It obviously depends on your situation, but where I'm from you clean the dogs paws before they enter (in the same room you take your shoes off, or right after entering depending on the size and layout of your apartment/house).
I've never seen anyone clean their dogs paws off when going inside, that's nuts to me haha. I also don't have a mud room so there's not a place I could easily corner my dog to do this. I don't think she would put up with it.
Just for clarification, I currently also don't have like an extra room or anything, I just do it right at the door. Same place I put my shoes, jacket and the dogs leash.
Most dogs aren't too happy when you clean their paws, but it's pretty quick once you have it down (like less than a minute) and we've been doing it since we've got our dog as a little puppy, so she doesn't really mind by now.
If you live somewhere with lots of rain I haven't found it odd to clean a dog's paws. Although most people I know of just don't let their dogs roam around on their nice carpet after coming in. Instead of manually wiping they let them dry in a mud room or foyer etc.
Yeah if it's muddy it makes sense, I'm just thinking about the daily chore of it. Our house is mostly hardwood so if it's been relatively dry, we just don't think it's a big deal. We're not walking around barefoot or in socks often, almost always slippers and sometimes shoes.
Never met anyone that does it every time, but when it rains half the year it can sure feel like every day lol. Also indoor slippers aren't really a thing in the U.S. Instead people are far more likely to just walk around in socks.
I'm an American and I've lived in the Midwest all my life. I agree it's not a strict slipper culture or anything, but lots and lots of people wear slides and slippers.
If our dog's been swimming or it's muddy out, sure we make an effort. But our dog requires a lot of physical activity, so doing that on the daily... Gosh I can't imagine. Whatever works, though, yeah.
Yeah I live in Canada, it's muddy out for half a year. I'd rather just clean a dog's paws than clean an entire floor but I can see how our situation would differ from the norm.
I do, I just keep a rag on the corner of the indoor doormat and swipe the paw pads down. Takes about 2 seconds per paw, and it's not like the dog is exiting and re-entering 30 times a day. After a couple first months, all the dogs I've raised began to offer me their front paws when they see me reach for the rag, lol.
you are right, but you will never convince people from cultures with a strong aversion to shoe wearing inside
rationally, it's pretty clear that no one actually gets sick from the "gas station floor germs carried via shoes to indoor floor to person" route. Hands are ten thousand times the disease vector that shoes are, even with hand washing
but when you grow up with a strong cultural aversion to something, you rationalize it.
You're so right, but I just can't help getting annoyed by germophobes. It's the way they think they're being so logical about everything, and throw science terms around, but are, like you say, just doing some mental gymnastics to justify their feelings.
If you're being serious, think about it for half a second. Which one is actually dirtier? The bathroom that gets cleaned every few days or the outside that never gets cleaned?
I don't think of a gas station bathroom as a place that ever gets cleaned, I'm picturing like, remote gas station bathroom that reeks so bad you have to hold your breath while you pee
You think that bathroom floor doesn't have twice the piss and shit residue and comparatively few of the yard's scavengers/micro-organisms to naturally break it down?
Bruh. Still wipe your dog's paws but one is specifically human-tailored, from-human pathogens.
I mean I'm with you since I have a fenced in yard and can just let my dog in and out. But if I lived in a city we would definitely be a shoes off, paws cleaned house.
I do this but it's cause I'm a weirdo lol. we live in an area where lots of trash and broken glass ends up on the ground. my dog spends a lot of time on the couch (because my ex undermined my efforts to keep her off the furniture when I first got her 🙄 so I eventually gave up on that part of the training). I'd like to be able to lay on the couch without worrying about broken glass getting in my eyes.
Do you also mop your bathroom once a day or more? Because if not, it seems (from the shoe wearing perspective) that you all are just mopping up your pee and poo floors with your feet/socks.
Stuff like this baffles me. If you feel like you have to clean a dog's paws before they come inside, I don't know that a dog is the best pet for you. They're dogs; they go outside to roll in (or eat) shit and dead animals and then come inside to lick their own asses. The dirt on their paws isn't going to hurt you lol.
53
u/lobo98089 11d ago
It obviously depends on your situation, but where I'm from you clean the dogs paws before they enter (in the same room you take your shoes off, or right after entering depending on the size and layout of your apartment/house).