Mine have the run of the house, apart from the kids rooms. I feed them in the kitchen.

Ours were crated in the kitchen, now they have their own bed room in our 2 bed flat and soon when we return they have their own utility/doggie wet room, but all day they are either in the office with us or where we are at the time.

I clean up after them like I did when my boys were at home, the boys made more mess!!

My two overnight/when we are out, are in the hall.  Large dowstairs hall, bed on landing, and the stairs and upstairs hall make a great race-track!!

When we're in, they have run of the house and back garden (weather permitting!) 

We are decorating just now, and have designed a dog alcove under the stairs, with space for the bed, and toys.  It's cool in the summer and cosy in the winter so we think that's the best place for them.  They come into bed with me when OH goes to work!!

our 4 have the kitchen and back room when were out , run of downstairs when were in and sleep upstairs at night

LOL, you can tell we are all doggy folk :) ;)

2 of mine sleep in the utility and the other kitchen/hallway  :)

Kitchen for mine with access to dog flap for enclosed garden, but gates for the rest of the house ..............

karen ;)

> who washes her hands every time she touches them

Oh we have friends like that, they used to have a very large, filthy but lovley Otter hound and they washed their hand every time they touched him but with our who are kept as clean as they can be they get the antispeptic hand wipe out!

My rottie boy sleeps in the living room in his pen - he loves his pen for the quiet and takes himself off in there when he wants to sleep.

My gsd girl is shut out of the living room, she has the rest of the house apart from the kitchen. I wouldnt trust either of them in the kitchen knowing how much they love food!

I would give the rottie boy run of the house too but we have degus upstairs and it's too much temptation for him. Can't leave her in the living room with him either as she goes mental against the patio doors if she sees a cat in the garden lol.

Regarding the wiping of the worktops, I very rarely use disinfectant   I used to use bleach to wipe down, but always suffered with a stuffy nose/throat for days after :(  these days I just use a cheap wet wipe and throw it away.  I really feel that there is too much emphasis on sterility rather than cleanliness and it isn't good for us.

On the other hand, I've had my eyes opened to some filthy habits in the toilets of Morrisons while waiting for my children.  I'm appalled at the number of people (staff included) who use the toilet and walk straight out, not even a nod towards the soap and water

These days, the FIRST thing I do on arriving home is wash my hands (ordinary pump cleanser, can't use soap) and I've had far fewer illnesses ;)

> Regarding the wiping of the worktops, I very rarely use disinfectant

I wipe down worktops with a diluted vinegar solution which is also incredibly cheap and surprisingly the kitchen doesn't smell like a fish and chip shop.

Non hand washing is a pet hate of mine too.
There is no more cause of hospital bugs such as mrsa and c diff than simple hand washing or lack of it.

Karen :(

> clean as they can be they get the antispeptic hand wipe out!

i love that stuff, i use it all the time, a bit contradictory but I'm forever scrubbing my hands, I get through so much hand cream and cleanser. I even take a mini gel with my poo bags ;-)

At the mo I've got 1 crate housing two puppies, and 3 dog beds for 4 girls in the kitchen, and my old girl sleeps upstairs with me so I can keep an eye on her because she has bronchitis and our little Terrier sleeps upstairs with us too. :)

You can't beat abit of dog fur in your cuppa lol. :) I clean my kitchen much more regularly than any other part of the house, so it must be fairly hygenic.

I always disinfect the work surfaces before preparing food though because I know they countersurf. :)

>I really feel that there is too much emphasis on sterility rather than cleanliness and it isn't good for us.

Good point Dill.  It's interesting how advertising has really shifted the emphasis from basic clean isn't it.  It's all about anti bacterial now and since when did we need to have floors we can eat off?!

I quite liked the Persil adverts that suggested dirt was no bad thing. A good job in my house.  The kids and dogs often look like they've been mining.  Dirty but happy :)

My two dogs have the run of the house unless they are wet and  muddy - then they are kept in the kitchen until they have been showered and brushed. They have various beds around the house so they can choose where they want to sleep, but usually at the foot of our bed or on the landing.

My three sleep in the kitchen, under the breakfast bar. They are in the kitchen and back garden during the day as we leave the back door open. I have two house cats so they have the run of the house during the day. In the evening or at weekends they are wherever we are in the house. One of them sometimes sleeps in my daughters bedroom. In the past we have had the dogs in the bedroom with us but not on the bed as there is just room for us although the puppy slept on OH's pillow when she was wee :-D

My 5yr Dally girl sleeps with my daughters, My 2yr Dally boy and 9yr colliex girl sleep with me and the 2, 5month Dally pups sleep in their own room which is a converted half of our garage off the kitchen. When we go out the older girls have the run of the house and the pups have their room which has a door to the garden.......The boy, well thats work in progress.....he usually comes with us if he can as he is so naughty he can't be left or we get someone to sit with them all!!!
During the day with me they all roam around the family room, kitchen, puppy room and garden but are not allowed in the front room or upstairs.

My three sleep in the back hallway which has stair gates in the kitchen access and stairs so the cats can have free run of the house or we are feeding them and want to keep the gannets away from scoffing their dinner !  The gates are open when we are about but only downstairs. The place only get a good clean once a week when we have our cleaner in (she is a doggie person so is not bothered about the mess when she gets here :-D ) otherwise I sweep and clean the floor when it needs it and clean the kitchen surfaces everytime we prepare food as you can normally notice the cats paw prints everywhere !

Dogs a babe brilliant words  i agree wholeheartedly. My animals are part of the family the go where we go and I am sorry but inthe case of the cats they are feed on one end of the work surface ( I can here people shudder Lol) otherwise the dioggies would eat their food ! I wipe all services frequently my house is clean but not sterile I feed raw an dam very aware of hygeine but we all stay welly

Yep and the odd dog hair arrives in the beans Two

I like the one about clearing the house of allergens. When the kids go outside the pollen must poleaxe them. If they could see my great niece asleep as a pre 1 year old in the dog bed with the dogs looking on they would have a fit. We are too clean and the increase in asthma ect is scarey.

> On the other hand, I've had my eyes opened to some filthy habits in the toilets of Morrisons while waiting for my children.&nbsp; I'm appalled at the number of people (staff included) who use the toilet and walk straight out, not even a nod towards the soap and water <IMG alt=eek src="/images/eek.gif"> <IMG alt=eek src="/images/eek.gif">

I once walked out a resturant leaving all the half eaten meals on the table. I took my friends little toddler to the loo, a waitress came in, put her money in the sanitary dispenser, used the loo, then left the toilets with out washing her hands! And I told the manager why I was leaving!!!

That is disgusting bilbobaggins.

Wasn't it... sorry hope I did not make you cringe too much. :-( I did think about deleting!

Mine have the run of the house and they sleep on my bed .
Sheila

Mine goes everywhere he wants even when we're not at home. The reason for that is that I trust him 100% and know he wouldn't touch a thing. He used to sleep in his travel crate/bed in the living room, but since the baby was born I thought he might feel left out, so all 4 of us now sleep in our bedroom :). He's not allowed on the bed, so we put his doggy bed by the side of our bed and he doesn't even wake up when baby cries.