I'm a terrible Big Paw Mom......

[PennyK]

So, here's the scoop.  We just built a brand new house and the humans have been living in it for two glorious weeks now.  The cat (Lola) and Teddy are still living in the trailer (we lived in a 35 ft trailer( no bathroom, no running water) on the property all summer with 4 kids and the pets!).  The weather this year has been great so we just tied Teddy out all day and he came into the trailer every evening with us. 

Now, its time to move the pets into the house......... but I kinda like living without the hair and the drool.  The carpetting is clean, the floor is drool free, there is no hair in my food or on the couch, etc.  I feel so terrible.  Teddy is never going anywhere but here, but I feel like I'm betraying him by thinking of confining him to only one floor, or to only one room while we are gone.

Anyone have any suggestions for making my new house feel new for a while longer, even after the drooly hairball moves in?  Or do I just need to "suck it up Sunshine" and just deal with it, its Teddy's house too.

Anyone else go through this??

[Gentian]

I think once you have him in, you'll remember why you put up with the hair and drool in the first place.  And he deserves to live with his family.

I'd love to live in a hair-free house, but I wouldn't trade mine for all the clean floors in the world.

[vmimom2006]

I sure can identify with you on this one. I just helped my son (in Air Force) move into his new house last week. I was there all week during the day while he was on base at work. Boy was it nice to ba able to clean something and it actually stay that way!  But now that I'm back home with my crew I guess after awhile I really don't notice the puked hair balls & drool. I just love to come home to those hairy smilling faces!!

[jesday]

We just moved into our custom dream home last October. Wood floors and tile for most of the upstairs (main floor), carpet entire downstairs.

For some reason the bubs were afraid to go down the stairs when they were pups and to this day think they must be the stairway to h*ll because they won't put a paw on the top step. Sophie actually chased a ball that headed down the stairs. The funniest thing I ever saw was her trying to stop her 115 lbs of momentum which carried her over the first two steps. She leaped up with all fours like a startled cat to get back to safe ground. 

It is so much easier to clean wood floors and tile than carpet, plus only half the house gets the slobber etc. So they don't even know there is more to the house.

I guess my point is if he doesn't really know there is another floor, he won't miss it. Because he hasn't lived in this house before I'd keep him to one level. My kids wait patiently at the top of the stairs for us to come back up. Usually sleeping. 

[PennyK]

You guys are probably right.  Once he's there, being his big ole' goofy self, all the little things wont bother me at all.  That said, I think I will feed him in the far corner of the mud room (glorified closet) so that by the time he gets to the main room, most of the drool will be on the floor already - LOL!  The main floor is open concept, with the dining area and kitchen in tile and the living room in carpet (maybe I can keep him on the tile only??) If I get him a bed or a mat and put it where he can see everyone, that should reduce the amount of hair & dirt on the actual carpet. (That, and I have 4 kids that need to "earn" their allowance every week - LOL!  My own personal drool scrubbers!........wonder how much I would have to pay them......?  LOL!

[aggghgmom]

We live in your basic colonial finished basement, main floor with living room, dining room, family room, kitchen (big kitchen) and sunroom.  We moved in shortly before we got Harley and when he came to us hubby decided Harley wouldn't go upstairs to the bedrooms or computer room.  Mostly for hair reasons and because when he was a pup he was naughty (he would shake the children's beanie babies until all the beans would come out).

Anyway, I spend all of my awake time downstairs so I can be with Harley - I don't like the fact that he can't come up but he does fine and it keeps the grouchy husband happy!!

Congrats on the new house!!

Randy