What the dog drags in

carfiosaoorl

Hi all I have 3 children and am the proud owner of an 8 mth old samoyed named winter. We have him 3 mths now and hes as cute as a button. He spends a lot of his time inside the house during the day and sleeps in at night but obviously I have to leave him go to the toilet outside. Im just really paranoid about what he is dragging in on his paws. I have noticed lots of big paw prints in his poop outside. Just wondering if others worry about this and if its something I even need to be worrying so much about. Everytime he walks in I run around after him with the mop but that is getting seriously old lol.

Whispered

Even when the poo is regularly cleaned they tend to find it to stand in, even if there is only that mornings one don't they!

I have a couple of old sheets that I throw into his bed during the day. When he comes in, I send him to his bed for a few mins, his paws dry off in there and I have only to give the trail from door to bed a quick wipe with the mop. It takes a second and saves the whole floor being covered in pawprints.

Mop is steeped each night in a cleaning solution and then each morning floor is properly cleaned/disinfected.

It works for me that way. I'm not one for over-disinfecting or anything, but if the dog is pulling in poo on his paws and if your kids are still young (crawling on the floor etc) it might be an idea to have a milton solution ready in a spray bottle to give the muck trail a quick spray before wiping with the mop.

carfiosaoorl

Thanks whispered:) That sounds like a good plan. Winter doesnt go into his bed when told though. He sleeps in the downstairs bathroom and I actually have to pick him up and carry him in there or he wont go in:rolleyes: Im not sure how long more I will be able to do that though because he is really big and heavy already.
At least I dont have carpet so the floors are easily cleaned, glass half full hehe:D

Sigma Force

Just clean up as much of the poo daily in the garden as possible, as he gets older he'll not step in the poop as much.

I highly recommend a few washable door mats, not too large so you can fit them in the machine but big enough for him to have no choice but to step on on his way in. Heatons do two sizes of that magic mat think it's called, you can pop it in the machine and they dry quickly on the radiator.

The mats will take off a lot of the muck and you could place another one outside the back door if the backdoor is sheltered or a rubber mat out the back. It's more washing but it does help in this weather.

When you're not looking I'm sure the kids have had their hands down the loo and all sorts anyway, my bros were caught eating out of the dog bowl once and still live to tell the tale.

If he's regularly wormed regularly that's a plus.

Whispered

Glass half full indeed! A large fella like that - it would be much easier to teach him to go to bed than to have to carry him, you'll do yourself an injury.

My boy is too big to be carried too, to teach him to go to bed, I'd take a really smelly treat, tell him to go to bed and throw it in. It didn't take long at all. And it is really honestly so handy for cleaning the floor. If you want to keep him sleeping in the downstairs bathroom you could teach him to go to a mat while you wipe the floor. Using the same method. If you get one of those mats for wiping your feet it would probably draw all of the muck off his paws. BEWARE: I tried this with my dog and he ripped the mat to shreds.

I have a friend who owns a rottie, she has him thought to sit on a mat inside the door and lift his paws to be cleaned. She keeps non scented baby wipes, tissues and a bag of treats at the door. When the dog comes in he sit on his mat, lifts a paw and looks from her to the bag and back to her. It's brilliant!

carfiosaoorl

Sigma force- I have never heard of the magic mat, will definitely look into that thanks

Whispered- I do sometimes throw in a treat to get him to go in but he is copping on to me:D. Usually if its very wet outside I put newspaper down between the outside door and the door to the sitting room. I cant imagine getting him to go to a mat and stay there though lol. He comes in like a lunatic and tears all over the place. He loves seeing me mop after him as well, he attacks it as I'm going. I think some obedience classes are called for:rolleyes:

I had a mat inside and outside the door before we got him and they both lasted about 2 days afterwards. Literally if its on the floor and its not nailed down its fair game in winters eyes.

Whispered

The solution to him going to bed could be really simple. Each time you trick him into going in, are you closing the door? Try do it a few times where he gets a treat for going in, and the door is not closed, and he comes straight out. Have him never knowing whether or not he is going to be closed into the room, or just get a treat. You could also try putting him in with a delicious kong, and take him out before he's finished it. He'll have a feeling of WANTING to be in there then and see it as less of a confinement. Dogs love their beds most of the time. Then again most dogs are not an enthusiastic and energetic 8 month old!

If the toilet is used by your family, I'd recommend finding somwhere else for his bed that's just "his". Would you consider crate training? I found it a god send. Makes life a lot easier, for both me and the dog.

Samoyeds are really really smart, I bet you could mat train him in 3 days if you put your mind to it.

I love the name by the way. Do you have any pics?

EDIT: Sorry, you didn't ask for bed training tips! I'll leave you alone

TooManyDogs

My back door opens into a tiny porch area at the bottom of the stairs and then into the kitchen so I keep them in the porch area until their feet are dry and then let them in, quick mop of the floors at night and a hoover in the morning and hopefully they're fairly clean!!! Bacteria really transfers and grows in wet areas so if you can get his feet dry somehow then your floors shouldn't get too unhygienic.

Bluefrog

Love Whispers tips on the bed stuff. Other thing I'd add just to be on the safe side with the kids is to remind you to stay up to date on the worming doses um, for the dog I mean, not the kids

carfiosaoorl

Whispered- I love those bed training tips thanks I never thought to leave the door open sometimes. I will definitely try that thanks:D
Thanks everyone for the replies:)

I will try to add a pic. He is 7 mths here much bigger now. In the last mth I have had to leave his harness out a good 4 inches.

RubyGirl

carfiosaoorl wrote: »

Whispered- I love those bed training tips thanks I never thought to leave the door open sometimes. I will definitely try that thanks:D
Thanks everyone for the replies:)

I will try to add a pic. He is 7 mths here much bigger now. In the last mth I have had to leave his harness out a good 4 inches.

No advice but had to ad that he is a beauty, so white and fluffy. Will be hard to keep him clean on these rainy days.

Chris_Heilong

When ever I let my dogs out to go to the toilet in this wet weather anyway I must always wipe their feet with paper towels.:)

WalterMitty

Have a shallow bath/trough full of disinfectant+water near back door and make dog walk in it or make him go in a flat area that is cleaned regularly and not long grass as he cant see the poo .

kildareash

Never mind your floors...how do u keep him clean?

Great tip about the mats, whispered. I'm definately going to try that too. We don't have a back hall. Our patio doors open straight out into the garden, where a big pool of water is now gathering every time it rains.

Think dogs were bathing in it last Friday and destroyed my cream kitchen Walls. Can't wait for the spring!

carfiosaoorl

Thanks all he is wormed regularly, just the other day infact:)

He is actually fairly easy to keep clean. He came in a few times covered in mud but when his coat dries the dirt just falls off:)