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Mud puppies: The worst part of a good winter’s ending
By Phyllis DeGioia
February 26, 2009
Ah, spring; it’s around the corner, even though it’s only the end of February. Soon we’ll see the tips of wee yellow daffodils, and the outdoors will be bathed in mud.
Ginger will once again become a mud puppy. With her short little legs, every time she walks outside mud gets splashed all over legs and belly. She needs an under-chassis flush just to come in the house.
I hate spring with a passion. I don’t hate the pretty, warm time when the grass turns green again. I enjoy little birds twittering away and green leaf buds on trees as much as anyone. What I hate is that part of spring that’s still winter as much as spring.
Mud puppies are pretty much what you see from the first snow melt through several rounds of more snow and more snow melt and then more snow before you achieve actual spring.
There will be mud everywhere: on a dog’s feet, legs, belly, and snout. It will be on a collars and all over the car seat cover. Mud will be on the floor, mostly by the doorway where I towel it off eight feet several times a day. As Odgen Nash said, “A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of,” and that is more true than ever in the spring when the temps begin to rise and the back yard is practically a pond.
The good news is that we had a huge January thaw, which actually arrived in early February, and we lost all the snow on the ground. Mother Nature was toying with people’s emotions by donning 50F weather and breaking record highs. She’s a fickle witch, Mother Nature, and she never reminds us of that more than she does in spring. Anyway, we’ve already been through the worst of the melting snow/slush/mud combo, but of course it has snowed again since then. Today it is 47, but we have a winter storm watch for tomorrow, with rain expecting to mix into snow. It’s not even March yet.
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Oh yeah, Phyllis, I share your hate of spring as far as the mud goes. My property is clay which retains the water on the surface. My girl is dainty, doesn’t like her feet wet but the 2 boys, Hoh boy!! It’s the time of year when I wish the dogs didn’t have to go out more than once or twice a day but that’s impossible. Can’t even think of mowing the lawn until sometime in late May or else leave foot prints or worse yet, wheel ruts from the riding mower. Keeping the floor in the sunroom or kitchen clean, forget it. I always hope for 50ish and higher temps and strong winds to dry out the ground.
Comment by VJ — February 26, 2009 @ 5:46 am
Kasey doesn’t mind getting the mud wiped off his front feet, but he is decidedly miffed when I get at his back feet. It’s funny because we spent so much time touching him when he was a puppy to get him ready for stuff like that. But…he is who he is. Maybe it tickles. :O)
Comment by Lori — February 26, 2009 @ 6:27 am
We solved the mud problem two springs ago at the recommendation of a good friend who lives in a warm climate and has an issue with mud and fleas.
The answer? Cedar Chips!
Every spring we cover our entire yard (no need to worry about ruining the lawn - the dogs pretty much took care of that long ago) in fresh cedar chips. They are deodorizing, bug repellant, and NOT muddy! Plus, if someone has a bout of diarrhea or a messy poop, you just scoop up the whole patch of yard, no washing involved. Great when you do rescue like we do…
Every fall we add a few more bags to fill in the blank patches, and in the late spring when things are drying out we rake up EVERYTHING, leave it for compost pickup and replace the yard with fresh cedar.
It smells pretty, it looks pretty, it’s clean, it’s easy to clean up, it’s easy to replace, it’s natural and it’s a by-product of the lumber industry - just like the pine cat litter we use. :O) We’ve tried many things, gravel, patio stones, kitty litter boxes full of warm water by the door, x-pen time-outs until the dogs dry off, etc, etc… but this is by far the cheapest, easiest, most effective way to deal with the problem. For those people who have a large yard, just fence off a doggy toilet area and just chip that area. :O)
Oh, and it has the wonderful side effect of not only keeping away fleas, but also those nasty mosquitoes! No citronella lamps for us!
Comment by Kim — February 26, 2009 @ 8:35 am
Don’t even get me started! We have three seasons here in Maine, Winter, Summer and Mud season. This year I am converting my garage to a mud palace. I know people who have done cedar chips, but my yard is to big. We have a split ranch and I bought a new gate for the garage so they won’t feel so left out of the main house. In the past, they came right in through the dining room. Gross! This year they are coming in and out of the garage, staying for bit to dry and flake off, and then coming upstairs. Why I didn’t do that sooner, I have no idea! Can’t wait to get my hose back.
Comment by nancy freedman-smith — February 26, 2009 @ 11:51 am
Mud not much of a problem for us.
Partly because 7 years ago we covered our fenced in backyard with wood chips. It’s a good sized yard and took 24 cubic yards of wood chips from a local tree trimming company to cover it. They delivered the wood chips in two truck loads, dumping it in our driveway. Twenty four cubic yards is a whole lotta chips (we called it Mulch Mountain) and it took a couple of weeks of serious labor to haul & spread it. After that though, it’s fairly maintenance free: no mowing, easy to clean - instead of disappearing into the grass, poop stays on top and is easy to spot. Even on rainy days, my dogs can charge from end to end and come in with clean feet.
The second reason I don’t mind mud season is that I have prissy, long legged dogs with teflon coats. My smooth collies have all been extremely dainty about keeping those white paws clean and will tiptoe around mud and attempt to levitate over puddles. I’ve taken them out to hike in all weather and afterwards I only have to wipe a little mud splashed on their bellies & legs.
Comment by ChrisJ — February 26, 2009 @ 2:57 pm
My friend is a groomer, and things have been slow this winter. She keeps saying “We just have to make it to spring…and mud season!” And all those dirty doggies will come walking in the door for their baths and blow out.
Comment by Susan — February 26, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
A good friend owns a doggie care/ kennel and the dogs still managed to get filthy with the wood chips. She put in Astro turf and said it was the best thing she ever did. Easy clean up and she can sanitize. Another friend put wood chipped on their previously muddy front yard and the neighbors call it the the hamster cage. :)
Comment by nancy freedman-smith — February 27, 2009 @ 12:02 am
I think the reason our wood chips yard works so well is that I prepped the ground beforehand. Wood chips on top of mud turns into wood chip soup. So I scraped off the top soil (not hard work since there was only a pathetic 1/2 inches of it above rock hard clay). On several popular pathways, I dug down and put in a base of crusher run (rocks of various sizes - it packs down and doesn’t migrate) and put the chips on top.
About the “hamster cage look” - well much of our back yard is under dense shade with only two islands that get some sun. Nothing was growing in the shady part anyway so covering it in wood chips looks just fine. The sunny wood-chipped area did look a little stark so last year I put in a raised bed and plan to put in two more.
Comment by ChrisJ — February 27, 2009 @ 4:45 am
Good to know about the rocks Chris. The day care dogs did make wood chip soup from digging mostly. I was kidding about the hamster cage, the house looks great, but the neighbors tease.Much imprtoved look over mud and worn grooves they used to have.
Comment by nancy freedman-smith — February 27, 2009 @ 8:50 am
Oh how I envy those beautiful poofy sparkling white Bichons you see in dog shows! I have a Bichon who magically attracts dirt - he enjoys rolling in it and manages to turn a light gray with dark brown paws. He stays inside or on our deck until the weather changes. Since we live in Buffalo and won’t have spring until after Mother’s Day, he won’t be feeling dry ground under his fluffy feet until May.
Comment by perkysmom — February 27, 2009 @ 8:58 am