Comments on: Unitasker Wednesday: Paw plunger

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:11:44 +0000

I just taught my dog a command for when we got to the doormat: “Wipe your feet!”

By: devBear

devBear — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:56:17 +0000

We actually HAVE one of these! We got it as a gift from someone who bought one for themselves already. We do use it from time to time — we wipe the dog’s paws off nearly every time he comes in the house, so this is just an extra step when he’s been walking a lot of mud or whatever. Helps get that stuff off that just toweling wouldn’t do. Bellodawg does do a good job of standing still and letting us put his paw in this thing.

On the other hand, I personally think it’s a very funny tool. If noone had given it to me, I definitely wouldn’t have spent the money.

By: consumerq

consumerq — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:45:48 +0000

I use the “paw monster” cleaning tool (www.pawmonster.com) that I found on sale at a local shoppe. It does a good job quickly getting out the mud from between the claws and wiping the belly. But I have a towel for when my dog’s body is splashed with mud.I have an enclosed stairway between the kitchen and backyard door. My dog will wait at the top of the stairs and then lift her paws up one at a time on command for cleaning. I cannot imagine having to struggle with a wet and muddy dog.

By: Steve-O

Steve-O — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:42:07 +0000

imagine if someone mistook a dirty mug for a cup of cocoa? Then it would be worth every penny!

By: JC

JC — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:38:51 +0000

We have had labs and bullmastiffs. Both breeds were trained to stand by the door when let into the house for paw wiping with a damp towel. My mother had actually trained her basset/lab mix to wipe its own paws, which worked well when they were just a bit dusty. She would do extra cleaning on the paws when needed.

We sold a bullmastiff puppy to a man who later trained the dog to stand by its water bowl after drinking to get its jowls wiped so it wouldn’t drag water all over his house.

By: John

John — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:03:14 +0000

This seems like an even sillier version of the disposable paw wipes they sell at pet stores. I opted for a neatly folded stack of towels by the back door. My pup (60 pounds of rambunctious lab mix) loves getting toweled off so after cleaning the paws he gets wiped all over, even if he’s dry.

If you’re wresting your dog to clean off his paws, you don’t need a paw plunger, you need some help with dog training. If you have a puppy, get him used to you handling his paws, ears, etc. from an early age. A properly trained dog will allow you to touch any part of his body because he knows you’re the one in charge of the house and he’s learned you will never hurt him.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:33:17 +0000

The Paw Plunger would be expensive for me, my Cocker Spaniel hates having his feet touched, and if I was wrestling four feet into the PP it would just give him extra time to bite me. With the towel I’m in and out quick.

Who thinks up these things?

By: shahnnen

shahnnen — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:18:52 +0000

@debbie harris
what an awesome idea. and i just lol’d.

By: shahnnen

shahnnen — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:16:56 +0000

living in portland (which right now, after 20 inches of rain in the past week or so– feels like the rain capital of the world) we run into this problem frequently.
yeah, my squirrelly 130 lb lab would NOT like this all. neither would my greased-lightning boston terrier. i use a towel, or mrs meyers pet friendly wipes. they have no gross stuff in them like most baby wipes, and they smell great. they can be found here:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.co.....U=16069477

we also keep a swiffer wet jet loaded and ready by the back door during the monsoon season. we don’t use the swiffer cleaning solution that comes with it– we punch a hole in the top of it, and use our own organic, non-toxic cleaner mix–it’s much cheaper, and it doesnt have yucky stuff in it. and there’s less packaging waste, since we use a big bottle of concentrate and mix that with water directly in the swiffer cleaner holder.i highly recommend this for pet owners.

By: Michele

Michele — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:09:10 +0000

Doggie booties are becoming more popular among dog owners I know…especially since the towns seem to be going completely ape with the rock salt this winter. If you can actually get the dog to tolerate it, prevention is probably easier than clean-up. With IF in giant bold letters, or course.

By: Alice

Alice — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:54:08 +0000

@A.D.D Organizing: Use a damp cloth instead of baby wipes. It’s cheaper (no need to keep buying wipes) and better for the environment. You might find it helpful to keep a small bottle of water near the door for re-dampening the cloth. If you want to use something other than plain water, add a little dog shampoo.

For those that want to use warm water on their dogs after a walk, but know that the dog won’t stay put while they get the water, try putting out a bowl of hot water just before the walk, and perhaps also leave out some cold water in case it’s still too hot when you get back.

By: A.D.D Organizing

A.D.D Organizing — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:28:25 +0000

My Portuguese Water Dog (pup) has white paws, so I’m constantly having to wipe her up when she comes in from the backyard. Are there baby wipes that are safe to use on dogs?

By: Alice

Alice — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:06:21 +0000

It’s not advisable to use baby wipes on any part of your pet. Baby wipes contain chemicals (e.g., synthetic cleansing agents) which your pet will ingest when it licks the body part that was cleaned.

A dog or cat is very likely to lick off the chemicals because they’ll feel odd (e.g., some cats don’t like having foreign substances or wetness on them) or will taste nice (some dogs love the taste of some cleansers, but that doesn’t make it good for them).

By: Debbie Harris

Debbie Harris — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:46:41 +0000

We taught our dog to lie on the floor and stick all four paws straight up in the air when we say, “look at those feet.” Much easier to clean the paws when they’re like that!

By: Julia

Julia — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:36:55 +0000

Everyone here has missed the point! You don’t need to wrestle so much with your dog to get paws in the paw plunger! Buy four and it will cut your paw wrestling time by 75%!!

Do they have 4 kitty sized paw plungers as well? My kitty brings the most paw prints into the house. (No dog here.)

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:59:36 +0000

And after every use you have a mug-n-brush full of dirty water, hair and bacteria to clean up. Lovely!

By: Fit Bottomed Girls

Fit Bottomed Girls — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:12:46 +0000

This one is funny. A towel works fine — they’re dogs, God love ‘em!

By: Alexis

Alexis — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:29:56 +0000

I have found the kirkland brand baby wipes that I use for my son to be just the thing to my dogs feet clean.

By: Rue

Rue — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:20:04 +0000

All things considered, I have to say: Nice idea, but pretty impractical. Like most unitaskers.

By: The Daily Click

The Daily Click — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:36:44 +0000

As well as wrestling to get the paws in the container you have the fun of stopping your dog from trying to drink out of it at the same time and if you do manage to use it for the intended purpose you then have the fun of your dog mistaking your normal coffee mug for their paw cleaner!!