becature's Profile

I have 700 sq/ft apartment and a corgi. :) Corgis tend to shed like it's their job.

My favorite two tips:

1) Leather sofa. Fur doesn't stick, and sitting down doesn't cause a cloud of pet dander to explode upward. So, less upholstery vacuuming for me, less sneezing for my friends, and less lint roller usage.

2) Conditioner bath. During the seasonal shed, after shampooing my dog (dilute the shampoo to avoid irritating skin, and rinse, rinse, rinse), I load on the conditioner, work it in, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I rinse forever. The conditioner helps all the loose undercoat slide out with the rinse, so more of it comes out in the tub. Important to use a hair-catcher in the drain, though.

Beyond that, a healthy dog is a low-odor dog. So, a good diet, good oral hygiene, regular baths, and you're set on the odor front. If your dog is still smelly, that's usually a sign something is wrong and a trip to the vet is in order.

On the shedding front....again, a good diet leads to less shedding. I've even heard of dogs on homemade diets (menu dictated by vet nutritionist) who only do the seasonal shed and don't drop any coat the rest of the year. For the rest of us, there's fish oil supplements, regular bathing, and brushing. Also, invest in a good vacuum. I'm a fan of bagless, and if it's an upright I prefer being able to clean out the beater bar and belt area without a screwdriver.

If you have the means, and if you have different dirt/tidiness thresholds, having a cleaning service come clean your home once a month or every other week can alleviate a lot of stress.

Also, have a plan for cold and flu season. And find out in advance if your partner needs/expects to be coddled or left to their own devices or something in between when sick. Because no one is good about expressing preferences when they have a migraine coming on or have just caught the 24-hr stomach bug.....

I recently purchased....7 iron beds for my boss's ski house....we ordered them through Abode in Half Moon Bay with a designer's discount, but I did price them online before we did so and would have saved a bit going that route. Here's a link to the bed style we ended up purchasing:

http://www.humbleabode.com/Cardiff-Bed-WesleyAllen

$601 for full and free shipping is not too bad.

("Humble Abode" is not affiliated with Abode in Half Moon Bay as far as I can tell).

The Wesley Allen beds we ordered were beautiful, had a good solid weight and construction to them, and so far have not been squeaky. Lots of finish options to choose from, too. Overall my (rather picky) boss has been quite pleased....