Dealing With a Dirty Dog

By Eric Hartwell

One of the more abiding mysteries in human existence is how a habitually-ordered neat freak – one who insists on having his surroundings clean, neat and sterile, with everything in its place and a place for everything, with a car that is lovingly washed and beautifully detailed once a month – suddenly finds himself or herself living with the ultimate slob who thinks nothing of tracking muddy feet into the living room, shedding hair everywhere from bedroom to sofa, to say nothing of spreading slobber all over the place.

Welcome to the wonderful world of people and their dogs.

Some people have said that taking on a pet, especially a dog, is like taking on a partner – you have to put up with each others' quirks, adjust to each other's follies and learn to adapt to each other's moods. Although, to be honest, most of the adjusting seems to be one way – you learn to adjust! A dog is still a dog and can't be expected to learn to wipe his feet before entering the house, pick up his toys after he's done with them or stop shedding fur all over the place, which leads to the problem: How do you reconcile a dog lover and a neat freak who loves a clean house and a cleaner car?

A Chow Named Chan and A Blue Chow Called Keisha

For marketing executive Judie Dahl, her first dog – a chow named Chan – was a match made in heaven. An admitted neat freak, she found Chan to be a dog with similar leanings to her. Chan, at six years old, wasn't big on mud puddles or beaches, wasn't one for slobbering all over her and doesn't mind when she wiped his feet off before entering her home. In other words, Chan was a freak for cleanliness, just like she was.

And then, after nine years together, Chan went on to doggie heaven. Two months after, Judie Dahl found herself missing her doggy pal and was generally miserable. Seeing an ad in the paper for "Blue Chow Puppies," she took a look – and walked away with a girl named Keisha.

The only problem was that Keisha was the opposite of Chan. The new Chow was no clean freak – unable to resist mud puddles, rolled around in the sand, ran on the beach and then, tired and dirty, would simply flop down in her car – dirtying the newly-detailed car seats.

Given the choice of letting Keisha go or just simply accepting dirty car seats, Judie Dahl took a third route: Start a business manufacturing doggie-proof car seats.

Practical Pet Car Covers

Judie Dahl manufactures Practical Pet car seat covers that are doggie-proof and actually work. The car covers are made of denim in three colors (beige, blue or black), which work with almost all car interiors so that you won't even realize there's a car cover in place. The denim fabric means that you can shake dog hairs off as well as ensuring that your dog's nails won't rip it, and they have a rubber non-slip backing that holds the cover in place.

The covers are machine-washable, which allows for convenience in cleaning and can easily remove doggie odors. They are also easy to remove in the event you have to take on human passengers. It comes in four sizes which cover all car seat types, from sedans to oversized SUVs.

Practical Pet is also coming up with new products to include non-toxic odor discs, cleaning fluids and other items for pet owners.

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