[Mike_in_Berlin]

Dear Mini Drivers,

my wife and I are thinking about buying a New Mini. We also have a coarse haired Parson Russell terrier (like a Jack Russell but without the lowered suspension) who sometimes stays in the car and looks after it while we're away. His hair get stuck in the seats of our Renault Espace.

Should we get leather seats or will the cloth seats resist dog hair?

Mike

[vcullen]

My wife runs a Greyhound Adoption program & I sometimes get hooked into transporting one.. The cloth WILL NOT RESIST DOG HAIR. I still prefer the cloth.

[dipstic&dinnerlady]

We have a border terrier and a golden retriever. neither of which have ever been in our MINI,but their hairs follow us around everywhere - including in the car.

Shave the dog.

[SteveM3]

What you need is the proper tools to keep the car clean i.e. a Dyson vacuum cleaner
with the car cleaning tool. No prizes for guessing who I work for

[Gr8Dain]

Get the cloth seats unless you put little 'shoes' on you pooch. I use a 'pet mitt' to rub the hair out/off of my non-leather interiors. The product is supposed to be used to get the excess hair off of the dog by wearing it and rubbing the dog's coat, but it does a really good job of wiping the hair off of the interior of the car as well. (3 lab mixes - 2 have long hair, one short).

Steve, in your honest opinion, is the Dyson pet model worth the difference?

Thanks,

Dain

[Washy]

We have the half leather in our car and with a bit of TLC they are fine despite the best efforts of our two Rough collies. I can recommend the Dyson too....


PS the doggies are much bigger than that now

[RenaultF1]

I have the combo cloth/leather seats in my MCS and regularly tote around the same model dog (Parson/Jack Russell with the same type of coat) as you...

Let's just say that after I have Apatche in the car (even with a blanket) there is plenty of white hair left as a reminder of our trips together. But you know, as much as I hate the hair, I love having him in the car and he loves this car more than the Audi I had before it. For some reason, he used to get car sick in the Audi, but never has in the MINI...oh and he loves the heated seats.

I'd be more concerned about the nail marks in the leather (with all leather seats) than the hair on the cloth...a vacuum does the trick nicely.

[Rennie]

When we had our dog before he went to doggie heaven, I used to throw a big towel or blanket over our cloth seats and that took care of everything.

[RobWC]

My yellow lab sheds all day, every day. It took 2 hrs to clean the hair from a 30 minute drive. He has not been motoring since, but I'm going to look into the Dyson vacs. I miss having him along on rides

[MiniDaze]

Do you have the cloth seats, I take it?
Bummer, as I just ordered these....and it's too late for changes.

[pocketrocketowner]

Mah cat took a nap in my cloth covered racing seat....I still get hairs after three or four 'vacumings'......

[ryanelp80]

Quote: Originally Posted by washy

We have the half leather in our car and with a bit of TLC they are fine despite the best efforts of our two Rough collies. I can recommend the Dyson too....


PS the doggies are much bigger than that now

CUTE doggies! I have a Border Collie/Queensland Heeler mix... GREAT dogs, so smart!

And I want a dyson SO bad! He sheds like CRAZY (I could brush and brush and brush him and I'll still get a full brush's worth of hair every time!) I'd like to take Bowie with me on drives, I got the Leatherette, so hopefully it will all work out...

[RobWC]

I picked up a tool called a "grooming blade" and Sandtrap (my lab) doesn't mind being brushed with it, but he STILL sheds. After reading the thread I checked out the Dyson website, and bought one yesterday. It's called Animal upright and is made to deal with pet hair. Going motoring today and will let you know how the Dyson does on the fallout. The store lets you return products within 30 days if not satisfied.

[ryanelp80]

Quote: Originally Posted by RobWC

I picked up a tool called a "grooming blade" and Sandtrap (my lab) doesn't mind being brushed with it, but he STILL sheds. After reading the thread I checked out the Dyson website, and bought one yesterday. It's called Animal upright and is made to deal with pet hair. Going motoring today and will let you know how the Dyson does on the fallout. The store lets you return products within 30 days if not satisfied.

ohhh, yes, please, please, please do let us know how it works! I have heard nothing but good things about it so far, so I don't think you'll be disappointed with it, but I find it difficult to pay so much for a vaccum! BUT, I have so much hair all over the place, I'm just about to that point where I'll shell out the cash if I know it will help!

[Gr8Dain]

Quote: Originally Posted by RobWC

I picked up a tool called a "grooming blade" and Sandtrap (my lab) doesn't mind being brushed with it, but he STILL sheds. After reading the thread I checked out the Dyson website, and bought one yesterday. It's called Animal upright and is made to deal with pet hair. Going motoring today and will let you know how the Dyson does on the fallout. The store lets you return products within 30 days if not satisfied.

Those blades are great aren't they? I get soooooo much hair out of the coats of my pups, I have a hard time believing that they still have hair left. And two of the three (the longer haired ones) just love to be 'brushed' with it.

And please don't be stingy with your results from the Dyson test. I am limping my upright right now. Don't really want to spend a ton on a new vac, but will probably get the Dyson when this one finally dies.

Dain

[Mister]

With 3 dogs (2 Boxers and 1 Bulldog) and 1 cat, we are firm believers in the durability of leather. Our beasts went through 3 cloth sofas before we bought our current leather set. We've had the leather couches for over 2 years now and they still look great.

Same goes for my MCS with leather seats. We recently took the Bulldog (who is white) to the doctor and, aside from the drool on the rear left window, you'd never know she took a trip in the car. We had black cloth in the Cooper that we traded-in and it still had white dog hairs in the seats after 4 months of trying to get the hair out.

My husband gives the dogs manicures/pedicures every few weeks with a drummel to keep their nails smooth and I clip Miss Kitty's nails every 2-3 months. I also wipe down the furniture (and my car seats) with leather wipes once in awhile. If you're spec-ing out a new Mini, I say go for the leather!

[ryanelp80]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mister

With 3 dogs (2 Boxers and 1 Bulldog) and 1 cat, we are firm believers in the durability of leather. Our beasts went through 3 cloth sofas before we bought our current leather set. We've had the leather couches for over 2 years now and they still look great.

Same goes for my MCS with leather seats. We recently took the Bulldog (who is white) to the doctor and, aside from the drool on the rear left window, you'd never know she took a trip in the car. We had black cloth in the Cooper that we traded-in and it still had white dog hairs in the seats after 4 months of trying to get the hair out.

My husband gives the dogs manicures/pedicures every few weeks with a drummel to keep their nails smooth and I clip Miss Kitty's nails every 2-3 months. I also wipe down the furniture (and my car seats) with leather wipes once in awhile. If you're spec-ing out a new Mini, I say go for the leather!

aww, I just LOVE bulldogs! They have such great personality! Did you pay an arm and a leg for the cute lil guy you have now?

Do you know if those leather wipes are ok for the leaterette too? or is there something else to use on those specifically?

[Mister]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryanelp80

aww, I just LOVE bulldogs! They have such great personality! Did you pay an arm and a leg for the cute lil guy you have now?

Do you know if those leather wipes are ok for the leaterette too? or is there something else to use on those specifically?

Actually, we only paid about $100 for Baby Girl about a year ago. She was abandoned on the streets of West Los Angeles by her former "family." A friend of ours works in Bulldog rescue, found her in the pound, bailed her out and called us knowing that we're suckers for short-snouted pooches. She's a little terror (as the picture implies), but she's my baby. She's just entering the terrible 2's (yikes).

I used the leather wipes on the leatherette in a rental that we had a few months ago and they worked great. I suppose you could also use vinyl cleaner, but the leather wipes contain a nice conditioner that makes everything nice and soft.

[ryanelp80]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mister

Actually, we only paid about $100 for Baby Girl about a year ago. She was abandoned on the streets of West Los Angeles by her former "family." A friend of ours works in Bulldog rescue, found her in the pound, bailed her out and called us knowing that we're suckers for short-snouted pooches. She's a little terror (as the picture implies), but she's my baby. She's just entering the terrible 2's (yikes).

I used the leather wipes on the leatherette in a rental that we had a few months ago and they worked great. I suppose you could also use vinyl cleaner, but the leather wipes contain a nice conditioner that makes everything nice and soft.

Wow, I guess you and Baby Girl both lucked out finding each other!

Thanks for the info too about the leather wipes, I'll gave to get some

[MickPad]

I'll let you guess what dogs I transport around in my MC. Got the full leather and it is a big plus, easy to clean. But all that seems to happen is the hair flies around the rest of the car and gets embedded in a bit of carpet. Takes some effort to get the stuff out of the carpet. But hey that is the price you pay for having both best friends together Mini + Pooch