How To Love Your Dirty Dog and Change Your Life!

Author: Judie Dahl

How To Love Your Dirty Dog (and Change Your Life or at least your attitude!)

City loving executive living in the perfectly clean, perfectly decorated home, driving the very expensive and regularly detailed car suddenly finds dirt, hair and slobber everywhere, completely shifts life style and falls in love with all of it. Does this sound familiar to you? You are not alone!

So how did you end up with your dog? If you are anything like me, all it took was one look from Chan, the beautiful Chow or perhaps in your case the look from Lucy the gorgeous Labradoodle or Buddy the regal Boxer.

I met my boy Chan a few days after he had lost his life-long doggie pal Kaiya. He was miserable. He wouldn't eat, just laid around. What else do you do, but help him through his grief? We fell in love.

Bless his heart, at six years old he was as neat and tidy as I am. He wasn't big on beaches or mud puddles, didn't mind having his feet wiped, and thanks be to heaven, never slobbered. Another clean freak!

When my Channie moved on to doggie heaven at 14 years of age, I realized how much I had grown to love the ""doggie"" lifestyle.

Two months later, I was still missing my canine pal, and generally feeling miserable.

The ad in the newspaper read: Blue Chow puppies. What's that? Perhaps I should ""take a look."" Just look. Honest.

How could you resist this little grey ball of fur? Wagging so hard her entire bottom was in action and piddling everywhere out of excitement. They just have a way of steeling your heart.

Driving away with her on my lap, like most of us would, I wondered ""what the heck I have I done?"" She looked up, gave me a little lick, and all was well in my world.

However, all dogs are not created equal. Unlike my boy Chan, my girl Keisha was no clean freak. Playing in the ocean, digging in the sand, and hanging out in mud puddles, were a bad combination for my car seat.

How do you cope with the dirty paws on your carpet or the slobber and sand on the car upholstery?

The mess in my car was enough to motivate me to start a new business. There had to be others like me; dog lovers who also love a clean car and house. My company, Practical Pet makes dog car seat covers that actually work. Other products coming on line soon include non toxic, bio degradable odor discs, cleaning fluids and other ""Practical"" products for pet owners.

So, all's well that ends well. We create lives around these precious ones that allow us to live life more fully. Like you, often much to our surprise new careers, homes and attitudes emerge for us dog lovers. Who knew what you were in for!

I love my new life, and with my doggie inspired creative thinking, can once again enjoy my white carpets and clean car seats.

About the author: About the Author Judie Dahl spent most of her life as a career driven Marketing Executive who has lived in Toronto Canada, Amsterdam and the south of France. She now resides in Vancouver, Canada where she enjoys the mountain trails and the ocean beach with her dog. She is now an entrepreneur whose business ""Practical Pet"" was a result of wanting a less stressful and therefore more enjoyable relationship with her dog.