ALL dog owners should appreciate this toon...

[HopeHoops]

[Scuba]

1. It's good to have a black lab and a yellow. That way you don't have to worry about ....

... having any hope.

[HopeHoops]

2. We have a B&W border collie and a sable/brown/white sheltie. No rug will hide that.

They also leave wads of fur the size of Nerf balls everywhere. It takes some work. Then there are the cats...

[pipi_k]

13. Two...

German Shepherds.

One black and tan, the other all black.

Same thing.

Impossible to hide on any rug. When it starts rolling around the house like tumbleweed, then I vacuum.

[HopeHoops]

16. We actually sweep the carpets before using the vacuum. The things 25 years old.

It's an Electrolux, so I expect another 25 out of it, but it's been through three long-haired dogs and a bunch of cats - not to mention the kids - so I don't want to push my luck.

Trivia: All but two models of Electrolux tank vacuums (both from the 50's) have used the same filter bag - type C. It makes selection rather easy since it's the only one anybody carries anymore (without a special order). The next most common is the canister style, type S (and SL for uprights). There's also a type Z but I have no clue what that's used for, and they make one for central systems. As far as I know they are all self-sealing.

[Raven]

3. Exactly! I have a yellow labradoodle and a black

labradoodle and, therefore, I have grey doggie tumbleweeds everywhere.

[pipi_k]

14. Hah!

I posted about tumbleweeds before reading your post.

Looks like we both have extensive experience with mobile mounds of dog hair

[XemaSab]

24. We have a springer mix, a red heeler, and a beige shepherd

I know what you mean about not having any hope.

[TorchTheWitch]

4. my first akita's coat would change to blend more with the carpet

The first place I lived with him I had a beige/gray carpet and his coat turned more of a silvery gray rather tha the silvery beige he was born with to blend in with it better. Then we moved to a place with a very beige carpet with no hint of gray in it, and his coat turned much more beige with almost no silver in it anymore. Then we moved again to a place that had a beige/gray carpet that was a lot more on the grey side than the first place, and his coat turned much more gray than the first time to blend in. Hence where ever we lived I was always tripping over him. I found this changing colors to blend in with the carpet pretty fascinating.

My two next akitas coats didn't do that though their coats do change a bit, but it had more to do with their ancestry. My second akita though seemed to have his coat change to blend in perfectly with the night time. You couldn't see him at all in the dark even when he was a foot away from you. I was always tripping over him on walks at night.

The akita I have now is still very young, so i'm curious to see how much his coat changes and how. Since I got him a year ago he's lost some of the silvery color and the beige is becoming more orangey (even reddish in some spots). Akitas are known for coat color changes in the life times, but it was only the first one I had that had a coat that changed to blend in with whatever color carpet we had.

[Kali]

28. get a plaid rug!!!

[hobbit709]

5. Why I have tile floors.

No muss, no fuss, no problem.

[HopeHoops]

7. I don't know - "sweep the dog hair" is a daily chore.

Between the two of them, they leave chinchilla-sized fur balls EVERYWHERE.

[Incitatus]

27. A shop vac makes that easy.

[HopeHoops]

30. Yeah, but R4 is really loud!

[lunatica]

6. My tabby cat matches all my persian rugs in the dark

I have learned to walk by dragging my feet in a shuffle so as to bump into him rather than step on or trip over him. I'm also always on the alert to get body slammed when he wants to herd me to the kitchen.

[Rambis]

8. My wife and I did that

We took a chunk of dog hair off our first dog Esau to the carpet store and matched it.

[HopeHoops]

9. When I saw the cartoon, I figured it was something at least SOMEBODY had done!

It doesn't work so well with couches. One of ours matches my big boy's fur pretty well and you don't see it on the cushions. Sit down in dark pants and BOOM - time to find some strapping tape to de-furrify the pants!

[Rambis]

10. Leather

although still get static kitty fur

[HopeHoops]

11. Yeah, this chair has somehow managed to survive since the early 70's.

It's been through a few dogs and even more cats...

[LynneSin]

12. For cat owners it would be carpeting that matches the hairballs hacked up

[HopeHoops]

15. Or the color of cat chow.

[Hula Popper]

17. 35 years of dogs

taught me that even when they're gone, they still come back.... I still find hair in cups
and bowls......

[HopeHoops]

20. It lurks, waiting to strike just to remind you of the time you felt guilty about yelling at them.

Everybody does at some point.

[kcass1954]

25. No kidding, huh! We had to put our Chessie down in January.

Every so often, a clump of his hair shows up in the middle of the hall. I'm so glad we have tile floors throughout.

Edit cuz I can't freaking spell at the end of the day.

[davidb19766]

18. hahaha funny stuff

so true...

[davsand]

19. The perfect carpet design would be random splotches of color.

Hairball, cat chow, litter box, dog chow, pumpkin pie, red wine, coffee, tea, root beer, chocolate milk, pizza, yogurt black, gray, beige... Hoover, shampoo, or spot clean all you want--those colors remain!

Various lengths of carpet fiber would probably be good as well--that way the clumps of fur the size of kittens and puppies just blend into the general texture of the room.

As for furniture, I gave up on that years ago. I decorated in the style of "Early Goodwill" combined with "Post Modern Salvation Army" with garage sale accents. Anything that gets TOO revolting gets cycled right on out. The ONLY new "furniture" I have purchased in the last few years was a new cat tree...




Laura

[HopeHoops]

21. Don't forget piss spots and butt smears.

[davsand]

22. Oh yeah--butt smear! I forgot that one.

As for piss spots, well, that would need to be a range of shades to allow for toddler, senior, AND pet deposits. Maybe we should call it the "Potty Palette" for the households with multiple or exceptional challenges...




Laura

[HopeHoops]

23. "Potty Palette". I like that one. It still needs brown crayon-like marks for the butt smears, BUT,

... if you're going to throw toddlers into the mix you need baby shit green splotches, mustard shit yellow splotches, and general oatmeal puke stains. Before long, it will look like "modern art".

[davsand]

26. The Jackson Pollock Designer Carpet:

[HopeHoops]

29. Hell, that would even handle beer vomit.

[davsand]

31. I'm not sure *I* could handle beer vomit but the carpet probably could take it.

IF they ever made a carpet in that design I'm thinking the entire US Army could march across that in muddy combat boots while dripping Creamed Chipped Beef Gravy with spinach and you STILL wouldn't spot any difference!

It's probably a good thing that I'm not an interior designer...



Laura

[HopeHoops]

32. SOS with spinach? I don't do meat anymore, but that sounds like a good combo.

[davsand]

33. I just stir some in as it finishes cooking.

I sneak spinach into as much stuff as I can. My family actually likes creamed spinach fairly well as a veggie side, and adding it to creamed chipped beef was a natural progression. Another thing I do with it is to make scrambled eggs with cottage cheese and spinach. Makes a mighty tasty brunch item, and it is a favorite in my household along with some almond banana bread on the side.



Now THAT plate would totally work with a Jackson Pollock carpet!



Laura

[HopeHoops]

35. I haven't found a veggie alternative to chipped beef, so we don't make it. HowEVER,...

I do make a cream sauce for biscuits with mushrooms, corn, peas, etc. I'll have to toss in some spinach next time.

[Still Blue in PDX]

34. We put down carpet that matched our Elkhound.

It was beautiful and practical!