I also wondered if you'd been tested Marti. You might think about it. I'm an allergy sufferer and I was somewhat allergic to cats. I have now been successfully desensitized to everything except MOLD. I am currently taking allergy shots for that.

Did the sinus problems just start recently? If so, it could possibly be some type pollen and not the cat.

tina

No, I've never been tested. I've never had any symptoms until lately. Dh & dd#2 have suffered for years. I don't break out, I don't sneeze, I don't cough. I just have sinus congestion and a slight sore throat. My internist said allergies, and maybe so. I'm not convinced. If it continues though, I am going to look into allergy testing. Wonder if they test for mopping and doing laundry. I'd love to be allergic to that.

It doesn't matter if I have allergies or not though. This cat will never be a house cat. He has tamed considerably but he still has anger issues when he doesn't get exactly what he wants, if we stop petting when he wants petting, or if we pet when he doesn't want it. I can't get him to stop scratching on anything and everything or trying to spray either. I've got scratching posts everywhere and he uses them, but he also thinks everything else is at his disposal. He is quite content to live in the garage with days spent mostly outside. He gets irritable if he isn't allowed to go outside so our next house will have a cat run so I don't have to keep an eye on him when he is out.

It sounds like you know what your cat likes and needs. If he is content, I wouldn't worry!

My allergy symptoms are the same as yours - more sinus pressure, etc. With an extreme mold reaction - which I seem to get about once a year - I get somewhat wheezy, bronchial tubes get irritated. I don't know how many times I've been tested for asthma - I don't have it. When I get that bad of a reaction, I need a round of prednisone - and that clears it up.

Haha! I'd like to be allergic to some of the household duties too! Although my sweet hubby doesn't want me to mow anymore, and I did kind of enjoy that!

tina

the title of the thread caught my eye..
as this isn't a place I frequent.

I had to put my 12 year old Lizzie Girl down
on Monday. brutal.

today I still havent vaccumed the bedroom..
golden hairs all over the carpet.
don't know when I'll bring myself to do it.

treasure your pets...even though they go
to a good place..they leave huge gaps when
they leave.

energy rater la - I'm so sorry for your loss. I know what you mean about not wanting to vacuum. Do it only when you feel ready.

Loved reading this thread. I've had pets my whole life. Past and present, they are a part of me. I've never been known for a spotless house, but I am known for my love of animals. Plus my dog adores me no matter what. That's enough for me!

To energy rater_la: you have no condolences over the loss of your precious Lizzie Girl. Our family included a Golden for 15 years, when Honey, (because she was our boy Dobie Prince's "honey") got suddenly ill and had to be put to sleep. It all happened in just a 1f2-hour time span and in retrospect I am glad because I could not have looked Honey in the eye each and every day knowing she had a terrible disease that was taking her life and taking her away from us. After a period of time we knew it was time to bring another dog into our family. No dog will ever replace Honey or Prince before her or Pearl before them. But at the pound we fell in love at first sight with a greyhound mix, who we named Remy (hoping some day we'd take him to live with us in St. Remy de Provence, one of our favorite little cities in France) and who is so special and so crazy fun in his own different way that he has filled a hole in our heart, not the one where Honey resides forever, but very nearby. I hope someday you'll be thinking of a new family member to bring new and different joy into your life. Until then just be with Lizzie Girl in your thoughts and in your prayers. You'll know when it's time. God Bless.

I feel so much better after reading this thread! We are pretty much rescue patsies and never turn away a four-footed creature who takes up residence or is brought to us by people who know darned well we can't say no. In this house, cat hair is a condiment and dog hair passes for carpeting. No matter how hard I try, my house is never going to pass the white glove test.

energy_rater_la, I know exactly how you feel. When Bogie died several years ago, I left the muddy dog prints on the door and cried when someone helping me clean wiped them off. I loved that dog soooooo much. I love the ones I have now, but they occupy different spots in my heart. Bogie's spot remains his forever.

jonan!!! I know you, lady! Please e-mail me and let's catch up. So glad to hear your babies are all OK, pink or not. :)

Back to the subject: The thing I wish for most of all is a whole house vacuum. And a kitchen with a tile floor and a huge grate with an Insinkerator in the middle. Oh, and Teflon walls. Plus, a Roomba in every room. (Well, maybe not the last; they don't work too well on Saltillo floors.)

energy rater la, so sorry for your recent loss, most here can relate and we know, it really hurts.
Years ago we had a Dalmatian and a pit bull/lab mix. Loved those boys tremendously, but the shedding was intense. About a YEAR after they were both gone, I was vacuuming a couch and found a dog hair on the underside of a cushion. I had to sit down for a good cry on the spot. So what did we do? Bought a yellow lab! Yikes! DH says our outfits are not properly accessorized without dog hair. Not sure our house will ever be free of it, but that's ok. Spotless homes are over rated anyway...

When I wrote on this post back in November we had just adopted a small terrier mix through a rescue group. They said she was low/no shedding ... yes, of course she was, because she had been shaved down! LOL. We let her hair grow out over the winter and it got long and wiry ... and we found the long white/gray hairs everywhere. I just had her shaved down again getting ready for the CA summer and it is so much better. No more long white hairs all over my black yoga pants and the best part, she feels soft and clean with the short hair cut. Might keep it this way and buy her a sweater for next winter.

ERLA, sorry to hear about Lizzie Girl.

We have a dog for almost 7 years now, when he’s still a puppy he used to grab things, from slippers to any things he can easily reach then destroy them one by one! Until we almost decided to give him to our friend but my mom doesn’t want to, as time went by this habit of him gone, whew! But it didn’t stop there, our dog used to urinate on the floor, rug and event in our carpet! so we bought a dog house but he keeps on crying especially at night begging us to let him come in, and we have no choice but to do it because we won’t be able to sleep as well as the neighbors. We just clean up his mess which happened to be our routine already, until my aunt introduced a superhydrophobic formula (Always Dry) which repels water or any liquid. so when our dog urinates especially on our carpet, we just get a toilet paper and water is being absorbed easily which leaves the surface dry still. it just made our daily routine easier.

My Grandma used to say: "A spotless house is the sign of a wasted life.' ;o)

Keeping a house immaculate takes a lot of time, and I think many people would rather devote that time to other activities, I know I would.

I am a neat freak and don't find it hard to keep up with the daily cleaning three dogs brings. Monthly grooming helps and I am good friends with my Swifter. What is hard for me is that my 16 year old dog is incontinent. She is on medication and that helps but there is still the occassional accident. We just replaced the couch a couple days ago. She still takes a mile walk everyday and enjoys her life so it is just something we are living with.

She is playing with the puppy as I write this. When she succumbs to old age I know this household will never be the same and we will be devestated.

thanks everyone!

I've washed Liz's bedding & have to put it away
somewhere...sometime.

Teter...the dog who was abandoned next door has
been my dog for almost 3 years now. he sleeps
inside & comes in & out during the day...but really
wants to be an outside dog!
he brings strays home. Chow who had been abandoned for about a year..now lives under my house.
she wouldn't even come on the back porch during our sleet storms this past winter.

Teter & Chow play all day outside..and when Teter
comes inside...he looks for Lizzie. He checks all the rooms..and all their spots outside.
He will adjust..but it is taking him some time.
much too early to think about another dog though...
instead I spend more time with T inside playing with him.

I no longer have gold fur everywhere...and the puppy
cemetary/daisy flower bed has gotten bigger.
I like to think that Lizzie Girl has gone home to her real
mother..my friend Leslie who died & left LIz to me.

sooner or later Teter will rescue another stray. seems
I never pick my dogs..they seem to be sent to me.

in Dec Teter brought home a pregnant catahola.
she had her 7 puppies (beautiful blue brown eyed pups)
unfortunately mom dog would forage for food..although she ate well here. she made the puppies sick via her milk. I lost 5 of the 7. the last two I took to the no kill shelter & they were sent to florida and adopted within a week.
I had spent weeks trying to find Mom dog's owner...when I finally figured out what was happening to the puppies..I had to seperate them. when that didn't work..I took Mom dog to animal control. (no kill shelter couldn't take her)...
I cried like a baby taking her there..on the day she was to be put down...I found her owner. they reclaimed her.

so kind of a sad/happy story.

even with all the heartache..I'll always have dogs. doesn't matter if the floor has dog fur on it.
doesn't matter if I have to let the dogs finish their digging in the flower bed before I can plant.
what they give is worth the inconvience...and the heartache when they leave us all too soon.

So sorry about Lizzie, energy rater.

You are so right.. what they give us is worth the inconvenience and mess. SO worth it.

Sorry about Lizzie :(

I long ago gave up on trying to keep my home dog hair free. As long as our food doesn't have any dog hair, I think I'm doing an OK job. My yard will always have dead spots that I can reseed only to be peed on again. So I have to accept my imperfect home for the love of a dog, a husband, a toddler and one on the way.

Here is my girl. She is a Jack Russell/Olde English mix(!). This is one of maybe 3 things she has ever chewed. She is normally a very good girl. She was apparently showing us how she felt about being confined to the spare room. She later got full run of the house and has never chewed anything since including my daughter's abundant stuffed toys.

I have a sign in my kitchen "A house is not a home without a dog." The love they give is worth doing a little extra house-cleaning.

I have found an answer for shedding.. or at least it helps a lot.

We have owned 3 golden retrievers, for a time we had all three. I asked Stanley Steamer why my rugs got so dirty and they said that it is the dogs lying on them. I thought I was doing something to make them dirty. Now I only have on old girl, Allie. I have always said she could make a new dog every week with all the extra hair she was shedding. We use to spend a fortune on grooming but found it only made their itching worse even when I asked them to use only my shampoos. I was constantly treating her for hot spots which I blamed on the cat bringing in fleas from the horse barn next door or what ever other animal he was spending his time with

But now I have found a partial solution anyway. I bath her if she is itching with Malaseb, which is an antifungal. I then put on some hydrocortisone lotion made to leave on dogs.. I keep hydrocortisone and miconazole cream available if she gets a rash. The real treatment that seems to work really well, is after her bath with Malaseb, antifungal... I then apply some hydorcortisone cream that they have as a leave on rinse.. DAH DAH but the biggest help has been using coconut oil on her when ever she gets a bath and in between if she has an itchy spot. I know everyone is going "yuck what a oily hairy dogs.. but actually it has worked really well. I make sure she is on a towel or blanket when applied and leave down some old towel and throw rugs for her to lie on. I also clean her sheet everyweek.
The coconut oil does make her hair appear oily but it soaks in after a day or two.. and they smell more like coconuts then dirty dogs.. It is important to brush them really good when applying the coconut oil and maybe once the next day.. it they seem really oily you can brush them more to get the oil distributed in the skin and hair.

My dyson is not completely full of hair and I don't have to vacuum the rugs everyday..

And to those the crate their dogs even in adulthood and won't let them in the children's room or other parts of the house.. I just wonder why you need a dog anyway. I can understand saving a space like the living room but the bedrooms is one of the places you do much of your bonding. I will just never have rugs again in places that
my dog hang out.

Dogs are not for people who can 't deal with a little dirt.

lelamsk, different strokes for different folks. Not even a month here and making judgment statements about other posters!

Myself, my bedroom bonding is reserved for my spouse. And according to the rescue group we used, we got top reviews/compliments as dog owners.

I used to be that way...but age and learning whats important made me change...We currently have THREE Collies...and a long haired cat...our boys are gone to their own places now so it's just hubster and I and the animals...the house stays relatively clean because we keep four DYSONS going on a pretty regular basis...i personally would rather be spending time running with the doggies and chasing after my grandbaby...like someone else said...I don't want people to remember me for my clean house...I want them to remember how welcoming I was to my home, my love of family and animals...I envy people with picture perfect homes...but in reality are they really as happy as I am?

I enjoyed reading all the thoughts and hints. I think I have come to peace with this (not that it upset me that much!) I like the idea of "clean enough". I'm not a spotless housekeeper and never will be. And I can't imagine life without a dog! Those who said they're so worth it are so right.

Dangit! Just went in to the LR after writing the above, and she peed on the rug last night. Of course we have company tonight. :(

(she hasn't done that for ages- she wanted to go out in the middle of the night last night but there was a skunk out there and I'm pretty sure she'd go right after it (she's a beagle) even though she got sprayed several months ago.

Glad I have some nature's miracle left over--

Pets teach us to live with imperfection. That's a good thing. My shihtzu is 4 and still has "accidents" on the carpeting, Very rarely, so do my cats --and we know how hard it is to remove cat urine and feces. I have found a wonderful product online. It's a powder called "urine out". Got it at planeturine.com. I spray with any of the organic sprays (Nature's Miracle or any of the other ones) and brush the powder in. Vacuum when dry. Sometimes I have to repeat the process. It is the best odor and stain remover I have ever used and I have tried them all over the last 30 years. Just so everyone knows, I am in no way connected with planet urine. One of my daughter's teachers introduced me to it years' ago.

I had to laugh about this post. Because of memories.

I grew up with a Great Pyrenees and an AF Col of a dad who could not afford to show up with all that fur on his uniform. We brushed Daddy most mornings!

As long as nobody's catching anything from the kitchen and I can find whatever household item I'm looking for, I don't worry about the rest.

Since this post has gotten so long, and yes have read it all. I love that there are so many animal lovers. And a couple of questions.

What is with the furminator? Mine is worthless. Does it only work on specific coats?

What alternatives to dog soap? I have used Prel for years and it has never caused an issue with many breads through long lives.

Fall and Spring are norms for more hair with undercoats coming and going. My Therapy Dog trainer suggest baths once every 3 mos. Brushing is a daily program both for furry dog visits and important for a Therapy dog to learn patience. Do some dogs just have an odor needing more baths? Or am I used to dogs, am old and don't smell this?

The AKC beds are long lasting and can be washed completely in the washer. I also vacuum it when doing the rugs. This bed is well loved, right shape and stays that way. Threw out those awful beds with stuffing I have no clue where they got it. Are others finding this stuffing in the newer beds too? It is awful and wondering if they use it for toys for both animals and children. Should be outlawed or tagged for content.

My rescue is a heeler and sheds as much as past yellow lab. At least during the season change. A good grooming/bath solves the problem. My gc's are worse about bringing "stuff" in from outside.

Does anyone live on a farm? We had 4 dogs back when and never had a problem with hair in the house. Brushed outside when needed, but wonder if their joy of running through fields and barn hay, being part of farm work, cut down on this. They were indoor dogs too.

Loved the pic of tearing up a room. I only had this once, a feather pillow which must have jumped into my dogs face. There was 2 inches of feathers on the floor and bed. Amazing how many feathers can shoved into a pillow.

"Animals have a special place in our heart that no human can touch"

Having a pet or a dog/cat in your home is part of having a messy house. But you can keep your home clean and organize if you just discipline them. Just visit the source link below to find out more..

Here is a link that might be useful: Dogster Forum

I'm not one of these dog or cat haters but I remember as a high school kid visiting the my friend's house and you could smell 'dog' and yes, dogs have a dog smell from the street.

Likewise I've known people that throw diapers all over the floor for their dogs. Well of course I don't say anything in those situations as I am a guest but whew.

And finally I remember stopping at Sete on the way back from Andorra with a friend to go into the Mediterranean Sea and you practically had to play Twister when walking in that town to avoid stepping in dog doo.

People need to avoid puppy mills and research what a breed was bred for. My mom's Jack Russell killed a fawn that wandered into the yard. You know how small a Jack Russell is? Trust me, a Jack Russell filling a fawn while the fawn is weakly butting it's head to try and scare off the dog isn't cute.

You want Lassie or a Toy Dog if you must have one. By toy dog, something like Lisa Douglass carried around on Green Acres. Not a pit bull or a guard dog. Modern safety and guard electronics are much more helpful to police than a dog that can only bark stupidly at the police and potentially bite them.

Needless to say I don't own a dog or cat.

you've put all too visual of a picture in my head
that I'd pay to be rid of Argo

the great thing about having dogs is
the sheer enjoyment of life that they share with their
people.

I'm going to go back into my yard & tend my
garden. and the dogs Teter & Chow will play,
sleep, and poop anywhere on my two acres
they care to.

Agro I currently have 4 large dogs and one small one. And a cat. (And a bird and a few hermit crabs).
I have the perfect solution. Old age.
Unless I'm driving I don't wear eyeglasses, so dog hair is less apparent.

I do sweep and vacuum and brush them outside. It's all one can do.

And Agro, you are incorrect about modern safety. There is no question that if an opportunist thief is in the neighborhood, he or she will likely pass up a house where a number of large dogs can be heard in favor of a home with no dogs.
My dogs keep me entertained, keep me company, help keep me safe, bark when people are nearby (I am hearing impaired).
They give so much to us.

argo, you have lots of advice for us dog owners...

lucille you have quite a houseful there! :)

technicolor I will be checking out the AKC beds. Even though she sleeps with us at night, she likes to nap in her bed during the day- also naps on top of sofas and in a certain chair she likes-- who am I kidding, I will never have a spotless house!

I just happened to look at this thread again today, and saw this:

"And to those the crate their dogs even in adulthood and won't let them in the children's room or other parts of the house.. I just wonder why you need a dog anyway. I can understand saving a space like the living room but the bedrooms is one of the places you do much of your bonding."

Since I am one of "those", and I found the tone to be a tad (just a tad) judgmental, I read it to my dog and asked her how it struck her. She felt I should respond....

We live on 9+, largely wooded acres in CT. As in not terribly far from Lyme, Connecticut. As in ... Lyme disease. We have the ideal confluence of factors to get Lyme disease, and in fact our dog has had it more than once, despite our vigilance.

None of us humans have contracted Lyme disease, which is good, because it is easily treated in dogs, not easily treated in humans. I had heard horror stories, and then saw one, when an acquaintance showed up at an event with half of her face paralyzed, from Lyme Disease. It has been a few years and this condition is better but not resolved. It has made me take LD very seriously.

The best way to keep from getting Lyme disease is to stay indoors and not have pets. Alternatively, dress carefully for walks in the woods, check yourself for ticks, and keep your pets away from things that might harbor ticks (bedding, carpeting, furniture, etc.). We chose the alternative.

As for a crate, conventional wisdom today is that it is preferable to crate train a dog for any number of reasons. Because goldens are such good dogs, they don't need crates for long. But they seem to really like them. The vast majority of the time, her crate door was open, and she would choose to go into it. We got rid of the crate a few months ago for selfish reasons; it was large and I didn't like looking at it. Plus, at 3, she has really proven herself and she is very well behaved.

You seem to imply that our dog's life is suboptimal in some way. Au contraire, we always joke that she really is living "a dog's life". She has many fenced acres to roam, lots of little animals to chase unsuccessfully, her own small lake to swim in. She loves to run after my DH's golf balls (he has a tee box and putting green), swim-escort the kids when they kayak, and ride in the convertible. She is tasked with chasing away the geese and protecting the koi from heron. She is our "greeter", if not much of a watch-dog. She eats only vet-prescribed organic food and drinks spring water (eye roll --- DH insists on this).

As for bonding, our dog has our three kids to play with, and near constant companionship in DH and I, since we are at home. When we travel, she goes back to the family who bred her, to stay with their dogs (or as we call it, visiting "the rents"). Our dog is always bragging to other dogs about how good she has it.

There is a dog across the street that has week hind legs from being but on a leash that is way too short all day.

Today he came in my yard as someone let him loose. His behavior was an odd mix of threat and playfulness.

Not a normal dog and useless as a watchdog. I hope that the owners come out and play with it all the time but that's rare. It barked at and tried to chase a squirrel it heard on the neighbors roof.

As far as my neighborhood goes when I step out of my front door into my yard the entire neighborhood is set out with dogs chained up and barking. That's simply dense. Those people don't need dogs. They need home security systems if that's what they wanted or they need to tell their children no if that's what their children wanted.

There is also at least a half dozen different cats that wander through my yard weekly. I've lived here since April so I find this rather amazing. Most of the cats will run if approach but will come up to the porch and know to look for food around homes.

I got rid of a garden shed in the back yard only to find out at least one cat had been living underneath the crawl space.

If you have a dog you just need to clean the house more often. I have many clients that I work with and the ones with pets have me come by twice if not three times a week opposed to others where I only come once a week

Here is a link that might be useful: Sara's Cleaning Service

ALELUYA !!!! We finally found the solution to keep my glass doors free of those disgusting "nose prints" from my dog.

For all those out there who are like me, OCD about keeping the house clean this solved the problem.

Husband made a fence using the wire fencing below, it's easy to bend and sturdy enough to stay up. The bent corners are hooked to the wall and are easy to unhook if necessary but we usually just step over the fence.

Our dog is medium size, lab-sharpei mix, and she'd would constantly rub her nose on the glass leaving a disgusting mess and there I was multiple times a day wiping it. I used to put two chairs in front of the door and she couldn't get to the glass but I got tired of having to moved them every time I needed to go out and besides they looked really conspicuous.

Now with this fence you barely notice is there but keeps the dog away :)

Extremely happy !!!! Hope it helps!!!

2 dogs, 1 husky/lab mix, Bolt aka "the shedder" and our newest, Penny a Mastweiler rescue aka "the chewer". I vacuum EVERY day, canister vac TG. Yes, it's lots of extra work. Just today I was vacuuming upstairs as our newest chewed my rug downstairs as my son delightfully popped Cheez-its into his mouth during a marathon game of Mindcraft on his XBox never noticing his dog devouring my rug. Darn good thing I love them both:)

I lost my two old dogs around six years ago. You clean people would never understand but I left nose prints on my picture window until about three months ago. Seeing the nose prints made me happy.I only cleaned it because I was painting. I still can't remove the dog stain on the walls for a few areas they liked to be in. I value pets more than I value cleanliness.

emmarene, Actually, my cats are still around and I have been known to leave paw prints on the windows. Kinda like when toddlers leave handprints on the glass door. Makes me happy to see it. I hear you.

There's a tuft of Tiger's fur in the corner of my bedroom that I cannot bring myself to pick up and throw out. We lost him a week ago this past Monday.

(((auntjen)))

aww auntjen. I'm so sorry. We always have tufts of cat fur all over the house. When our first cat died over 10 years ago now, I picked up a big tuft of his fur, he was a long-haired orange cat, and along with his collar put it into a little sandwich bag. We still have it.

aww, auntjen... :(

i don't like cleaning well enough to have a 'super clean' house- whether I have dogs or not! but, with 3 large dogs who shed a LOT (and one small cat whose fur I don't even notice except in her fav sleeping spots!) my house probably isn't even close to clean by some people's standards, but it's clean enough for us!! :)

Thanks so much, rob333 and blfenton. It was so much harder letting him go than I realized it would be. What's still breaking my heart wide open is watching how the others (we have two of his siblings in addition to a couple of semi-ferals who I SWEAR thought he was their mama) walk around the house, very obviously looking for him. They seem to be grieving too.

(((justterrilynn)))

awww justterrilynn. I'm so sorry.

it amazes me how intuitive dogs can be... when one of our dogs was dying a few yrs ago, our little shepherd puppy spent many hrs of the last few days of her life lying nose to nose with her, occasionally whimpering and grooming her. he definitely knew she was dying...

so sorry for you and your rottie, jtl...

Oh, justterrilynn! Those photos just make me want to cry. They are poignantly heartbreaking. I am so very sorry that you had to say goodbye to your precious little one. I hope you find comfort in many years of happy memories. Not that my cats understand, but I've found some comfort in telling them that Tiger is in heaven, waiting for us there. OK, actually the comfort comes from the fact that I truly believe that. God makes each little creature so very unique -- how could He not have a place for them too?

(((((Hugs)))))

Thank you all! I don't know if I read it here or somewhere else but it went something like this... Dogs are on earth to teach all how to truly love.

Awe, I'm so sorry, what a little lovey. Loosing a beloved pet is gut wretching.

I am so sorry for your loss.

To patriceny

what breed is your dog? The one you say it doesn't shed?