I'd never sleep if Stanley was outside. I'm bad enough with him in the kitchen, I worry he's too cold or lonely. He's as much part of the family as anyone (infact, he definitely gets treat better than OH ) I'd never want him to live away from us.
We have a fenced back yard and a Dog Door. Tilly only goes out occasionally, but Cooper will spend a moderate amount of time in the yard. She will always go out if we are in the yard, and often on her own for 10-20 minutes at a time.
I nestle my nose into Homer's fur and breath in deep, and get a faint whiff of the puppy smell he had when I first fell for him. Eugh! I hear you cry but it's called puppy love. On a more serious note, H did get a bit smelly last summer when he spent too much time swimming in the river, the river Thames which is a sewer overflow. So he needed more baths. I sprinkled bicarbonate of soda on the carpets which absorbs smells, then vacuume it up.
Yep, rub the dogs down when they come in muddy, which usually is only in the winter, I wash their beds once a week and a good rain storm keeps them sweet smelling, my house doesn't smell doggy, well, once in a blue moon!
I'd say when you are laying on your death bed (don't want to be too depressing but we all die at some point ) what memory is going to give you more pleasure? That your dog, your best friend, was always by your side being loved in the heart of your family, or your carpets were clean?
My house does not smell of dog...I have hardwood floors downstairs and carpet upstairs and Bailey has free roam of the house. His bedding is washed weekly and he is washed when hes rolled in something iffy otherwise a wipe down and if we are going somewhere a quick spray of doggy refresher - we call it his aftershave! Regular sweeping of the hardwood floors and vacuuming upstairs takes care of it all.
Some time back I was complaining to a friend about all the HAIR in my car....and she said: do you want a clean car or do you want your dog to be with you when you drive? Case closed. Not the same as a house.... clean vs dog but the same sort of idea. My house does not smell of dog.....hairs....YES...but they get vacuumed. He sleeps on the guest bed (spreads out like a king) but I have a sheet covering it and wash the sheet every week. I have a mixture of tile, hardwood and carpet in my house. There is absolutely no way I would keep my dog outside..the reason I have Cooper is to give him a good home, make him happy and have his wonderful companionship.
I bet my house smells of dog! But I'm sensible enough to have friends who - when I ask - says that it doesn't.
