HOUSEKEEPING

[shezonit]

Since I have a long haired dog, I keep all my upholstery covered. Towels on the seats, a sheet over top of bedding, so I can take it outside and shake it often.
I started out with a flat sheet on the sofa, that would be tucked in UNTIL I sat on it. Decided to try a twin fitted sheet. This is perfect. It fits all the corners and doesn't shift around much. I have two, so I can keep one washed and ready. AND a further improvement was to use a thickly padded twin mattress pad under the sheet. It looks very smooth. I used all the same neutral colors and got some pretty throw pillows. I'm protecting my nice velour, and the sheets and towels are cooler to sit on, too.

Every couple weeks I can peel it all off and do a laundry day. Collect up all those Papillon hairs.

I can also suggest a great little cordless stick vacuum that actually works. The Ergorapido, sold at at Costco for under $100. It has a very slick system for detaching the hand vac, and the BEST dust cup emptying system I've ever seen. It holds a charge for weeks. It stores behind the curbside chair. I run it from the bathroom rug forward every few days. Tskes 6 minutes and it's astounding how much hair and fuzz I dump out.

[shilohdad]

We consider Papillon hair to be a decorative accent in our coach.

Joe and Lucinda
Morpho, Shiloh and Tonto, the Papillons

[Ray]

When I had my lab/Chesapeake - I would use my big shop vac on her when she started spring shed - she loved it -

[shezonit]

When I had my lab/Chesapeake - I would use my big shop vac on her when she started spring shed - she loved it -

Yeah, a Lab is a brawny dog.... I'm afraid mine would faint if I tried even a hand vac on him.... When I vacuum, he runs to his bed.

[shezonit]

We consider Papillon hair to be a decorative accent in our coach.

Joe and Lucinda
Morpho, Shiloh and Tonto, the Papillons

Yes it does impart a mohair- like quality to every fabric surface.... My cab curtains are fuzzy, the sides of the seats are fuzzy, fuzzy here, fuzzy there, everywhere is fuzzy, fuzzy.... (Sing to tune of Old MacDonald...)

I wouldn't mind it so much, but my elderly rig has button and tufts in the upholstery and I fear that the hairs would become so deeply imbedded that even a shop vac would be useless.

[Ray]

Its all worth it - There is no better friend

I sure miss mine.

I tried to attach a pic of my lab - but I guess I am not smart enough to accomplish that computer task yet - I sure do miss her.

[shezonit]

I'm sorry you lost your dear girl. I hope it was from old age.
I recently lost my dear old Odie to chronic disease. (Bladder stones) We either had to watch him suffer again and again or let him go. I cried for 3 days.

If you have it in your heart to give an older dog a home for his or her last years, shelters are full of beautiful, sweet older dogs who have lost their humans. That was how I got Odie. He was somehow on the streets to starve and freeze in Montana. He was only with us for 13 months, but I know they were warm, fun and happy and he knew he was loved. He used to lay his head on my chest and gaze at me as if to say "you have NO idea what I went through..." I am so grateful I could give him a year of happiness.

There is usually a very low adoption fee for senior dogs.

[bookie71]

Wee decorate ours with black hair from our two Labs, who shed during the shedding season (1/1 to 12/31)

[shezonit]

Funny!
Yes even short hair dogs shed.
And 2 big black dogs......

At least my little dog doesn't slobber. Sometimes at the dog park, a slobbering dog will come running up and fling some slime my way. Ewww. I wonder what their car looks like. But I don't want to know.

[shilohdad]

Ah, yes, I forgot to post the model years of our Papillons:

1999 red sable Morpho
2002 mahogany sable Shiloh
2010 tri-color Tonto

Oh, yes, and the 1951 gray-beard ... Oh you can guess who that is!

[jobrien]

You haven't experienced anything until you spend 3 weeks in a BF with 2 German Shedders. Then you are talking dog hair!!

Remember, "No outfit is complete without dog hair."

[shezonit]

AWWWWWWWW, your Tonto looks like my Emmett- black and white with the tan eyebrows.

And I can only imagine 3 weeks with 2 big Shedders.
Yes I have given up trying to stay hair free, even with multiple lint rollers at each door. HA.

[Dallas Baillio]

I heard a guy who had five dogs say that he vacuumed enough dog hair each week to make another dog.

[Dallas Baillio]

We once took a trip in our BF from Mobile AL to Yosemite in CA with 5 dogs totaling 330 lbs. Call us crazy and you will be right on target.

[shilohdad]

What you really need to do with all that dog hair is get a spinning wheel and spin it into yarn. Then knit yourself a scarf or hat. That's what Lucinda did. She saved all the hair from grooming Morpho and Shiloh, and I eventually got a nice warm hat. It comes out sort of like angora.