No wonder we love dogs! They have so many GREAT qualities that they've claimed the title of "man's best friend". But sometimes, the things they do don't feel very "friendly". .

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there are days when your dog is out to get you. I'm just saying it can feel that way sometimes. Your dog doesn't mean to cause a problem - what he's done is quite innocent. But it can frustrate you nonetheless.

There's one particular complaint I hear a lot from dog owners, and it's probably happened to us all. Your dog innocently comes in from outside and his wet dirty paws tract dirt through the entire house! Worse yet, he jumps right up on the sofa or tracks the dirt all over your wall-to-wall carpeting!

Don't you just hate that?

One of my friends complained to me about this just the other day. She had just washed the floors and her husband let the dog in and, well ... you get the picture. You've probably had this happen to you. Picturing it in my head I had to laugh just a little, but I can totally relate to the frustration she was feeling. And I'm guessing you can, too.

I know many dog owners that purposely choose dark-colored floor treatments so they won't show the dirt. Of course the dirt is there, but at least you can't see it as much. If your home has light floors the problem is much worse.

OK, so dogs make messes. They don't mean to cause us problems when they do these things, but it usually does.

What can you do about it? Well, here are a few suggestions.

1. Keep your yard free of mud. Keep mulch in the beds and make sure your yard is totally covered with grass. If the mud isn't right there for your dog to walk through, he won't bring as much of it inside. But, of course, this doesn't stop a dog from digging!

2. When you walk your dog, keep him out of the mud and dirt.

3. Clean your dog's paws as he comes inside ... BEFORE he can track the dirt through the house. Keep a damp towel and maybe a bowl of water by the door and clean your dog's paws every time he comes inside. This is great way to help minimize the amount of dirt being tracked into the house.

To make the process even easier, you might want to try something called the Paw Plunger. It's a really great way to clean your dog's dirty paws. It looks like a large "mug", but it has a series of brushes around the inside. You just fill it with water and leave it by the door. When your dog is ready to come in, you just dip his paws once or twice, and the water and brushes automatically clean them. Then just dry them with a towel or pet shammy. I think this is a really cool invention. Dogs don't mind it a bit, and the Paw Plunger makes cleaning dirty paws a lot easier.