Having a pet is not only a wonderful, enriching experience but one that requires a lot of love and attention. While no one wants to think about the downsides of dog or cat ownership (think litter boxes, shedding, and cleaning up pet accidents), consider this: nearly 60 percent of American households have a pet. If you are the proud owner of a pet, the time they spend at home with you is precious, but you also want to make sure they are safe and happy at all times.
If you want to make sure your home is safe and friendly for your pet, you can do a few things. When you’re looking to make your home pet-friendly, you’ll probably first want to consider the safety of your furry friends. Some pet-friendly products, such as rugs, couches, and new carpets, can pose dangers to your pets, at least until you make a few adjustments.
Protect Your Decor
If you have a pet, you know how important it is to keep their hair off your furniture, carpet, and clothing. When you have friends over, the last thing you want is your dog shedding all over the living room. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to prevent pet hair from getting everywhere. One of the most important measures to take is regular grooming, especially if you have a long-haired pet.
You can also teach your pet where they are allowed to sleep and where they aren’t. For example, if you don’t want them on your bed at night, you should teach them where their own bed is and get them into a routine. On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who enjoys the comfort of your pet sleeping in your bed with you at night, you will need to consider the best mattress dimensions to allow enough space for you, your partner, and your furry friends! If you don’t have enough space, you won’t get a good night’s sleep and will have to make the difficult decision to kick your pet off the bed. This is why teaching them to stay in their own bed is ultimately the best decision.
Invest In The Correct Toys
Pets are just like kids, and when they’re bored, they like to find ways to entertain themselves. But unlike kids, our pets can’t play on tablets or watch TV, so they resort to chewing holes in your furniture or getting stuck in your closet because it’s more interesting than their boring pet toys. Therefore, it is good to buy specific pet toys and encourage your pets to use them. Regarding the type of pet you have, dogs are often easier to teach, and you can invest in a few chew toys, which is often enough to entertain them. On the other hand, Cats will need special devices that enable them to sharpen their claws, practice hunting, and areas to laze around on. You can get all of the items you need from most good pet stores.
Choose Flooring Materials Wisely
Depending on which animal you have as a pet, you will need a particular type of floor that is hard-wearing and safe for them to walk on. For example, a thick carpet can be detrimental to animals with sharp claws. This is because they can get stuck in the long fibers and tangled up. Nevertheless, hard floors can also be slippery and provide little grip meaning that they could injure themselves sliding into things. There is no one size fits all answer here; it depends on which animal you have, how active they are, and your budget.
Invest In A Powerful Vacuum Cleaner
The average dog or cat will shed 50 percent of its fur in a single year. This is excellent news for vacuum cleaner manufacturers, but for the pet owner and housekeeper, it means there is a steady stream of fur coming in from the outside that needs to be dealt with. This excess fur is not simply messy, but it can cause issues for your pet as well. If you don’t make an effort to vacuum up the hair, they will be moving around in it, negating why they shed fur in the first place. This is why ensuring you purchase a powerful vacuum cleaner will be one of the best investments you have ever made. Vacuums with weak suction are not up to the job of sucking up hair that has been tangled up with carpet fibers. Conversely, lower quality cleaners are unable to sufficiently reach hair that has been shed onto hard floorings. If you really want to go nuts, there are even pet-specific models that have a lower noise volume to not scare them and several different attachments that make your life easier.
Making Your Yard Safe
It is essential to make your yard a pet-friendly place for several reasons. It may be because you want to protect them from animals that prey on them or because you would like them to enjoy the benefits of being outdoors. The truth is that no matter the reason, there are things you can do to improve your pets quality of life, such as:
- Block any holes in your fencing.
- Keep all harmful garden chemicals stored away when not in use.
- Read up on which plants are toxic and remove them.
- Try to reduce the usage of pesticides.
- Block access to your compost heap.
- Use pet-safe mulch (or avoid cocoa mulch at the very least).
- Put garden tools away when not in use.
It is also essential to purchase a special animal shampoo that kills fleas and ticks. Once you have this product make sure to use it regularly to keep these nasty pests at bay.
One of the most rewarding things we can do in life is to own a pet. They bring happiness and companionship and really make a house a home. However, if you own a pet, you owe it to them to ensure your home is as friendly as possible.
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