Works for Me Wednesday: Dirty Dog Paw cleaner

 Imagine two dogs who love outside, but those dogs actually are indoor dogs... (the simple fact that we have a BIG indoor dog is another matter, but not of our choosing).I think they believe we live in a barn as many times as they go in and out of the house (no we have no place for a doggy door).  Most days it isn't a problem except on snowy or rainy days.  Can you imagine wiping those muddy paws off with a beach towel up to 10 times per day? That's 80 paws per day!!!  Imagine what that does to our floors! 

Loving the snow time - muddy paws

I was excited when I saw a product on TV one day The Paw Wash - While I thought it was ingenious, I'm not willing to pay close to $30 for this, but put it in my Pinterest Pet file.  I thought there had to be a more thrifty solution and one day, while making dinner, it hit me.  Why not use an extra empty Kraft Parmesan cheese container because it's big enough for a big dog paw and for a smaller dog as well!   (check out how I reuse one for everyday cooking). 

exploring the creek - muddy paw

Here's what I did:

Paw-fectly gross!

1. The next time the dogs went outside on a rainy day, I was ready!  Taking the lid off, I filled it with warm water and had two ratty old towels ready. 
2. Laying one ratty towel at the door, I let one dog in at a time, stopping them on the towel.  
3. Starting with their front paw, I inserted it into the water filled container, and gently moved the container up and down, washing the mud clean off each paw.  While the dogs were not exactly thrilled at first, they have learned to stand and wait.  It only took a few "pumps" in the water to get each paw clean and quickly wipe their paws dry with the towel as soon as I remove it from the water. Doing all four didn't take that long and the results were great!  Of course my kids think I'm nuts, but it's much easier than trying to make sure you've RUBBED all the much off. ** Note, if you have multiple dogs, use clean water for each dog. 

 This is how it helped:

1. This has not only dirtied up fewer towels (note less laundry)
2. It has saved my floors from the muddy paw trails. 
                   Can you imagine that mess tracked in on the floors!
3. Less need for mopping and vacuuming constantly. 
4. Dispose of dirty water back outside

 Call me crazy, but this is what Works-For-Me and I'm joining in with We Are That Family for What Works for Me!