LOL guys, well you've all cheered me up if nothing else, at least I'm not alone ;o) I guess really this is our first autumn/winter as he was only a baby back then so we scooped him up and plonked him in a bucket of warm soapy water. Life seemed much simpler then!

Woody always has that ''damp'' smell under his ears, as if it never really dries. Ewwww.

Lizzy, I just passed out at the thought of 4!!

Max, how do you hose them then dry them? Just tie them to the table and give them a quick burst? I wonder if this might be my best plan. Alternatively, I might get a sheep dip installed at the front of the house and run him through it on the way in ;o)

..shock horror !
I nearly chose a white kitchen but decided on pine instead because it blends in well with mud

I love that smell though!!!

Some friends had Berneses. They took 2 days to dry.

I'm here!!!!

Okay...with two FCRs I don't wear white clothes very often for a start, not with their hairs. My poor son has to wear white shirts to school but I try hard to de hair them...not that it helps that he has to give the doglets a cuddle before he goes.

Now then, the mud.
Oh my.
Cosmo comes in from a walk and is VERY happy. FCRs are somewhat reknowned for their tail action...so as soon as he comes into the porch, there is mud everywhere, all over us (well more than there was already) and big muddy tail marks all over the walls/door and windows (and Tango who isn't best pleased about it). This is aside from the mud that sort of gloops off him onto the floor. We take him straight into the kitchen where we wipe him over. We use those orange clothes that you are supposed to wet. We have many. We have one rinsing as one is being used to wipe him over, he lOVES it...cue moving, wet muddy FCR wagging his tail and moaning loudly in pleasure. Takes about 10 to 15 minutes of rinsing the cloth and wiping to get the worst off. The rest sort of falls off wherever he lies when he dries. I brush him when he's dry too. I tend to confine him to the kitchen if he is really bad until he is dry.

My walls are now all washable. We have washable hard flooring in all but one room dopwnstairs, the carpet in the other room is ancient and manky and nothing to get precious about.

I hoover and mop on a daily basis (if it is wet and yuk I have learned, through experience, to do it AFTER my mud magnet is back from his long walk and dry. My walls are wiped down in the porch/hall and kitchen at least weekly.

It is a full time job keeping on top of the mud. I look like a scarecrow a lot of the time, as does OH, but I don't care. I am not very house proud. My house is clean and I am told it doesn't smell of dog at all...but if there is the odd mark here and there..
I am lucky to have two quite large reception rooms...which means one is kept tidy during the day and in the evening we all go in to relax. It has no kid or dog toys in there...well not til around 7pm most nights anyway, then it does. It's nice to keep a room cleanish ready to slob in at night.Don't get me wrong I am not bothered too much by that room either...the dogs are on the sofas etc with us...I just like to keep it closed up until the evening. The other room is multi purpose and we sit in the kitchen a lot (which is why Cosmo doesn't mind drying in there).


Ooooo I've gone on.
Living with a mud magnet can be hard...but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love him for what he is and I am really not the worlds most houseproud person anyway. Yes, my house is clean...but thats it...there are more important things to do than tidy and keep everywhere spotless. I am not one of life's fashionable people either...muddy jeans/walking boots and raincoat with dog slobber on are my normal attire. If I was houseproud or fashion proud (if you see what I mean) I wouldn't have got the dog I did!!!!!


I also go through at least one hoover a year thanks to the hair/mud/water.....