Is the dog hair in my house a turn-off?

Hi everyone,

My question may seem stupid. But here goes...

I have two dogs. One sheds non-stop. I mean, there is dog hair everywhere in my apartment and my car. Vacuuming and grooming him doesn't really do much for the problem. Dog hair is still everywhere!

My question is...will this gross guys out and make them not want to come over here? I've had two guys really complain about it. Others haven't, but if two have...it makes me wonder.

Thanks in advance for your honest feedback.

- Scout

I think it must depend on the guy. I mean, if the guy doesn't really care for dogs that much, then it would probably drive him crazy. But if he has dogs himself, he probably wouldn't mind the hair so much.

I love dogs, and my ex didn't care much for them, and when we would visit our friends house there was always hair everywhere. I've had dogs myself, so I know that it really is impossible to get ALL of the hair, and it really didn't bother me, I barely noticed it. My ex couldn't stand it though. I know this probably wasn't much help, just thought I'd get the ball rolling for ya!

Cheers!

Thanks Sunchick, for getting the ball rolling!

Hey Scout! I know how you feel, at home in the U.S. my family has three dogs. The hair is literally everywhere. After two months of being here in Japan, I'm still finding dog hair on my stuff that I brought over.

My boyfriend isn't a big fan of my dogs, but the hair in the house never really bothered him. I don't think he really noticed it unless it was all over my clothes. I have some lint rollers for my clothing because two of the dogs have white-ish hair, the other has black, so it really can't be hidden.

As much as I wish my grooming techniques helped the shedding, it doesn't really change a thing... so I can't help you there. I really only brush them in the summer so they won't be so hot.

No amount of vacuuming will get rid of all the hair, but as long as you're doing your best not to let it pile up, especially in corners, I don't think most guys notice. Of course some will, but it must depend on the guy. I hope if it's a guy worth keeping he wouldn't get all petty about the hair, especially as it would be so apparent how much you love dogs and animals.

I don't like dogs - but thats just me - i wouldn't be bothered by the hair - i'd be too scared of the dogs

But my type of girl wouldnt be big in animals i guess....

I love animals. Out last dog was killed by a snake and we all cryed including me. We have not gotten another dog only because we are afraid they would run the deer.

But as much as I love animals, I hate to walk into someones house and smell dogs or cat boxes. A little hair does not bother me, but that smell is a real put off.

Just the way I feel.

PS: we currently have three rats, a cat and a racoon. The cat and 'coon live outside.

I think it's safe to say : date men who love dogs.

I think a guy who is crazy about you is going to put up with some dog hair. ( I know this comment doesn't help you any )

My strategy would be : dog shows, animal shops... anywhere that I can meet a nice guy who loves dogs. I don't mean to be cheeky, just thought I'd throw in some suggestions

I keep hoping to meet someone at the dog park, but so far no luck.

Hi Scout,

I would say that the just of it is that there are some people who like animals and some who don't. As a few of the previous posters have commented, it is best for you thereforeeee to find someone who loves dogs, as you say at dog parks.

My parents have a dog that also looses her coat, so I can understand your dilema.

goodluck

Hi guys...

I just want to make this a sticky for a couple of days, because I'd like a few more answers. The reason is because, I can't just date guys that have dogs. That's going to narrow the dating pool somewhat. Although I agree that would be the ideal solution, so, not to discount the good advice I've gotten here already.

I was just hoping a few more guys could give some feedback about this.

Thanks, Scout

Well, being a dog lover myself I know it wouldn't bother me. My golden drops hair all the time and its not a case of her not being groomed or the house not being clean. Its just a case of I don't have the time to run around after her with a vacuum 24 hours a day.

This is going to be one of those individual preferences though. Some people just don't like animals. So they'll always be put off by the hair, smell, presense of an animal. Oh well, don't worry about them. You shouldn't have to compromise your love of animals just to date someone. Its part of you. So thats something your partner has to accept.

Something tells me you wouldn't be happy with someone who wasn't an animal lover

I don't think a guy who was turned-on could be turned off by dog hair.

Maybe dog (DELETED BY MOD) but eeven then...

If we are talking fur bunnies all over the place, then it might bother me.

But, I love dogs, so it would need to be a whole lot, like to the point of not being able to see the color on more than half of my socks. I guess there is a point where hygenic considerations make me say "yuck" (I'd probably use an expletive instead of yuck).

I don't have a dog now, but one of the things best things to keep it down is of course, grooming. But who wants to brush a dog that much. I never did. And a couple of my dogs hated some brushes. They would try and hide when a brush came out. A grooming glove was a different story. ONly had one for the last dog, but her tail wagged when it came out. It did not wag as much as for the can opener, but she liked it. We had one that was like a mitten with rubber nubs that were about 1/4 inch long and 1/16 inch wide. Maybe have one of those around, so when you pet the dogs you are doing grooming. A couple times a week seemed to help.

You need not limit yourself to dog owners. I am sure plenty of guys who love but don't own dogs are out there too.

I'm going to get one of those grooming mits!

And yes, Av....I would not be with someone who didn't like animals! But they don't necessarily have to have them.

Beec, I'm afraid the hair is everywhere, it's impossible to sit on the couch without getting it on your clothes. It's to the point where I feel I should tell people "Don't wear black clothes over here!"

I used to have an American Eskimo with a long WHITE coat. He was an absolutely beautiful dog, but I gave up buying any dark clothes because it always looked like I had rolled in a cotton field by the time I stepped out of the house. Even with weekly brushings I could still pull handfuls of white hair out of him and I actually broke two vacuums because they couldn't handle all the hair.

Still though, I loved that dog Don't worry about whether guys will mind it. If they can't handle it, it's their problem.

Yes Scout, I would definitely take Avman's advice. That was a really good response that he made. If a guy can't accept you for who you are, then a relationship with him isn't worth it. I can't seriously love a guy, if he can't love my dog. If he criticizes my dog, then he's out the door! It is not a turn-on when someone criticizes your pet. In fact, whenever a guy sincerily loves and plays with my dog, it makes my heart melt. I actually start to fall for him as well. It's so cute when guys can love your pet. It just shows how sincere they are as a person!

You know I could love someone's dog, but be thoroughly disgusted by their housekeeping.

True. I think we are all assuming that the housekeeping is kept up, just that the dog hair means it's not going to be a spotless house.

But I agree, if somebody had dogs and didn't clean anything that is a totally different story.

I love dogs. I have three of them. They live outside my house and every now and again they come in for a sniff around. One of them is afraid of electrical storms and I let her stay in when shes scared, poor little corgi that she is.

I have a friend who has dogs and they live inside her house and I have to admit that her house is disgusting. It smells and is covered with hair. If i met a man who lived in such a hairy house I would find it a real turn off, i just couldn't do it.

Even when my little uns toddle out after their visit it takes me days to erase their presense. Dogs certainly have had to give up crime since the development of forensic science. If you can let them out do, they prefer it also . My three are happy to visit but after about 15 minutes they generally leave themselves out.

True. I think we are all assuming that the housekeeping is kept up, just that the dog hair means it's not going to be a spotless house.

 

But I agree, if somebody had dogs and didn't clean anything that is a totally different story.

And we all of different levels of cleanliness, or lack thereof, that we are willing to tolerate. Is the hair on the coach a "love my dog" issue, a cleanliness issue, or a bit of both? A bit of both, I'd guess.

Scout, my biggest recommendation would be to brush the dogs for days before, then clean like crazy right beofre he comes over the first time. Slack off over time. If you are playing your cards right, he will learn not to care, after you have him in your clutches.

Hi Scout,

I have the exact same hair problem with my two cats. I've had some people come to my house and immediately start sneezing and gasping for air becuase I guess the cat hair is too much for them to handle.

I have one male friend who refuses to take his shoes off when he comes over because he is really sticky about finding one piece of cat hair on the bottom of his sock!

I know what you mean about it being slightly embarrassing if your guest is not used to pet hair. But I usually just throw that concern over my shoulder and not worry about it too much. Thinking back, I've never seriously dated a guy who didn't like animals.

Any animal lover won't mind the pet hair.

LoL. I'm assuming that the house is clean as well. I do agree, if a house reeks the smell of dogs and cats, then I couldn't tolerate that as well. My friend's house is like that. It's hard for me to breath whenever I'm at her house. I get really claustrophobic.

Thanks to all of you! The advice really put things in perspective for me. Basically, yeah...if a guy is going to be prissy about the hair, he's not going to be my type anyway. And I definitely couldn't be with someone who wasn't good to my pets.

On the other hand, I do think I need to invest in more grooming tools. I brush my dog, but he's so hairy, I need to be doing it with better tools and more often. The truth is, I got so overwhelmed, I did start to slack. The vacuum - yeah, Av I've already been through one, too.

Luckily, my house doesn't have a strong "doggy" smell.

Thanks everyone! I love this site. I will now "unsticky" this post, I got a lot of great advice.

Hey Scout,

Yes it definitely depends on the guy. I personally am a cat person, and could deal with cat hair a lot easier than dog hair because dog hair smells and cat hair doesn't, at least from what I have experienced.

We solved our dog hair problem by putting the dogs outside. You can get really nice kennels and doghouses so they don't get cold (not sure what your climate is).

Now just my kitty gets the run of the house, and he doesn't shed much at all.

I'd definitely say you need to find a dog lover though cause yes, it could definitely be a turnoff for certain people.

I could not imagine my dogs living outside...unless we lived on a really big farm or something. We're in the city, and if I made my dogs live in kennels outside, they would find a way to pick the lock and come back in.

Let's put it this way...right now, they are both snuggled contentedly on the couch together! They both have their own special beds (although they ignore them and sleep with me), toys everywhere, and basically follow me wherever I go.