just wondering what, if anything other people use to protect sofas or chairs? Our last lab wasn't allowed on furniture but Inky is, and I just wipe the leather down if it's muddy. Im thinking of getting a sofa but feel it might get mucky and smell of dog quickly so wondering what others do?
Matching easy to wash throws. Nice ones made from tough fabric in cheerful colours. All my dogs covers are machine washable too.
I'm a big fan of heavy duty throws for dogs that you can get at dog shows. Usually fleece on one side and smooth on the other - they stay on the leather nicer than just a single layer throw and wash really well. UK people here seem to swear by vet bed - maybe that would work about the same. Here are my former pup Brogan and foster Emma hanging on their blankies:
No dogs on sofas here. I've just got 2 new leather ones, and gave the old fabric sofa to Hospice to resell for funds - it was perfect as our dogs have all respected the rule. We all get down on the floor....
Leather sofas and living somewhere we rarely have to deal with mud! In Spain, we’ve bought a temporary sofa while we’re renovating. It’s fabric and was filthy in the space of about 30s. Leather all the way for me!
The dogs aren’t allowed on the sofas ... but I use throws! I recently found some cheap fleece ones (130 x 180 cm, £8 each) in a certain Swedish store. They’re very soft, easy to wash and dry very quickly - and at that price I thought they could easily be used as dog blankies instead if I didn’t use them on the furniture.
I use an old sheet tucked into the edges, covering the entire couch. It doesn’t slip and is easy to take on and off. I only put it on when we leave her with a Kong because she puts her Kong on the couch to eat it and that is way worse than hair or mud!
I have velvety throws to put over as the dog hair doesn't stick but they're still warm and comfy. We didn't have anything and the dog hair got ingrained into my sofas. I had to pluck them with my tweezers I got them professionally cleaned which was £100 and I've had the throws since.
Also at that 'certain store' you can get sofa covers that are essentially just throws, but cut to the right shape to toss over the whole sofa. I have them in my rental house in Spain and they've gone through numerous dogs and renters and still look fine - easy to toss in the wash and as I've got the smooth fabric version vs. fleece, dog hair doesn't even stick. If you don't feel like washing and there's no mud or other stuff, you can just shake them out and plop them right back on the sofa.
I have faux fur/fleece blankets on my leather sofa. I've just looked across, the blanket is screwed up in the middle and there's a dog curled up at both ends asleep on the leather!