No more messy dog walks!

Dogs might be man’s best friend, but one thing is for sure – they love getting dirty! If you have a dog that always seems to need a bath, loves running through muddy puddles, and will take any detour to find the smelliest thing to roll in, then the chances are that you are considering how to stop them being so mucky.

So, here are a few ways you can make sure you have no more messy dog walks.

Clean mud before it dries

Dried mud can be a lot harder to clean off your dog and off any furniture of yours that might have become a victim to a happy and messy dog. It is therefore always best to clean muck before it has a chance to dry, either with wipes, bathing, or localised washing.

Dry your dog thoroughly

Although when it is warm, you might be okay to let your dog air dry after coming back from a walk or getting a quick wash, you don’t want your house to smell like wet dog, or to get mud smears all over your furniture!

So, as soon as you get back from the walk, dry your dog off using a super absorbent dog towel to soak up as much water as possible. You can then use a clean towel to dry them after any bathing or localised cleaning as above.

Walk on dry routes

If you are particularly concerned about mess in your home, try and stick to walking on routes that you know will be mainly dry to avoid taking your dog near the temptation of lots of mud and puddles!

Don’t bathe your dog too much

It can be tempting to give your dog a full, thorough bath every time they get even a little bit dirty. However, this can actually make the situation worse. One of the reasons dogs like to roll around in mud, muck, and smelly things is because it is an evolutionary measure to help them blend into the environment, hiding them from any threats from larger predators.

While bathing your dog with scented soap and shampoo can smell amazing to us humans, it might be odd to your dog. This can make them more likely to roll around in mud to cover their ‘odd’ scent. Therefore, it can actually be beneficial not to over-bathe your dog if you want to keep them clean on their walk.

Utilise the lead and recall training

If there are areas of your usual route where your dog often likes to take off and get all muddy, then consider putting the lead back on for that section of the walk. If your dog has good foundations in training, you might also use commands and recall to steer them away from the tempting muck.

Remember that dogs have a much better sense of smell than humans. In fact, due to having 300 million olfactory receptors in their nose, while we have only 6 million, it is estimated that dogs can smell up to 100,000 times better than humans. So, if you smell something they will love to roll in, chances are they already smelled it, too!

And there you have it. With these top tips, you will be able to help make sure you have no more messy dog walks in your future.