Labrador Lowdown Review: Dog Gone Smart Dirty Dog Doormat

Vera modeling the Dog Gone Smart Dirty Dog Doormat.

As of the date of this writing, April 6, 2022, this is my personal review of the Dog Gone Smart Dirty Dog Doormat. I have no affiliation with the company or Amazon other than as a consumer.

When we moved into our new house in 2019, I faced a predicament I hadn't experienced with the same magnitude in my previous dwellings.

Dirt. Mud. Water.

Everyone tracked it in the house. The husband. The dogs. Me. It was unavoidable.

And I was losing my damn mind.

Our last house was well-established, with a paved driveway, lawn, and gravel run for the dogs. Of course, some debris made its way inside, but it was nothing a quick sweep or mop wouldn't take care of.

The new house was different. The property would be considered the boonies by some standards, raw and somewhat untamed. Gravel and dirt, strewn with odd combinations of plants, made up the "landscape."

The dogs would come in and out, leaving the floor gritty in their wake. This was especially concerning because our new expensive, fancy-pants LPV floors, which were supposed to be indestructible regarding pets, easily scratched if the tiniest pebble went unnoticed.  

That was a hard lesson learned on move-in day when my husband scootched a cooler towards him while loading the fridge. A sound like nails on a caulk board made us cringe as a grotesque scratch mark appeared, leaving us a little dead inside. Who would've thought the downfall of our beautiful floors would be a tiny pebble tracked in innocently in someone's shoe? 

Aside from grit, there was water. If it rained or snowed, wet paw prints glistened upon the floor. Since dogs have 4 feet, depending on the number of dogs one has, that's a lot of wet paw prints! And having Labradors who naturally gravitate towards mud, things are even more fun when mud is involved. 

I felt like I was spending all my time tending to my floors. Sweeping, vacuuming, mopping. All the bloody damn time. These wonderous floors that were supposed to make my life easier when living with dogs were failing.

Of course, I tried rugs at all the doors. In and out. I asked people not to wear their shoes in the house. You can't ask that of dogs, of course.

Nothing helped.

To save my sanity, I asked on Facebook if anyone had any recommendations for rugs. Being that I would say 90% of my friends on Facebook are "dog people", I figured they could sympathize and had my back.

 They did.  

The Dog Gone Smart Dirty Dog Doormat was the result.   I can honestly say it's been a game-changer.

Per the product description from Amazon, "Our Advanced Microfiber Technology traps water and mud instantly. Millions of soft microfiber strands create an extra-large super-sponge. These mats have a Grams Per Square Meter (GSM) absorption rate of 3000; this advanced wicking power absorption rate is considerably higher than any of the competition that have GSMs in 900 to 1500 range." ("Amazon.com: Dog Gone Smart Dirty Dog Doormat Cute Paw ...")

The first one I got was for my dog room, which opens to a gravel potty yard. The floors are concrete, which is exceptionally slippery when wet. Upon the dogs coming inside, there were hundreds of wet paw prints as they danced around, waiting for their treats. I taught the dogs to sit on the rug for 10 seconds when they came in. That 10-second pause took care of the bulk of the mess, and my floors showed a noticeable improvement.

I was elated! These rugs had changed my life!

Whoa, Nellie. "This lady is a certified nut job to get this excited over a rug," you may be thinking. One day, something will solve a huge issue for you, Friend, that has been the bane of your existence. And you, too, will geek out over it. Like when plans are canceled, and you get to stay home! It's a rite of passage into adulthood.

In a hurry, I ordered more rugs. Next up was one for the entryway, which sees the worst of things. This rug proved its worth immediately, stopping nearly all dirt and water from coming into the house. One day, I tidied the entryway and took the rug outside to shake it out. I was pleased to see all the little bits of dirt, dog hair, and rocks that didn't make their way into my house fly away.

To make a long story short, I now have 9 Dog Gone Smart Dirty Dog Doormats in my house. They come in 4 different sizes. I use the 35" x 26" size in front of my doors, two deep, to increase the area covered. The runners, while long enough, aren't wide enough to cover a standard door width. The exception is my patio door; I used a 60" x 30" runner there, lengthwise.   I have two runners down the middle of my dog room for added cleaning assistance and traction. I also employ 35" x26" on some dog beds to help contain old dog accidents, saving me from having to launder the whole bed. I can attest to their absorption after these accidents. It's remarkable! The rugs can move around a little bit, but there have been far worse offenders.

Aside from a shakeout here and there, which takes care of ridding the rugs from the bulk of their dirt, I wash them occasionally. The instructions state to machine wash and lay flat to dry. I err on the side of caution and use a cold-water cycle and then air dry. I use cold water, hoping that will help preserve the backing. The air drying doesn't take as long as you'd think, maybe a day. The rugs come out great and are ready to go again. 

The only downsides I see to these rugs are superficial things. I am not crazy about the pawprints. Yes, I am a dog person, but that doesn't mean I want to have pawprints all over my house. They aren't part of my décor, not my jam. The colors can be a little challenging too. I chose Gray for my entryway since that's the color scheme there. My dog room rugs are Pacific Blue, which is more of a soft teal than a blue. I wanted this room to be fun, and it matched some hanging pots I already had. My patio door and dog bed rugs are Bermuda Blue, which isn't quite a navy or royal blue. Blue is a significant color found throughout my house, so it blends well.

After my experience with these rugs, I gifted a Dog Gone Smart Dirty Dog Doormat to my mother-in-law. She was griping about the mess her grandchildren's snowy boots left in her entryway. She recently asked me to send her the information about them so that she could get another. My in-laws don't have animals in the house-unless you count the grandkids. So, they work fabulously for non-pet homes too.

As I was writing this article, new ways of utilizing these rugs came to mind. I think I will order some for the back of my van, for under my dog crates. These will help keep the van cleaner for sure. 

I am pretty sure the travel trailer needs one. Maybe two. 

I can't say enough good things about the Dog Gone Smart Dirty Dog Doormat. If it's important to you for a product to do what it says, you'll get it with these. If you are in the market, take one for a spin and see if it makes your life easier, as it did mine. I give these rugs 5 Ottertails*!

If you are interested in purchasing, here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Gone-Smart-Dirty-Doormat/dp/B016IXADV8/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=dog%2Bgone%2Bsmart%2Bdirty%2Bdog%2Bdoormat&qid=1649532043&sprefix=dog%2Bgone%2Bs%2Caps%2C203&sr=8-5&th=1

*Just what is an "Ottertail"? Labradors are famous for their Ottertails, a breed hallmark! And it’s great for a rating system.