Mud - HOW do you manage?!

[snowbunny]

So we’re on holiday at the moment, as I’ve said elsewhere. We’re in La Garrotxa region of Catalonia, which is beautiful and lush. Meaning, it rains a lot
It has barely rained this week, though, and we’ve had beautiful weather for both walking and sitting in the sunshine reading, but there are still plenty of muddy puddles around.
I have The Hippo, but now also a certain Spanish lady had taken on the mantle of Hippo In Training. I’ll save the pictures for when I get home, but suffice to say that there has been a lot of mud.

I appreciate that with four dogs, it pushes the workload a little higher than if I just had one or two, but honestly, it’s such a palarva to wash and dry after every walk, especially when that’s multiple times a day. It took about an hour after this morning’s walk (there might have been a pool of slurry that a certain yellow thing decided to roll in). I’m pretty sure if I lived in a place where it was so often muddy, I’d only manage one off-lead walk a day. There aren’t enough hours in the day as it is!

 

[Jacqui-S]

if I lived in a place where it was so often muddy, I’d only manage one off-lead walk a day. There aren’t enough hours in the day as it is!

Yup.
Which is a major reason sophie's pale doodles are not my cup of tea.....

 

[Ashley]

I've given up this spring (and I have only one!)...I cover beds and furniture with old blankets and give her a regular rub down when we get home...easier to wash floors, blankets and walls once a week than a dog every day (or in your case, many dogs ). I spring cleaned my white kitchen and I guess last week's towel rub down didn't help because one shake and my kitchen was white with brown speckles...if you don't laugh, you'll cry!

 

[snowbunny]

Sneak peek. Shadow this morning. What you can’t see is his back where he’d rolled in a pool of slurry. This muck is from jumping in the font afterwards and digging all the sediment up.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Oh but the Joyfulness he had doing it!!

 

[SwampDonkey]

I always find a cleanish pond or brook to chuck em on the way home . Failing that i use a watering can to wash off the worse mud. All are then rubbed down and popped into a drying coat. I had 3 filthy beasts all loved being rubbed down and would groan with pleasure. All know/knew to wait by the back door until they have been wash down and rough dried. If they've just got a bit of mud I let them dry(usually on the walk home) and brush it off with a horse brush. Rory so funny he comes in and gets his own towel off the radiator.

 

[snowbunny]

Ah yes, I had forgotten about the beauty of drying coats. And all mine so beautifully and usefully packed away in Andorra

 

[SwampDonkey]

I would also prepare the house to receive wet dogs. Leave towels on radiator cover furniture in fleece throws and limit access to other rooms in the house. I lucky I come in the back door and we go about into the tiled kitchen. My guys are all trained to show me their bellies so I can give em.a good rub.

 

[Beanwood]

Ahh....we had wood floors, tiles, and leather furniture. I have kinda got used to the mud splashes around the cottage!
I have to say the Ruff and Tumble coats are brilliant ( I guess you didn't want to hear that though! )

Muddy Bramble!

 

[Atemas]

Oh deep joy - muddy dogs. Only really have the one these days. I rub as much as possible off with microfibre towels - only use the robe when really wet as Red is no longer fond of it. I tend to then let her dry and the mud drops off as dust. Then the never ending vacuuming........

 

[SwampDonkey]

This is Rory he's wet everyday a lot of people have never seen him dry

 

[Cupcase]

My dream was a utility room, never happened. Straight in to kitchen.

I now have a small trough that both dogs will step in for dirty paws and the hose ( my dogs are tough) with cold water.
Dog towels are rolled up in a fancy basket just inside the door, dogs get dried outside, if it's chucking it down, the drying coats are left beside towels and put on before entering my white kitchen .

My dream really is to immigrate to somewhere there's less rain and mud. Every single walk in the winter involves mud, lots of mud.

 

[HAH]

I always find a cleanish pond or brook to chuck em on the way home . Failing that i use a watering can to wash off the worse mud. All are then rubbed down and popped into a drying coat. I had 3 filthy beasts all loved being rubbed down and would groan with pleasure. All know/knew to wait by the back door until they have been wash down and rough dried. If they've just got a bit of mud I let them dry(usually on the walk home) and brush it off with a horse brush. Rory so funny he comes in and gets his own towel off the radiator.

This is our strategy, find a cleanish patch of water for rinsing post-mud. Doubles up as a boot wash if needed. We drive to most walks, so vet bed and towels in the back of the car deal with the worst, then if needed a hose or watering can in the garden - although this is mainly reserved for fox poo and slurry. A good towelling sorts most stuff, but we’re lucky Kipper doesn’t have skin issues (touch wood) or I guess we’d be a lot more careful.

 

[HAH]

My dream was a utility room, never happened.

One day I shall have a utility room. And a larder...

 

[Cupcase]

One day I shall have a utility room. And a larder...

Don't laugh but I had a larder, well a cupboard with a window but 3 kids one dog and a tiny bathroom, which backed onto the 'larder', we stole it for more space in the bathroom.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I don't do mud unless I get invited somewhere where there is some and I feel I can't refuse. Otherwise I don't do it. I do sand. I can happily have piles of sand in my house or in my car, but mud...no way. I'm going to blame this not on my laziness but the fact that it only rains for a month or so a year in California.

 

[HAH]

I don't do mud unless I get invited somewhere where there is some and I feel I can't refuse. Otherwise I don't do it. I do sand. I can happily have piles of sand in my house or in my car, but mud...no way. I'm going to blame this not on my laziness but the fact that it only rains for a month or so a year in California.

Ooh, I’m the opposite! Mud over sand every time

 

[snowbunny]

Yeah, here lots of the walks we’re allowed on don’t have clean water. The reason being, this otherwise flat region tends to be rather - um - “cliffy” around the river. And J is a teeny tiny touch terrified of wearing new shoes because the extra leather makes for too much height
The fonts are a bit dry, so full of sediment, so the puddle-wallowers have nowhere to wash off. And after the muck-spread field this morning, even a shower later, they all still stink

 

[Jacqui-S]

You will just need to anaesthetise yourself Fiona

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

And after the muck-spread field this morning, even a shower later, they all still stink

Just try to think of it as "Eau de Catalunya"?