UK dog owners spend nearly 70-hours a year cleaning up after their muddy canine friends, equating to 876 hours, or 36 days, during the average dog’s lifespan.
A survey of 2,000 dog owners by Jeep reveals approximately one hour 20-minutes a week is spent cleaning up after muddy pups, whether that be physically washing or just cleaning up after them.
On average, 23 hours a year are spent actually cleaning muddy dogs, while just over 24 hours of Brits’ time is spent cleaning up the house and 22 hours cleaning the car after muddy walks.
On a weekly basis, 61% of dog owners find themselves giving their dog a thorough clean at least once, while 35% clean their car in the aftermath of a muddy dog walk on one or more occasions.
Owners of a Jeep Wrangler have an advantage when it comes to mucky pups in their cars. Taking a look underneath the floor mats they will discover a number of plugs which can be removed to allow water to drain. Whilst this feature is typically used when off-roading, it also means any seriously muddy floor pans can be carefully hosed out and drained ready for the next ‘Paw X Paw’ adventure.
Inspired by the time Brits dedicate to cleaning up after their muddy dog, Jeep worked with forensic soil experts at The James Hutton Institute to investigate which dogs pick up the most mud on their daily walks.
‘Paw’ticipants were instructed to go on three walks with their owners then tasked with collecting the mud picked up by the dog post-walk. The mud sample was then sent back to The James Hutton Institute to be weighed.
The Jeep ‘Paw X Paw’ campaign sets out to celebrate those muddy expeditions and find out which dog loves and attracts mud and adventure just as much as the Jeep range. Jeep’s ‘Go Anywhere, Do Anything’ motto is one most dog owners will relate to, especially if their four-legged friends have a tendency to follow any trail, find every puddle and disappear off-road.
A sample of 30 dogs from around the UK took part in the challenge, from small breeds including Chihuahuas, to canine giants such as Great Danes as well as ‘wildcard’ mixed breeds, from the well-known Cockapoo to a more unknown Lhasa Apso Cross.
The first-of-its-kind study revealed the muddiest and most explorative adventures can come in all shapes and sizes, with Ollie Mo the Yorkshire Terrier taking acclaim as the ‘Paw X Paw’ Muddiest Dog of the Year. Ollie collected a greater proportion of soil compared to his own body weight than any other dog. Gathering 14g of soil on his walk – 0.29% of his own weight – he was followed in second place by Evie, a Bearded Collie, who collected 0.15% of her weight.
Meanwhile, Houndslow, the Saint Bernard, picked up the most amount of soil, 42g – 0.05% of his weight.
To celebrate the muddy dogs that took part in study, Jeep has created a muddy dog’s calendar which can be downloaded for free here.
Lorna Dawson, from the James Hutton Institute, said: “We are delighted to work on this interesting experiment with a range of dogs and their owners. Using similar approaches to that which is used in our forensic case work, we were able to tease out the many factors at play and show some insights into those interactions by both primary and secondary transfer.
“Dog breed and size, environment and weather conditions, such as recent rainfall and soil type, all influence the amount of trace evidence that could be recovered from the canine suspects.”
For more information on the trial and to download Jeep’s Muddy Dogs calendar, which includes some of the best muddy shots of participants, visit www.jeep.co.uk/news/muddy-dogs.
