A wholehearted huge thank you for taking the time to write this!
So far, I have gone through everything that can be wiped one, from Tru Oil to polyurethane, shellac, everything, but I wasn't super happy with the outcome. You give me confidence to try rattlecan polyurethane soon. And I think you have a great and clean workflow. That would be something I need to work on. I don't have a dedicated work space, just a small corner in my office. So I also get dog hair anywhere and this annoys me a lot.
Thanks again so much for the details of your workflow. I have saved it in a doc and I will refer to it from now on!
You are more than welcome. This forum is a safe place to ask advice without feeling out of place. I wish you luck with your three kits.