Muddy Paws Question!

[coco-bean]

My boyfriend and I "were" going to move in with his dad because i owe alot of money for hospital bills and my student loans are going to start coming in next month and it would be very hard to make it through christmas time without moving, but we were almost finish moving stuff into his house when he (his dad) finally got on my very last nerve...he's very rude, thinks he knows all, and offends me often(about my owing money issues) so i take pretty good offense to it...but anyways away from my soap opera...we got all out stuff moved back in and one of my problems is....the place we rent...well the people who we rent it from waiting until very last minute to move the leaves, it got really cold so the ground frooze but it's been warm for over a week now and so our entire back yard is a mudd pitt! of course having puppies they run, rolls and dig in the mud which isnt a big deal until they come in the house and one of them see's something on the other side of the house and takes off running....soon coming to a sliding hault on the carpet....so all the mud that was caked on to their feet in now on the carpet! it's hard to wipe each and every paw off when they come inside, especially when they all three run up the steps at the same time and not a single one waits in the kitchen long enough for me to even turn around! is there any idea's anyone can help me with to help save my carpet from being so muddie and even sometimes has poop rolled into one?(poop because their poop kinda blends into the mud now) I've set some planks of plywood down so that could be somewhat of a rug, i also have a rug right when you walk into the house but sometimes coco gets going so fast up the steps that she walks right over it! is there any kind of rug or matting that could help pick some of it off their feet or anything! thanks for all the help...and trust me...my carpet appreciates any help as well!

[Love That Collie]

I have 2 Colllies, lots of long fur.
I have a 2 gallon watering can (plastic).....like the ones you water the plants with, with round the sprinkle head. (Can get at Wal-Mart)

I fill it with warm water and just a TINY bit of puppy shampoo, just a drop or two. I sprinkle their feet, legs and tummies off etc at the backdoor outside. I keep a stack of old bath towels for them and when I'm done sprink-ling I towel off and send inside one at a time. I have done this for years and have never had any muddy paws on my LIGHT beige carpeting........I have white rugs in the bathroom....LOL It is really easy to sprinkle the legs and/or feet.

[mruffruff]

Since they come into the kitchen, put a gate at the other end of the room. Then you can clean them up BEFORE they hit the carpets.

[borzoimom]

Okay- I ran into this before. What I had was a bucket of water, and dipped feet into the water. If its warm, they should not object once they get use to it. It rinses off the dirt. Then I got a few bathroom type rugs with the thicker the pile the better. This gets the water off of the feet. Those cheap bath throw rugs are a life saver.
As far as the yard, hay bales help tremendously! And cheap.