Helping pet owners maintain a clean couch

Sweeper Sundays, rainy days and other home improvement tips for pets

I always thought my legs were for walking, but my dog Junee thinks they’re her pillows. (Photo credit: Shamontiel L. Vaughn)

As soon as Junee (my Hound mix) sees me open the dining room closet door, she knows what’s about to happen: Sweeper Sundays. For well over a decade and every Sunday morning, I wake up and clean my home from top to bottom — dusting; sweeping; mopping; wiping ceiling fan blades; vacuuming; polishing wood; cleaning mirrors and windows; scrubbing couch stains; checking plug-ins, candles and incense inventory; and using Febreze for my couches. In her puppy year, she took this as a personal challenge to roll over each couch after I vacuumed them, chase the broom like a remote control car and try to lick the windows.

Recommended Read: “5 supplies to avoid your house smelling like dogs ~ Warning: Your dog won’t like the couch rule”

A few visits to her crate, and she figured out that wasn’t the move. She also learned to like Sweeper Sundays, primarily because she knew somewhere in that mix would be brushing her fur. I don’t know any dog who enjoys getting her smooth-haired fur brushed more than my own; she falls onto her side and turns up the corners of her mouth in bliss. A treat comes shortly after. As she grows, she now skips all the running around, sits patiently on my kitchen floor to be brushed and trots to the crate for about 45 minutes while I work. She’ll occasionally peer out of her crate if I walk into another room, but for the most part, 43 of those 45 minutes are a quick nap.

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Wise Doggo Faux Fur Dog Blanket - Extra Large

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It sounds easy now. But I am also the owner of a beige couch and a matching ottoman, a former dog boarder and a current dog walker — 89 dogs, 508 walks. Every dog’s fur count and shedding is different, and light-colored couches are a constant battle for pet owners. It took me some time and a lot of scrubbing before I figured out how to keep my couches clean, scratch-free with pillows intact. Here’s what I did.