly in the washer. It can also help if you can limit it do just the one room during the day. I don't let them into the rest of the house till chicken bed time. So that limits dragging dirt back and forth throughout the rest of the house.

Anyways my youngest girl of 3 is 19 years old and they all grew up around lots of animals, hair, dirt, it's not a laboratory here it's life and life is dirty.

 

[BeccaaStancil]

Im more afraid of when he/she starts crawling and has slobbery hands everything is gonna stick to their little fingers!!! Not so much worried other than that... Other than my husband being a clean freak and not wanting dirt on the floors.

 

[Tumbling K]

Im more afraid of when he/she starts crawling and has slobbery hands everything is gonna stick to their little fingers!!! Not so much worried other than that... Other than my husband being a clean freak and not wanting dirt on the floors.

this is your first child?

 

[BeccaaStancil]

@BertS yes, this will be our first. I'm assuming baby humans are pretty tough right?

 

[Tumbling K]

@BertS yes, this will be our first. I'm assuming baby humans are pretty tough right?

just a little bit.......

I have a few kids......a little dirt on the floor, or even in their mouth won't hurt them.

 

[drumstick diva]

I never had HUGE dogs but, I had a good number of heavily coated cockers - when I bred and showed them. BUT, they were confined to a large chain link area with many inches deep - pea gravel. They didn't track in dirt. Yes, they came back into the kennel but, the floors were not dirty. I would wash them weekly just because ..... I don't know if you could confine your big dogs to a large - graveled run - but they would stay much cleaner than way.

Could you confine your dogs to just a certain room or rooms in the house, with doggy gates to keep them away from rooms your baby might be in.?

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

That's definitely a hard one, but I think you've gotten some good advice! If your dogs are on some type of monthly worm preventative (Whether it's a pill or otherwise) your baby should for the most part be ok with a little dirt. Some of the worms (like hook worms and roundworms) can be pathogenic to human, but many of the monthly heartworm preventatives are also dewormers. There are also other monthly dewormers you can use (like Pyrantel) and your vet should be able to help you figure out a good regimen for you (I do not suggest starting wormers without consulting with a vet due to reactions in some dogs to things like ivermectin). If you are going to give heartworm meds (if you don't already), you will need a vet appointment anyway to make sure they aren't already infected with heartworm.

I also recommend a flea and tick preventative like Frontline, Advantage (Note: Advantix is highly toxic to cats, so you need to keep them separated for about 24 hours after applying this), Nexgard (Oral flea/tick med that is awesome, but can be pricey), or a seresto collar (Totally safe to humans, lasts for 8 months if the dog does not get bathed or swim often). Flea and tick prevention is important because you don't want to have ticks fall off the dogs and bite anyone in your household. Same with fleas.

Other than that, I think gating off some areas where the baby can be without getting dirty is a good idea. Also potentially fencing in a less dirty area for the dogs might help (if feasible). There are definitely some creative and less expensive ways to make a fence for dogs. I know with a baby, people often have little time to think, let alone clean!

 

[BeccaaStancil]

OMG. See I work at an animal clinic. And EVERYONE I work with is telling me I'm going to hate my dogs after the baby is born and I'll have to throw them out and the dirt and hair will be too much for the baby. And I'm over here like ?????? How could I ever just throw my dogs out? As of right now all 6 are on bravecto and heartgard combo, has anyone had luck with seresto collars? Our clients seem to like them but our employees who have tried them say they don't work... And I don't get big enough of a discount to just buy it to try (for 6 dogs

) I know they have to be around their neck pretty tight because they work with friction, but the other vet techs who've tried them should know that, right? Ugh. @Chickerdoodle13