Either I need to transition my dog clothes over to brown, or I need a better stain-fighting formula to get the dog dirt out. Seriously, all of my dog jeans (… yes, I have jeans designated for dog activities) have a brown tinge to the thighs from Lilly putting her feet on me when I ask her to BEG (a calming strategy to get her to focus on me). I’ve tried all the usual over-the-counter stuff that’s supposed to get the stains out, but there is still a pall that looms on some of my clothes.
Since we have a septic system (not a municipal sewer), I have to be careful about using things too powerful, but if you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them.
Part of the problem is that living in a rural area means we’re surrounded by dirt, so if you live in a city, you might not “get” just how grubby things can be, especially heating almost exclusively with wood.
The good news is that we have solid-surface flooring on the main level of the house. Buy stock in Swiffer. Not kidding. We alone could keep the product afloat.
Since I’m in a tip-giving and asking mood this week, I’ll offer these additional thoughts:
- Buy old comforters at garage sales or thrift stores to cover your furniture, if you’d like to keep it looking nice even though your dogs sleep on it.
- Use the flat sheet from an old sheet set as a “top” sheet on the bed (for the same reason as above).
Thanks so much. I’m glad you found what you were looking for with the RP.
I found your site by googling for the RP from Control Unleashed. THANK YOU! I love your site, your writing and especially all the great other blogs I’ve just discovered from your blog roll. I feel like I’ve made a new friend and look forward to keeping up with your blog. Cheers!
Not to be a goof, but I’ve noticed your pants. That’s what made me wonder about switching. You never look grubby to me, even though we’re often working and playing in the same kinds of dirt-filled places.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to check them out. I also saw some brown “jeans” on major markdown at the Eddie Bauer outlet over the holiday. It might be an inexpensive place to start.
Thanks, Dog-Geek. I actually do look OK in brown. My dog coat is black. I’ll have to post a picture. There’s something about the fabric that sheds dirt. And, it has some neat pockets.
My solution has been dark tan carhartt work pants. I like the ones with the double knees – I protect my back while tugging with K by going down on a knee and the double knee prevents knee holes!
They have them at McGuckins in women’s sizes (at least they did last winter).
“What can brown do for you?” I vote for transitioning to brown – you probably look good in earth tones anyway. My dog jacket (yes, my jacket designated for dog activities) is brown, and it hides the dirt amazingly well – it can be downright crusty and still not look obviously dirty from a few feet away.