We keep our 2 dogs in the kitchen, but i have been told its not hygienic to leave dogs there, so i was wondering where everyone else keeps their dogs?

Mine stay in the kitchen when I'm not at home or they are filthy, rest of the time, they are on the sofa :-D

We used to have house-cats, they weren't allowed out but had access to all parts of our home including the kitchen.  MIL thought that it was very unhygienic as I always wiped the worktops down before using them   but as I pointed out, they weren't allowed on the worktops, I just assumed that they went on there when I wasn't looking, that way we were covered ;)

Personally, I prefer to keep my home as a home, not a hospital so it's clean but not neccessarily sterile ;)

I suppose it depends on how hygienic you want your home to be and whether or not you have persons living there who are immune-compromised?

By the way, my dogs have always slept in the kitchen and two are always in the kitchen when we are out :)  The rest of the time they wander through as they wish.  If I'm cooking a roast they all sit by the oven to supervise basting :-D

>We keep our 2 dogs in the kitchen, but i have been told its not hygienic to leave dogs there

It's probably not hygienic to splat flies on the worksurface but I do that too!!

Actually mine have their main beds in the utility room, they sleep there at night, or whilst I'm out, and when they are dirty after walks, and they are fed in there too.  In practise however they flop out near me so If I'm in the kitchen one or both of them is in there with me.

I don't see dogs as unhygienic, so have no concerns about where they are.  Mine slurp spoons in the dishwasher if given half a chance, lick crumbs off the floor, and I wash their bowls in the dishwasher.  I don't take daft risks as they eat raw food but neither do I feel the need to disinfect every 5 minutes.  Was it a clean freak who warned you about hygiene I wonder? :)

I vividly remember one year my 5 year old daughter said "Ugh I've got one of your hairs in my beans!  Oh no, it's ok, it's a dog hair"  Bless...

At the moment my two have their beds in the laundry room.  In Summer (being our first in Australia) they were in the family room where the air conditioning is whenever we had to go out.

All 5 of mine have the run of the house and generally wherever I go, they go! They sleep in my bedroom at night, and a couple sleep on my bed. If I go out, which is a rare occurence, they still have the run of the house.

Mine are in the kitchen, it's not as if they are up on the units etc! 

Kennelled, no problem with hygiene here, except with the OH ;)

Hmmmmmmm, we have got a spare kennel that might suit............

Kitchen as well.

Why is it supposedly not hygienic? They're cleaner than many people!

Kitchen and / or dining room, though when we're home they are usually on a sofa in the lounge. I can't leave George with full access to the house as he has been known to shred paper and books!

My three have the run of the house, and have generally always slept either in kitchen or on sofas in the lounge. However my eldest girl decided one of the spare beds was a nice place to sleep, and the other two have now followed suit and so all three have taken to sleeping with her.
When they are left they have the run of the house with the TV left on, and if we are very quiet on returning home its lovely to peep through the window and see all three quite content and fast asleep on the sofa together.
With regard hygiene if they are wet and muddy we tend to keep them in the kitchen, untill they are dry but as has been said tthey are not up on the work surfaces so i dont see a problem. Although if my springer spots a stray tea towel then then he will try him luck with jumping up to get it.

Ours have their own room in the house, which has access to a fenced outside area for them, if I go out I also have kennels with covered runs (these are from the days when I had a lot of dogs) which are only used if I go to a show and OH is busy too to keep an eye on them.

My 4 dogs have the run of the house, apart from upstairs.
My kitchen is one of the cooliest places in the hot summer, so my 3 large dogs spend most of their time in the kitchen, I have never thought it unhygenic to have my dogs in the kitchen, I hoover and mop, clean everyday and my dogs are brushed and de flead treated.
:) :)

My 5 have the run of the house when we are in, when we go out and at night they all sleep in the back room which is openplan to the kitchen/diner, we also leave the French doors open during the day so they have full run of the garden, they also have the TV or radio on in the day as well.
Sometimes George is allowed to sleep upstairs on the bed and Sunday mornings the lot of them come up for a lie-in! or a who can get most of the bed first. My OH has built a lovely large kennel/shed at the bottom of the garden but it is not finsihed yet and is slowly getting full of plumbing equipment (as he is now working for himself) and like he says "I couldn't put the dogs in the  kennels now they are used to the house.
I have never thought it was a unhygienic having the dogs in the kitchen, house etc providing you have a good cleaning regime.
Like most people with dogs, I use the kitchen sink to clean their bowls and the washing machine to do their bedding, i don't have room for a separate utily room, though I have said when we do move, it will be on my wish list, along with a few acres of land and lots of other things.

Mine have the run of most of the downstairs, although not into the small hallway to the front door as Im paranoid about one of them sneaking out when I open the front door.  I have not had the dogs sleep upstairs for a long time now mainly because one of them is a GD pup, but quite a number of years ago, one of my dogs used to sleep on the bed and I woke up one night thinking I was suffocating, as she had decided that sleeping on my head was where she wanted to be so that put me off them sleeping on the bed tbh.

Ive got big french doors that lead out into my garden from the lounge.  So at the moment, they are sitting about 2 feet away from me on the cool patio slabs, they go in and out of the garden all the time.

If I go out, they have their crates/dens to crash out in.

we keep our two dogs in the utility room when we go out because we can put the alarm on because there is no sensor in there as there is one in the kitchen. when we go to bed of a night they go for their last wee and trot into the utility room on their own and sleep there for the night til we let them out in the morning. they know this as their safe place and understand thats where they go when we are not with them.

Mine are dotted around the downstairs areas. They aren't allowed upstairs unless its to be bathed. - another unhygienic matter, bathing them in our own bathtub??..
Back doors open most of the time which leads to our back garden, they can choose where they want to be.
Currently they've all chosen to be inside out of the heat..

Oh and the doors open to the kitchen if they so wish, cat sleeps in there too.

We have 7 dogs , when we go out , which isn't often ,and through the night ,  the 2 dogues and very old shar-pei sleep in the kitchen. The Rotty , spinone x , and 2 frenchies sleep in the utility room. I would love to give them the run of the house but unfortunately no amount of training will ever stop my frenchies being distructive little madames! They believe in team work , and have me beaten every time.
I am one of those that could easily become obsessed about germs if I thought about it too long , but I just disinfect my work surfaces twice a day.

I also keep my back door open all day so they can decide where they want to be.

Thanks everyone that's very helpfull. I have decided to leave my 2 in the kitchen at night. :)

Ours sleeps in the kitchen at night. The rest of the time she is wherever I am.
Must have been a clean freak suggesting dogs in the kitchen is unhygienic! The kitchen is probably the most frequently and easily cleaned area in a home.

Main beds are in the utility room, but most of the time they spend in the kitchen on their sofa, should be ours but hey ho,  the dogs get  the best seats, we sit on the kitchen chairs

I even  put my grocery shopping in the boot of my car where they dogs go ,  (not  at the same time)   some may say thats unhygienic, but we are still all here to tell the tales.

Mine have the run of most of the bunalow when I am in - with the exception of the bedrooms. They sleep where they want to mainly but not on human beds nor our sofas but they do have an old sofa of their own in the conservatory. One dog will often sleep in the shower tray in the summer as it's really cool in there and the other prefers his comfort and likes to sleep on the carpet in the lounge.

In the winter they are resticted to the conservatory and kitchen when they first come back from a walk until they have dried off but in the summer they choose to go where it is coolest. Once dry the smallest dog lays claim to the woodburner and the large hairy dog still seeks out his cool spot :-)

> I even&nbsp; put my grocery shopping in the boot of my car where they dogs go ,&nbsp; (not&nbsp; at the same time)&nbsp;&nbsp; some may say thats unhygienic, but we are still all here to tell the tales. <IMG class=qButton title="Quote selected text" height=10 alt="Quote selected text" src="/images/mi_quote.gif" width=20>

I do as well - it goes in the crate that takes up the whole of my cargo area.

Ditto.  Sod hygiene, we are more likely to pick up harmful germs from fellow humans than our dogs and as long as you keep food storage areas and counters clean then there is no harm with a few germs.

Animals are not hygienic full stop, nor are we really.  If we are to worry that much we should stop kissing family members.

As long as you not ingesting harmful bacteria in your food then there shouldn't be a problem with a normal healthy immune system.

I love my dogs, complete with bacteria, hair, slobber, dogs breath, germs and anything else they have does not change this. I am very particular about which humans I have in my house, however dogs are all welcome anytime

Ours sleep upstairs with us. For a while (when my son was young) they weren't allowed upstairs, but now he's 10 they are, infact  Tango has her bed under his bed (it's a high one!) Cosmo tends to sleep at my side. In the mornings Cosmo has been known to decide I have pressed snooze enough and lie on me to wake me up! Tango then come to clean my ear...
In the day when we are in they have the run really but tend to stay where I am. When we are not in we tend to seperate them, partly because I always think you just never know...and partly because I don't want them toooooooo reliant on each other when they are alone. When we are out they are left with loads of interactive stuff (kongs/pyramids/treat balls etc) so it is far easier to keep them apart so I know how much they have both eaten.
Their toy box ( I know!!!) is in the kitchen, they have vetbed in the kitchen and hall (and water) and a bed in my sons room and in our room! Spoilt rotten or what!!!! :)

> We keep our 2 dogs in the kitchen, but i have been told its not hygienic to leave dogs there, so i was wondering where everyone else keeps their dogs?

I have to ask ,did the person who told you have dogs or pets? We seem to have gone over the top in recent years with so called hygiene. Our dogs sleep in the utility room and follow me around the house during the day. They do not go up stairs unless invited. I'm still of the belief that a little dirt never did anyone any harm and probably better for our immune system. As a previous post said, many visitors to the house are probably dirtier than the dogs. I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who witter on about hygiene use our toilet and come out not having washed their hands.

We seem to have gone over the top in recent years with so called hygiene

My dogs have the run of the house and I get to sleep on the edge of the bed--they adore having a long lie in and like to catch the sun in the attic with the velux open. When we're out they have to stay in the livingroom.

Too much hygiene is bad for your health :)

A house should be clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be home.... So clean toilets and sinks, hairs on the sofa... perfect IMO

Mine have beds in various places and they sleep where they feel comfy ,,, tonight that is tiles in the kitchen, last night it was outside our bedroom door! They have a mat in the dining room where they have to stay if I put them there...

> We keep our 2 dogs in the kitchen,

Whoops!  I keep far more than that in mine!!  It's the largest room in the house, and one end is full of dog beds and duvets.  Plus two very large crates for seperating the entire dogs and bitches when necessary.

They get the run of downstairs when I am there, and are confined to the large kitchen when I am out, or at bedtime.  It's worked for me for many years, and I haven't caught the dreaded lurgy yet!

Hogan has his bed in the living room (main family room in the house) as is his crate. He stays in his crate over night, and when we are out. Hopefully when he is older and more trustworthy he can sleep on our bed/on his bed in our bedroom over night, and have the run of the house when we are out.

> A house should be clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be home...

I like that

Having looked at this topic again, I thought I'd just add to my previous answer, that although my dogs sleep in the laundry room or family room, they do have the whole run of the house too.
Previously in England, that was only downstairs.  But now in Aus, we are in a single storey home currently, so that does sometimes include a sneak into the bedrooms! lol
Hubby doesn't like that, but tbh, working where I do (rescue shelter) I know my dogs and house are clean enough to be healthy :)
I'm also happy for them to be around my feet when I'm in the kitchen too.

There that's better.. don't feel so guilty now :D

My 3 have the run of the house when I'm in but tend to stay where I am (at the minute all 3 are curled up next to me on the sofa). During the day if I'm busy 2 of them will often lie at the top of the stairs. When I'm out and at bed time they have "their" room. This was meant to be a conservatory but the dogs have claimed it. It leads off the kitchen door. Where it is positioned it stays cool all the time. It is also attached to the garage which we have divided so that the dogs have extra  space. The conservatory door opens  into the garden so they have the run of half the garage, the conservatory and the garden if I go out. They have a basket each to sleep in in the conservatory and a huge dog bed in the garage, although my cairn insists on sleeping in the smallest bed which was bought for my yorkie when she was a puppy and she is very tiny!!!! He looks so cute. The conservatory was only recently completed so they have not long moved in, but they love it. As for hygiene well as far as I'm concerned we can catch bugs etc from other people so Im certainly not worried about my dogs. My house is kept clean and no one in my household has any dreaded diseases and my dogs are healthy too!!! :)

Luckily I have a spare room in my house, that I supposed use to be a reception room, so the dogs have that room with their crates in there.

> A house should be clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be home....

Yes, that says it all.

well by reading all of these, the kitchen seems appropriet, i keep my 4 dogs in the kitchen when im not home but when were in we have the conservatory door open so they have the run of 2 rooms, i cant let them have the run of the house as i have 4 sbt and therefore i wouldnt have a settee, i know where ppl get the idea of being unhygenic as my fridge gets covered in little hairs and its so hard to get them out.

We keep seven in kennels and the oldies and pups indoors.

As for hygiene i think my kennels are actually cleaner than my house!!

i couldnt cope with 7, lol stopped the breeding thing as thats how i ended up with 4, lol

I am with Dill on this one re kitchen worktops ...personally I think my kitchen is probably cleaner than people who dont have animals as it is cleaned and disinfected more often same as floors !!

Two of my dogs sleep in kitchen and that is where I keep the crates the oldest girl has the run of the downstairs. That is at night  but during the day they have the run of the house. If I am sitting they are usually sittting around my feet....LOL

Mine are allowed access to all areas as long as they are dry, if they have been out on the mountain or swimming they have the kitchen and hallway. Except for my old girl who is still allowed in the lounge when wet but she knows not to get on the sofa until she is dry. We have slate floors everywhere so not really a problem, would hate to have carpets!

one in the kitchen and two in the dining room.
its you kitchen so its your choice if you want to keep a dog in it.

Both mine have the run of down stairs, but after their walk they just sleep all day and re surface at tea time :) As I am at home all day they have the patio doors open with beds outside too.

All five of my girls indoors. they have a joiner made big box bed with a made to measure Tuffie matress in it.
in this weather though they prefer to lay on the tiled floor as it is so much cooler.

> Too much hygiene is bad for your health

This is so true, I used to use anti-bacterial spray for cleaning the kitchen top to bottom but inhaling the fumes always killed all the good bacteria in my nose and throat causing terrible sore throats which would last for days.  It's ok for a quick wipe down but for washing all the cupboards inside and out I now just use a bowl of warm water and detegent.

I wonder if keeping our homes so sterile is the reason so many people have allergies these days.

Kitchen & utility room here for 3 of them, rest in kennels

Mine has run of the downstairs when we are home,then kitchen if we need to pop out and at night.  She is only 51/2 months old so hopefully in a few months she can have the run of the downstairs all the time.

Kitchen, 5 crates set up, on arrival of 5th dog kitchen table was lobbed into the attic! Now 6 pups in the bedroom! Yikes! Generally they have the run of the house.

Bet it wasn't a dog owner who told you it was unhygenic!! :-)

Our three springers have the run of the house when they're dry and not muddy, we're lucky they even let us share a small portion of their bed king size bed and quilt :D

We have a friend who has two springers who washes her hands every time she touches them but then comes in from the garden after gardening and makes her self a sandwich with washing her hands, she offers to make us one too but, but funny thing is we're never hungry when we're around there.

Is a dog less hygeinic than a person ?
Mine has run of downstairs (doors open to garden in good weather)
Crate under the stairs for overnight & when doors to front are open