I'm almost embarrassed to respond to this! We have been so lucky with our *pup*. We really have not decorated around her. She's small, doesn't shed, doesn't have accidents, etc. LOL!! She was extremely easy to train. She went to doggy kindergarden and then we did the rest ourselves.

Because she's small, her nails are not a problem, although she is groomed monthly and her nails are cut then. Her food/water bowls are small as are her beds, so not a problem. We've never crated her, but she does prefer to stay in one room when she is home alone.

We have all hardwood floors and we have taught her to let us dry her feet if she comes in with wet tootsies. She has her own towels LOL.

One thing that has come in handy with her is a dust mop I have, it looks like a large swiffer but has a terry cloth cover on it (removeable). That comes in very handy for her *dribbles*, when she drinks.

tina

Instead of the large potato bins, you could also keep the large bags somewhere else like the laundry? or wherever you have room and keep smaller containers in the kitchen cupboard with enough biscuits for a few days or more. i used to walk back and forth between rooms to get my dogs' food ready until it occured to me to do this.

I have two large dogs, Doberman Pinschers, and aside from the constant battle against dog hair they really don't have much of an impact on the house. They're very well trained, I've taught classes in agility for about the last 10 years, so they don't bother things on coffee/end tables or the like.

I live in Georgia with that nasty GA clay so, they're trained to stand until released when they come in the back door. That's so that I can check their feet if it's wet out and towel them if necessary. My wood floors don't have any scratches on them because I dremel (grind) my dog's nails a minimum of once a week. Their nails don't ever "click" on the floor!

I did make one huge concession with regard to decor and the dogs. Our family room has all leather furniture. (Sofa, loveseat and two wing chairs) They're allowed on just about every piece of furniture in our house but, since we tend to spend the most time in our family room and kitchen, it just made sense to get something that I could easily wipe drool and whatnot off of. (We do have a formal living room also so the leather isn't our only option.)

I bathe my two in the spare bathroom. I have a long grooming hose that attaches to a fitting on the shower head.

I keep my kibble in a vittles vault. I have two vittles vaults and just keep them stacked on top of each other in a corner near the end of some kitchen counters. Food stays fresh in them and the dogs can't get into them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vittles Vault

Whitdobe, what kind/brand of dremel do you use? Our dogs, a Border Collie and English Shepherd, are both VERY active and go for multiple walks a day and have running/play sessions and mental work to save our sanity, so that wears their nails down some, but not enough. I would love to use something other than the clippers because those cause jagged edges that are often worse I think.

I'd also love to hear if anyone has found a great dog bed that holds up well and looks nice. I know LL Bean and Orvis carry nice ones, but before I spend that much I'd like to know that they are worth the price.

As far as decorating, we haven't done anything differently either. We did install hardwood everywhere in our house and it is a lighter color. I have lots of breakable things around and sometimes have to remind them that the inside isn't a race track but other than that they are both well behaved "most" of the time. The shedding is just a part of life here and I have to vacuum everyday to stay on top of it. I probably could do less if I brushed them more, but vacuuming seems easier most days. The ES sleeps with us each night and the BC hops in bed after my husband gets up, so I have to run over the comforter often with a rubber/latex glove which works great! Our dogs also both wait at the door to have their paws dried with a towel, the BC has to have hers done in a certain order or she gets freaked out lol!

Like everyone else, I'd rather have the hassle and extra work because the love they give and the happiness they bring is SO worth it! I'm working on trying to get #3, a rescue, but so far it's falling on deaf ears. Maybe when DH is on travel next he'll come home to find a new furry friend! ;-)

Kat :)

I do remember you lost me at:

"what those of you who have dogs do to keep your homes as beautiful as they are" - lol!

i keep their food in a food bin (from pet store) on a shelf right inside of the front door. (so much for 'beautiful')
it holds about 40 lbs.

I did see a nicer smaller bin at the store last week - it's big enough to hold about 20 lbs I think. it looks like it'd fit on a slide out drawer in a cabinet - that cab would only be able to have the bottom pull out tho. I think buehl's is like that. That smaller bin would be easier to keep in the kitchen.

I have a Roomba for daily vacuuming. It's a freaking miracle worker for keeping on top of the pet hair. It broke a while back and I've been completely overwhelmed by dog hair since then. I just can't seem to stay on top of it.

Other than that, I use couch covers for daily use because I'm a suck and figure what's the point of having a doggie if I can't snuggle with them while watching TV :) My couches also aren't in great shape, but I'll probably continue the practice when I get new couches, or at least put blankets on the cushions.

Other than some of the tips above, there's not much else I have to do. The fur is really the killer for me. I can't wait to hear more tips!

Here's the dog bed I have, it's great, I got colours that go with my decor and the cover is washable and really durable, so I think I'll have this for a long time yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Awesome dog bed

I have 2 large dogs, an Aussie and a Dalmatian. They both shed a lot. I have light hardwood downstairs, and dark hardwood upstairs. I use a Dirt devel on the hardwood, and a Dyson on my area rugs. My Dal gets on the bed sometimes, so I have a washable mat lazae coverlet, that holds up well. The Dal likes to lay in a LR cloth chair by the front window, so we keep a washable throw over it. Family room furniture is leather, except for one chair, but neither dog has ever wanted to climb on the
there.

I have a utility room closet for most of their suppleis, but they are on a raw diet so food is in the refrigerator or freezer.

I have a REALLY BIG dog and an 8 lb. cat - the cat sheds way more than the dog.

Thank goodness my dog is very quiet indoors..he's a therapy dog so is trained to be still when inside and around people. I do have lighter wood floors, vinyl in my kitchen, and unfortunately carpeting. My weapon - I'm OCD, so cleaning comes naturally to me and I vacuum EVERY DAY, wipe down my wood and vinyl floors EVERY DAY, and attack every hard surface with windex and paper towels EVERY DAY.

Oh, and I have a beautiful dog bed from Drs. Foster & Smith called the Deluxe Snuggle Up Dog Bed (in extra large)...my pup won't lay on it...but my cat does!

I would not store dog food in a wooden bin. I thought they looked so nice when we first had our house years ago - but the grease in the food is absorbed by the wood and over time it just felt very unsanitary and started to smell. I had a special pull out built for my pantry that fit a regular plastic trash bin that also fit a bag of dog food and put the food in there. We have not finished building out the cabinets in the new house so in the meantime I keep it in one of those pop top plastic containers on castors in the laundry room - it is for dog food and I got it at THe Container Store.

THe container store also has dog paw towels - they have little mitts sewn on either side - I got one for all my dog loving friends.

If your dogs are under control and supervision when not crated I think the drapes should be safe - they sound like they are past their chewing phase right?

I know my house will never be as perfect as many houses I have visited - but I am sure all of you dog lovers can relate when I say a house simply doesn't feel like a home to me without the presence of my beloved golden. When we lost our 15 yo golden 1 year after his best buddy died of cancer I could hardly stand coming home. The house felt empty of spirit.

I have to say I had small children at the time and I remember a friend saying her DH would not agree to a dog because of the dirty house. She was not the best housekeeper and had kids my age - her floors were frankly a little disgusting. I thought he was missing the boat because my floors were immediately swept clean of any stray food my kids might drop! FOr the 6 months before we got the new puppy I actually had to clean under the table 3 times a day ;-) vs one good mop a week.

I use a cordless Dremel Multi Pro with 120 grit sanding bands. I use a new sanding band every time I do the dogs nails. I probably could get more than one use out of one but, while my dogs are trained to accept the dremel, it's still not their favorite thing so I want to remove as much material as possible while staying within the limits of not removing too much at one time.

Dobermans have black nails so it's impossible to see the quick. Using a dremel means sanding off/removing a little bit of nail at a time. If the quick is misjudged using clippers the dog gets a huge *OWIE*, if it's misjudged with a dremel then you can stop when it's just a little pin prick of blood.

Doing nails very frequently causes the quick to receed. You can't do them every day but, when I've had rescues here I've done them every 3-4 days to work on getting the quick to receed so that I can get the nails back. And yes, I've trained some pretty abused rescues to accept the dremel. You just take it in slow and easy steps with lots of positive reinforcement, verbal and treats.

My dogs nails are SHORT. I mean that they stick out of the nail bed around 1/4". They end way above the floor. I've always done their nails that way for two reasons. First, I did agility with both of them and long nails can be a slipping hazzard on the contact obstacles (dogwalk, teeter and aframe). Second is that I showed my male in conformation for a while and that's just the way Dobes are shown in the conformation ring.

I'll paste a link below that has directions on how to dremel a dogs nails. When you go to the link page just look to the left side and click on the "how to dremel your dog's nails" link.

With regard to shedding, Dobes produce a lot more fur than most folks would think. Small black "eyelashes" that can mound up quickly if you don't stay on top of it. I have two Kirby vacuums, one for the upper two floors and one for downstairs. They're great for the dog fur and I love the attachments for the staircase. I do keep a dust mop for quick touch ups on the kitchen floor. It's mostly white and with black dogs it needs help more often than I want to drag a vacuum out.

Now, putting kibble in ordinary plastic containers would not work for me. My dogs are very well trained BUT, left alone in the house with kibble in a regular plastic container? Their powerful jaws would have made short work of it! (In agility we sometimes use what we call a closed target. Most folks use something like a tupperware container to put the treat into. Dog performs behavior and runs to container, handler opens container and rewards with treat. The first time I tried that with a Dobe the container was trashed. I used an old pressure cooker with holes drilled into it for my closed target!) The vittles vaults are great. I can't imagine any dog getting into one plus, since they're air tight, they keep the kibble nice and fresh.

I have 4 dog nests from Orvis. The oldest ones are about 10 years old. The newest is only a couple of years old. The oldest ones have faded a little bit over the years but, that's the only real difference.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to dremel your dog's nails

I have a husky/collie mix and she came to us either very afraid to do the wrong thing or very well trained. She was 3-5 years when we got her from a husky rescue site and she's incredibly smart. We could not be happier with our baby girl but we have had to be flexible with home stuff.

Hair, everywhere, so I run the vac almost daily. The entry and kitchen are swiffered daily - love those things with dog hair. Food bowls are cute and I put place mat underneath for moisture protection.

We kept vinyl flooring in the kitchen, knowing it would be easier with her coming in from our Oregon rain. We just keep a big towel and a small towel and she knows, when we say wait, let me dry you off, she just waits. I think it's like a massage for her. She's worth every bit of work.

We keep large bags of dog food in trash cans (new, clean)and fill up plastic containers for pantry and refill when needed. The snap plastic lids keep mice out of the food and garage.(We found out the hard way that mice love dog food)

Here is a link that might be useful: Neesha- Our Furry Girl Santa Baby

We have a large plastic bin with a hinged snap-shut lid that we bought at WalmXXt a few years ago. It holds 20+ lbs of dry dog food. I have it in the kitchen pantry so the dog can't get into it. The lid seals very tightly - keeps the dog food fresh.

She is also a Golden Retreiver mix (a rescue dog) and yes, lots of hair in the house and yes, I have to vacuum alot. Actually this 4-legged sweetie is very helpful - she takes care of any stray crumbs on the kitchen floor for us - so she does her part in helping to keep that floor clean!

Like Whitdobe and others, our 45 lb furball is also trained to sit and wait while I check/dry her feet when she comes inside. We keep a towel by the back door for that purpose. That alone is huge as far as helping to keep the floors clean...and I sometimes wonder if she secretly likes the foot massage anyway!

We also have a raised stand for her water/food dishes. That has helped in two ways: 1. She doesn't guzzle her food down anymore and 2. she doesn't take the food out of the bowl, put a mouthful on the floor, and then eat it. (Meaning I then had a sloppy mess on the floor to clean up everytime she ate.)

We do keep a throw sheet on one chair that she sleeps in when we leave the house. It's almost the same color as the chair and easy to shake out and toss in the wash. Yes, we tried a dog bed - she turned her nose up at it and returned to the chair. LOL So...no "dog" beds in this house.

we keep the dog food in the garage in a large trash bin with fitted lid...i buy 2 different types of food and the 2 35-40lb bags fit in nicely. i don't think i'd want to keep dog food in the house!!! we bought an x-large dog bed from llbean when our newfie was a puppy 10 1/2 years ago....she didn't lay on it too much for the first few years of her life...she prefers the hard cold floors! but our golden lab loves the bed and i don't know if the newf has "learned" to like the bed from watching aslan or if she just likes a softer, warmer place to lie now in her old age! they do a great job of sharing the bed during the day and at night our golden lab sleeps on a cheap bed from petsmart that's in our bedroom. neither dog is allowed on our furniture...our cat has free reign there!
the dremel method of filing nails sounds awesome....wish i had heard of it 10 years ago...!

I can't remember if I posted or not. Another 2 golden retriever family here. We got Cooper when Bailey was a year old, and have been loving life ever since. they are now 5 and 4 years old respectively.
Our guys were crate trained as well, and obedience trained and now are trustworthy home alone. We were told by our trainer that goldens are considered puppies until they are about 3. That held true for our guys, not bad behavior per se, just that puppy exuberance.
We have hardwood floors that need to be lightly sanded and recoated from their claws- thanks for the dremel tip- we have been diligent in all aspects of care but not so much the nails.With goldens i only have trouble keeping up in the spring and fall when they are blowing their coat. I am sure you take care of it the same way I do.
We have room size oriental rugs in the downstairs and a berber runner up the stairs( for quiet)
The best thing we did was to get a washable slipcovered sofa( great RH sofa on CL) our guys aren't allowed on any furniture( Cooper is 100 lbs and Bailey is a slim 75) but they are outside dogs and sometimes bring bits of leaves and dirt inside with them that got on the sides of the sofa.) ok sometimes mud)
I also make sure there is minimal stuff on the coffee table. The center of the table seems fairly safe but anything on the ends is in the tail zone!
I also have become a huge fan of CL and thrift shops and so like to decorate in a cottage style -sorta- that is dog friendly.
We have an antproof food vault for their food which we usually keep in the basement laundry room. Since Cooper had ACL surgery we have moved the feeding area up to the kitchen.
I hope we are never ever without goldens!

Whitdobe thanks so much for the dremel link and info! Thanks also to everyone else for the various dog bed recommendation! Our BC would never sleep in a bed when she was younger either, but at almost 10 years old she is re-thinking that. The ES is all about pampering and loves the two comforters we have in our bedroom as a test run for getting beds.

Kat :)

Oh .. this is an issue near and dear to my heart! We have five dogs .. yeah, I've cut my DH off from rescuing any more. We have three Basset Hound and two Aussies. So long hair and short hair .. both breeds shed A LOT! I vacuum, dust and when it's yucky out steam mop every day down stairs, the dogs aren't allowed upstairs in the girl's domain .. they are stuffed animal killers. :P I also spend a lot of time washing down wood work and touching up walls as needed.

I keep their nails cut short .. although we have 100 year old distressed heart pine floors, so a few more scratches here and there don't mean a lot. I groom them once a week, except when they are blowing their coats, then it gets bumped to once a day. Aussies lose all their undercoat at once .. it's a mess! For the Aussies I use the Furminator, for the Bassets, grooming lava stones work best on their slick coats. As for washing them, that's my DH's job! ;) Aussies coats naturally repel dirt, so unless they get into a lot of mud or something nasty .. they brush out well and stay odor free. Bassets on the other hand have naturally oily coats and can develop odors. They are also low to the ground, so pick up lots of 'sludge' on their belly's when it's yucky out. They hate water and to be bathed .. so bath day here is a lot of fun. ;)

Other than that they are trained to stay off the furniture .. well for the most part, although if given the chance they'll jump up. I bought slipcovered sofas because of this .. I can change out the slipcovers and clean them as needed. The Bassets can develop back and leg problems from jumping and stairs, so we try to keep them off the furniture totally. The Aussies love to snuggle .. but they stay down for the most part. I have five big sheepskin beds laying around the house for the dogs to snuggle on. They get washed and dried as needed. All the dogs are crate trained also, they all do go into crates when I'm going to be gone .. other than that they have the run of downstairs.

I will say even though all the dogs make things higher maintenance around here .. for the most part, the dog totally leave stuff alone and don't get into things. The Aussies are 3 though and the Bassets are 7 & 8 yo, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Like except for smelling the Christmas tree when it first went up and Rider taking a drink out of the stand ( :p ) they've left it and the ornaments alone. When I put up the garland, everyone needed to stick their noses in it, but once they found nothing food related or exciting, they've let it be. Anything on low shelves gets sniffed, but then ignored. They leave soft stuff like pillows, throws alone .. let a stuff animal get left down stairs though and it's their doom. ;) They have a crate of toys to pick in and they know that's their things. For the most part tennis balls are their favorites and I spend a lot of time tossing them.

Wonderful tips!

Our family uses both the nail clippers and the dremel. I have noticed lately that they're clicking on the floors. It's been over a month since they've had their nails done (bad me!).

Doggy nose prints all over the front window and back door is not looking very "House and Home" worthy, and the mud smears on one of my walls either. It's funny how I have stopped noticing these things until I took a fresh look after all of you guys' replies.

My "babies" are only 15 months old so I've still got alot of puppyhood to go through! They are fairly well trained and well supervised but still tend to get into trouble more than I would like. Duke knows he's not supposed to countersurf yet I catch him in the act 3 times a day, or if not the counter. I can scold him but because this activity has been self rewarding in the past and sometimes the present, he continues to do it. That's the reason I'm afraid for my future sheers or curtains. It's the window the both like to watch the world go by in. Even if they know they're not supposed to do something, temptation seems to get the best of them (Duke especially).

Gldnfan, I never thought about the absorbtion of the wood! Thanks for telling me.
I was thinking that maybe I'll go to HomeSense soon and see if they might have large urns or pots that might be decorative yet safe for the dog food. I am reluctant to use plastic because I'm kind of tired of using pratical but unpretty things. Having had 5 kids, I never had very much PRETTY with my rambunctious bunch until they started growing up and out.

It's funny that my pups who are supposed to be food hounds (Golden Retrievers) don't go into the broken Sterilite container sitting on my kitchen floor. The lid has been cracked and almost broken into 2 so they could easily grab a snack if they wanted to. BUT, if Duke sees a garbage bag, or something of interest on the counter (even a dishtowel) he can't resist it.
Whitdobe, that's exactly the place that I learned to dremel my dogs' nails.. that's a great site isn't it? Mine don't necessarily like the dremellike Dawn's dogs seem to, but they don't fight me on it.

Colorblind, love your pets, and I really love tricolors. Your dog and your cat match! That's really cool.

Alwaysnesting, Neesha looks so gentle and soft :)

Here are my two (turn down the sound.. daughter made a music video). Don't mind the background, I was unpacking and sorting boxes of stuff from my mom on a fold out table in my "supposed to be formal living room".

Here is a link that might be useful: Duke and Sophie

Whitdobe - thanks for posting that link on using the dremel to trim nails. That woman has done a great job of explaining the process.

We have two Aussies, and oh, Zipdee, aren't they wonderful dogs? I am absolutely, passionately in love with them and their paw prints, nose prints, and swirling hair on the floor. We use many of the tips here; we keep towels by the back door to clean their paws, I groom them every few days or so, but, like Zipdee says, they'ere called teflon dogs because they can be dirty and, an hour later, poof, the dirt is gone. (Probably on my floor). Thanks for the tip about the booster bath. That purchase is definitely in our future. Our Cody recently met up with a skunk, and has had to endure numerous baths since and DH and I are way too old to be on our knees in the bath. And, Zipdee, what is it about stuffed animals and Aussies? I have a backyard full of white polyester from stuffed animal innards. I looked outside in horror last week to see my GD's stuffed piggie lying dead in the grass with her insides spread about. I still don't know how Bella got it; I thought it was in the car. Thankfully, she had been ripped along the seam so a little operation fixed her right up. I love this thread and wish others would show their furbabies. Here's mine.

Duke and Sofie are beautiful! As is Neesha and Colorblinds fur babies!

Dee .. your Aussie are such gorgeous dogs, love the different colors! I love your tri-colors prick ear in the picture too, so cute. :) They are wonderful dogs, not only teflon .. but also velcro too. :D Every place we go there's an Aussie shadow close behind, they make great family dogs for kids, very devoted. They are terrible stuffed animal thieves though, there's been a lot of stuffed animal 'carnage' around here. ;) *LOL* Our Aussies are brother and sister, they are rescues. They are red factored, but carry the E Locus Yellow gene. Our male should have been a merle as you can see in his eyes, but the gene masks his merling and makes him a 'rare' *LOL* Yellow Aussie. Our female is a tri-colored red, both are 'fixed' so that gene stops with them.

My DH and the Aussie favorite past time :

Taz, excuse the mess. He was closely supervising the building of the kitchen!

His sister Tallulah, with Dad holding her while she sleeps and smiles:

And catching rain drops in her mouth, Taz wants to know if they taste good. :)

Turn about is fair play and here's the Bassets .. or as my DH calls they the non minding variety. ;) Rider ( the red and white ) is my best friend, I've raised him since a puppy. Kirby is a rescue, he has short, bossy dog syndrome. :) He was in really bad shape when we got him, he'd been severely abused.

Soccer hounds, playing soccer with the girls when they were younger. Bassets are clowns!

Kirby stealing plays :

Kirby says bring it on ..

Talking over strategy :

Laughing .. saying those little girls are going down. ;)

Our newest addition that my DH found wander beside the road and pretty close to death is Lazy Daisy Mae .. or Daisy for short. We went through heart worm treatment with her and she's gained about 25 lbs since we got her. She was a backyard breeder that someone dumped when she could no longer have puppies. She spends her time pretty much just sleeping in any sunbeam she can find now. :)

Her I am a wise old hound dog look. :)

Beautiful pictures, Zipdee, brought a tear to my eye. Love Tallulah's smile and the Bassett's plotting their strategy picture. What a great relief from decorating dilemmas and Christmas stress. Thanks for sharing.
Dee

Oh it is soo good to see Daisy! I remember when you rescued her!
I had forgotten about the dog beds. I bought two xlarge dog beds at Sams Club a couple of years ago. They have a zip off washable cover and are made of shredded memory foam. They were 20 bucks each. They are the first beds not to be destroyed although one corner was tasted a bit. They sleep on the dog beds mainly in the winter.

Oh I love seeing everyone's pups! This has to be bad for my no more dogs rule though, once I see them I want more! :-)

I love seeing the Aussies! We had a wonderful Aussie, and her fur clumps were affectionately termed "tumbling tumbleweeds" in our house. They do have tons of fur but it did clump together nicely for easy pick up! She was such a smarty pants too, but we lost her way too young at the age of 4 1/2 to lymphoma. If you mention Addie to my husband he will still tear up to this day. We feel the same way about the GSD we had before our Aussie.

Since I was so heartbroken over our Aussie when she died, I just felt like I would compare every other Aussie to her so the vet recommended we get a Border Collie. Holy cow was I in for a shock! She is the definition of spaz, and I was used to high energy dogs, but phew... She is what most would term on the high end of the BC scale but still! Thankfully we love her dearly and have learned to live with her multiple personalities and various idiosyncrasies which is a polite way of saying she's crazy! I begged for a second dog when we moved into our new house and my husband would say we already have 22 different dogs rolled into one, why do we need another one?! I finally found the English Shepherd breed, which is somewhere between an Aussie and a BC, very high energy, a little bossy, and a complete shadow like our beloved Aussie was. Since Quinn arrived a year and a half ago, I have been totally smitten! My kids say he's a "mommas boy" and he truly is!

Both the ES and the BC have teflon coats and it's wonderful, though they do require frequent grooming and lots and lots of exercise, both mental and physical. I wouldn't trade either of them for all the money in the world!

Thanks for sharing your pics everyone. Beside decorating and kitchen pictures I love looking at doggie pictures!

Quinn doing his best "Blue Steel" look as a puppy

Happy puppy!

Quinn and his favorite big sister Kylee on the right. They look like bother and sister even though they are different breeds.

Whadda ya mean I can't be on this chair? But I look so good on here!

Kylee the crazy BC! A rare moment when she's not moving.

Keep the pictures coming!

Kat :)

Happy puppy picture, great!!! BTW, Zipdee, have you posted that picture of your DH before? I've seen it somewhere. It looks like it was in the paper. Did it go AP?
Dee

Love seeing all the pictures!!!

Here's a pic of my 1st baby (the Sib Husky) w/ one of my kids. We lost her just last month and miss her dearly. Zipdee - Love the rollerblading pic. We did tons of rollerblading w/ her in her early years. We'd hang on for dear life and let go of the lease if we passed a pond with ducks. An amazing dog, with a lot of spirit!

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Another household with 2 dogs ... husky/lab mix and shephard/herding dog mix. I also live on a farm, so mud is always a consideration.

I have hardwoods covered in area rugs, which I just steam cleaned last weekend, and realized I need to do that more often. I put Pergo in the new additions, it's so easy to care for with dogs and cats ... and put Marmoleum in the kitchen, which is even easier!

When I was having the kitchen re-done, I had them take one of the sliding shelves out of the new cupboards and create space for dog food bags and garbage.

I also re-did the bathroom at the same time as the kitchen and had them take out the tub, and created a very large shower with a hand held extra shower head, which works great to wash dirty dogs.

Here is a pic of Dakota, now an older dog ... fresh from a dip in the pond ... which is another way of washing them in the summer.
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Here he is on the 2 dog beds I got at Target. I pile them on top of each other and he sleeps on both of them.
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Here's Lily, also after a swim ...
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And here she is shaved for the summer ... this summer was the first time I shaved her, and she loved it ... much cooler for her ... house was cleaner too.
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Zipdee mentioned the furminator and I just can't emphasize how great they work! Before I got one I'd always used a zoom groom and that removed what I thought was a decent amount of fur when I groomed them so when I first used the furminator I was flat out astonished. It's a great tool but you have to be careful not to overuse it. I do my kids in the backyard and I figure that every bit of fur I get off them out there is fur that won't be dropping off in the house!

Here is a link that might be useful: Furminator Info

And since we're sharing photos, these are my two!

I got carried away w/ all the photos and forgot that the point was decorating tips. :) I don't have anything to add other than agreeing w/ the furminator. Thanks for the tips.

I've been lurking & love seeing everyone's fur-babies. I hope I figured out this pic posting business. Here's mine,
Susan

Here is a link that might be useful:

This is my love-bug ; )

Wow! What a dog! I'd like to reply to each & every one but need to run. I have a soft spot for bassets (hence the name) but that Newfie is amazing! Tomorrow i will comment on others-like Zipdees bassets & all the gorgeous labs & aussies. Also I need instructions on posting pics as mine seems to have posted the album-anyhoo I plan to hang out here often if you'll have me,
Susan

I didn't mention my dog bed in the first thread, but I got mind from Crypton and it's amazing. The fabric can't be penetrated by liquid and after having it for a few months, I think that also applies to smells!

Crypton also makes throws out of the same fabrics that you can put on your furniture. Baxter isn't allowed on any furniture without permission and since I got a new sofa, the only item he's allowed on is the bed. However, when I had my old sofa, he was only allowed on it if there was a blanket down.

As I said in the last thread, when we have grooming sessions, I alternate between the Zoom Groom and the Furminator because Baxter enjoys the Zoom Groom so much! When we have brush outs, I take an old sheet and lay it down, put my legs under it, and Bax sits between them. When it's over, it's much easier to scoop up all the loose hair that way. :)

Oh, and taking the food out of the bags lets oxygen contact it and that leads to faster spoiling. As ugly as it is, I put the whole bag into one of those rolling plastic bins and leave it in the laundry room.

Whole Dog Journal says the best way to store dog food is in its original bag, which is placed in a clean, airtight container to prevent insect or rodent contamination. If you feel you must dump the food into another container, make sure you buy a container made of FDA -approved food-grade plastic. All other plastic containers can leach vitamin C out of the food into the plastic, speeding oxidation of the food and reducing its nutrient content, and reducing it's shelf life.

More storage ideas: http://www.dogster.com/forums/Food_and_Nutrition/thread/324629/2

I like the idea of keeping the big bag in a cool, dry place and only opening it up once in a while to fill a smaller storage container. Seems like a way to have a "nice" storage container that can be easily tucked away in a cabinet.

Well, if we're doing show and tell...here are my fur babies, all rescues from some less-than-ideal situations.

Sharona, my recently departed beauty (on a papasan chair cushion - it was going in the trash anyways):

Dallas, the husbands pooch. She's part pit bull, part dalmation, and all love (believe it or not!) Despite having the shortest hair, she's the biggest shedder and her hair is so needle-like it seems to embed itself in every fabric it comes into contact with.

Moe, also recently departed. My family is shrinking :(

Itchy, curious is an understatement:

This is the best post ever! I love all these beautiful canine and feline pictures.....but Charlieinnj, I am in total AWE of your absolutely stunning Newfie. I own a Berner, but my heart breed would be a Newfie.

" sometimes bring bits of leaves and dirt inside with them that got on the sides of the sofa.) ok sometimes mud) "

lol!

I love seeing all the doggie pics!

we had a stuffed animal massacre yrs ago also. dd forgot to shut her bedroom door. we came home to find guts and body parts everywhere!

really clean homes aren't all they're cracked up to be... pretty cold and furless to me. my sister has one of those. A nice to visit but i wouldn't want to live there kind.

colorblind1961 ~
I owned a Berner before I got my Newfy so it goes without saying that there's a special place in my heart for Berners!

What beauties... I love to look at these post...

Here is my Charlie Dog:

We love him will all our heart. He has been thru a lot. Broken leg as a 13 week old pup:

Allergies that are terribly. He is now 2

We use a rubbermaid container for dog food and it fits nicely in the laundry room. He normally uses his sleeping mats as stuffed animals and rips the stuffing out of them. We have Pergo in the Kitchen but recently put hardwood in the LR, DR and hall--now it has tons of scratches and of course is dark wood--I just toss it up to distressing it. I do have to run the sweeper or dust mop daily. Charlie loves to sleep on the sofa or in our bed--he is a snuggler..

lobotome,
Thanks for starting this thread! Everyone has given better tips for beautiful homes than i could have as I just learned to lower my standards to fit with my animals. lol

Like donka I do use covers on the furniture-I like cheap fleece throws because they seem to grab the fur & are easy to launder.
whitdobe, thanks for the dremel link. I have to take Mr. Peabody to the vet for trims as his nails are so tough it takes 2 hands to squeeze the clippers. maybe i could learn to dremel his. Your dobies are so regal looking!

alwaysnesting-Neesha is a dollbaby- my two dogs & 2 cats are also rescues.

Cooperbailey-I remember seeing your goldies on another forum-maybe Cottage gardening. They are beauties & after bassets may be my favorite breed although I've only ever had mixes with goldens in there somewhere.

Zipdee-bassets are indeed clowns. Mr. Peabody keeps me laughing & his housemate, Molly thinks she is a basset. She tries to howl/bay & sounds like someone strangling a goose! The Aussies look very active & pretty to boot.

lesmis-Kylee & Quinn are gorgeous. I am not familar with English shepherds but will Google them later. My mom had a BC & she was great, except for herding Mom to bed about 8pm.

crazyhouse-your husky is lovely & so sorry for your loss.

panghatten Dakota & Lily look so happy-how nice they get to swim!

donka-so sorry you lost Sharona & Moe. Dallas & Itchy may help with the loss.
avaclark-Charlie Dog looks like he's over the worst of his miseries.

To whomever I left out- I'll do bettr. I have really loved all pics!

Wow this has turned into a really fun thread! I'd love to give all these pups a snuggle, they're all so sweet :). I'm having such fun looking at them all and wishing I could meet them. I'm in love with the Dobes! I know I couldn't handle one, but I can sure appreciate the beauty.T hey look like they belong in royalty... I know nothing about championship lines, but to my untrained eye, they look it to me.

I haven't been to HomeSense yet, but I do plan on taking a look sometimes during my christmas shopping trips. I'm still bent on getting something pretty for the food. I'm really tired of walking all the way to the front of the house to get the food, and I know that if we separated the food into smaller containers, they'd never get refills and we'd be walking all the way up to the front of the house again LOL!

I might look for a storage cabinet that will fit nicely in my dining room? At least it's right beside the kitchen and not so far to go. I wish I'd known I was going to get dogs when we remodelled the kitchen, I'd have gotten a special cabinet for the pups made.