Re: [pyrnet] Getting a handle on Pyr hair and bathing.....

["Amy Bailey" <newbailey@comcast.net>]

I have gained a new appreciation for Pyrs in the last three weeks.  I told a
friend that I was ordering baby chicks to add to my hen house and the next
time I saw her she handed me an egg carton with duck eggs and a goose egg
from her farm.  I had to get a simple incubator quickly and eventually one
duck and the goose hatched (the other eggs were not fertile).  My coop is
not heated and the chicks and duck and goose need heat lamps so they are in
my family room in indoor rabbit cages.  The chicks are easy at this size
they are not messy and do not smell so once a day for a cage clean up, two
maybe three times a day for feed and water and we are all happy.  The duck
and goose have spilled every water dish meant for birds so they now have a
"non-splash" dog bowl.  They have huge feet and insist on standing in the
water, then standing in the food bowl.  They walk all over the cage with big
wet feet so the paper towelling I put down to make it comfortable is always
soaked.   I clean their cage up about six times a day and yet it is never
clean.  Trouble is they are so cute and we are trying to make sure we are
all on good terms while they are small - the goose may reach 20 lbs with a
large wing span - that I spend a good part of the day laughing at their
antics.  My dogs are not even close in their mess making capabilities!
Right now there is very little the dogs could do to irritate my cleaning
sensibilities that the goose and duck have not already done!  So as bad a a
pyr or two can get - there is worse!!

Back to your questions - I have only areas rugs (not in the kitchen or
family room) and I vaccuum as needed and send them out to be shampooed once
a year.  I use a Nilfisk industrial Hepa vacuum and I must say it does a
good job.  No roller so nothing to wrap the hair around.  If there is a big
clump, I remove the brush and just suck it up with the end of the hose.

I have gotten into a pattern of bathing and grooming the dogs about every
three months.  That seems to keep the loose hair in control.  Even my
husband does not complain.   I brush every few days and if they get wet in
the rain , they get a rub down with big bath towels.  They enjoy it and will
stand and wait for me to dry them when they come in. As soon as I see loose
fur on my hands when I pat them, it is time for a grooming.    I have
thought about vacuuming the dogs, but they do not like it.  My black lab
loved it.

Orvis has a great looking terry cloth towel dog jacket.  I ordered one in
extra large.  Wonderful idea it really covers most of the dog and has a huge
turtle like neck  - dog steps into the long sleeves and it velcroes together
along the spine.  Trouble is the extra large is too small for Charlies chest
(he is really not so big for a pyr) and just barely closes on Sweetie.  I
thought this would be a big help with the spring mud season.  Well, now you
all now to skip this.  I gave it to a friend with an English sheep dog who
loves it.

My family and friends who come to the house like dogs, I go out to see the
ones who don't.  There is no way to have people who do not like dogs
(whether due to allergies or fear) at my house.  Even if the dogs are in
their crates, they are impossible to ignore.  The crates are in the family
room and our usual door comes into this room.  If we have "Special Guests"
we use the side door and the guests and dogs so not cross paths.  Sometimes
that helps until someone goes into the family room and lets them out of the
crates.  We also have baby gates on the living room and dining room doors so
those rooms are off limits.  Sweetie can open the gates so it only sort of
works.

Best coping mechanism I know is to schedule any important gatherings to be
at the convergence of the carpet cleaning and dog grooming.  If possible
send them both (the rugs and the dogs) out for cleaning, scrub the house
like crazy and then return the clean rugs and dogs just in time for the
guests to arrive.  It is an illusion that my guests might believe that my
house always looks like this, but it can be possible for a day or too.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nancy K" <nakhere@hotmail.com>
To: <pyrnet-l@pyrnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 8:55 PM
Subject: [pyrnet] Getting a handle on Pyr hair and bathing.....


> I purchased a Dyson vacuum (for animals) after I spoke to all of you about
> your thoughts about Pyr hair. I rescue (2 at a time) Pyrs, have a dining
> room, living room rug in the house. If I don't handpick up the Pyr hair
> daily, when I vacuum, the hair wraps itself aroung the roller and I have
to
> cut it loose. Do you folks experience this as well? What do you do to
> prevent this from happening?
>
> How often do you bathe your dogs? I finally have access to bathing my dogs
> at my home outside with hot/cold water and a decent shampoo using a great
> blower.
>
> I want to do the best for these rescue pups, my relatively stinky rugs
(how
> often do you shampoo them?) and get all of this into some kind of
> perspective.
>
> i've finally got my forever house and 1.7 acres into pretty good shape
with
> tree planting, painting, and updating what I have needed to do.
>
> Please help me to do what I need to do to bridge the gap between Pyrs,
their
> hair, stinky rugs, and keeping it all in balance so I can invite
> friends/family to visit. HELP!!!!!!!!! Nancy Kingsbury, Wisconsin
>
>
>
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