Kekly

ok, this may sound lame, but I am on my second carpet cleaner because of all the mud my Dobies bring in. I used to have a backyard full of grass before I got dobermans. I now have a backyard of mud and splothes of grass .
I use a towel and wipe off each paw very well each time they come in but it never fails that they still bring mud in. I swear they have some hidden mud pocket somewhere in their feet! Any suggestions as to how to get their feet cleaner before they come in? I tried dipping them in a pan of water only to end up sitting in said pan due to Doberman disapproval of my idea. Any help would be appreciated as I hate carpet cleaning 12 times a day.

stryker2

Depending how bad they are we hose them off with the hose. It works great on their paws. Then we put down a towel just on the inside of the doorway. Then we wipe them off with a towel. They do get a lot of dirt on the inside of their rear legs up high. Stanley Steemer loves us.
For sure about the grass.

Kekly

The hosing off would be ok during the warmer months, but won't work so well in the winter. It is freezing here at night so I can't leave the hose on. Has anyone tried doggie boots? Do they work? Will Dobies wear them?

Sigh....I wish I was smarter than my dogs.

RedDogRosa

I hear you about the mud, and I only had one Doberman tracking it in. I think the towel down just inside the door like stryker2 suggested is a good idea. I also found that once the mud was tracked in, it was better to let it dry then vaccuum it up, instead of smearing it. Is there any way you can block off an area at a time in your yard to try to replant your grass? I did that yearly to try to regrow the grass in my muddy/brown areas. It's a bit of work, but the grass really does help minimize the mud.

Doberdogz

Kelky,
Being unsure how well trained your Dobies are will they allow you to dunk their paws into a bucket of warm water?
I hate the mud too because sometimes other stuff gets on their paws.
I keep a bucket of warm water and it doesn't have to be warm, about half full outside the door when it's time to come in I dunk their paws spread the toes shake it in the water and it gets Missouri clay off of them.
I hope this helps...

Michael

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'Tazz I miss you bad...I just wish you had not done what you did, see you at the RB buddy!'

Sherryh

Would an outdoor carpet help with the mud? I have several rugs down and I also wipe off with wipes and throw away. My carpet inside is dark...but my tile is always dirty but I'll live with it because someday my sweet dobe will be gone........

smudgeid

It's something about their nails & pads after skidding through the grass & dirt - I'm having the same issue, except that Chanel will (unhappily) let me dunk her paws one at a time into a bowl. Then I rub them & her leg with a soggy cloth, then I dry with a towel & move on to the next paw. It's annoying & time consuming, but the carpet isn't looking too bad just yet.
Kate

Thor_Red

I use a small bucket of water, a washcloth and a towel to dry, another towel on the floor right by the door. I dunk one foot at a time and use the washcloth to get the mud under their nails and in between the tows, also wash up the inside of hind legs and belly where ever the mud splashed.

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Eggman

Howdy,

We've the same problem with our Doberman. A huge Oak tree ensures that half of my back yard is without grass (too much shade=no sun/no grass) hence, Lasker sinks down deep in the mud after a rain.
Stryker2 has the right idea: simply clean your Doberman's feet with a towel before letting him back in. My theory as to why our beloved Dobermans track mud so badly is because of the breed's relatively narrow footprint; they sink deeper than say, an Airedale Terrier which has wider paws making them more suitable for swimming. Dobermans also weigh between 65 and perhaps 90 lbs, too. YMMV.

Kekly

I do wipe each paw with a towel and they don't mind. The water scared them because it was new I guess. I will try it again and again until they understand that is the procedure to enter the house.

We do block off and reseed the grass but we had the record heat and water shortage this summer so a lot of grass died off, now that we have rain, they are just tearing the grass up when they run. Good thing I love them so much!
Thanks for all the ideas. I am so glad I found this site!

SidneyBlue

I live in the rainy northwest. This year, we put down a thick layer of mulch on the muddy spots and favorite running tracks. It has REALLY cut down on the mud. Now, I just hope it lasts the winter before breaking down...

Otherwise, we keep a beach towel by the back door and wipe paws upon entry everytime as my dobie lives indoors.

The garage also leads to our washer/dryer room where we have installed a baby gate. The floor in this room is linoleum. On particularly dirty days, we treat this as the staging area. In other words, our dog dries off a few minutes here before we let him back on the carpet. There is also a towel on the floor in addition to welcome mats.

Good luck!!!

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CB

ZeldaRules

Mmmuuuuud!!

Julie W

1/3 of my yard is separated and graveled with an extremely heavy duty landscape fabric under it. No mud. My dogs aren't allowed on the grass at all when it's wet, so I have completely undamaged grass year round. And no carpet. I have never understood why in the world one would choose to put fabric on the floor where you walk on it. I am not interested in how to get mud from my destroyed yard off of my 5 dogs multiple times a day. I am interested in not having a destroyed yard and muddy dogs in the first place.

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Kekly

That was rather hurtful in tone and off-putting for a new member. I asked for advice. If you don't have any, please feel free not to comment.

Kekly

LOL, I laughed so hard at the picture of dogs laying the mud hole! Soooo something my dobes would do! Thanks so much for posting those!

Julie W

That was advice. You can try to brainstorm ideas to get rid of the mud like I did instead of constantly battling it.

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Kekly

Perhaps I read it wrong. You don't hear inflection when you read like you do when you talk. Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately it doesn't work for me as I have a pool smack dab in the middle of the yard. I am not complaining about cleaning the dogs, I would do it if the entire house was concrete floors, I just wanted suggestions on how to better clean their paws. Once again, sorry for reading your post wrong.

Julie W

Well if you can't avoid the mud then I like the idea of boots. Wouldn't take any more time to do them than it would to clean paws, which doesn't work 100% without seriously bathing the feet each time anyway.

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Kekly

I have been researching boots because of mudwinter weather and salt , but I cant seem to find a pair that is both durable and waterproof. Any website suggestions?

Julie W

No suggestions from me as I have never owned any. I know there are some really awesome ones out there though. You might want to start a new thread for boot recommendations, or do a search to find previous discussions on them.

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Wbleyla

my dobie, Kiki, is a digger. she loves to dig up each and every mole hole in the yard. and living in the northwest i just look her over before i let her in the house. if she is muddy then i put her in the tub (i carry her to the bathroom) and i run the water and just put each paw under the running water then i towel dry each paw. that way i dont have to wash the whole dog when just her paws are muddy.

Kekly

My dobes weigh 70 and 80 lbs....I weigh 130 lbs. no way I could carry them that far. I am working on dipping paws in water until I can find boots that are waterproof and durable. Thank you for the suggestion though!

odiakkoh

The people I know who use dog boots all have Ruffwear. None of them have complained so far.