How to make your home more dog friendly

Being a dog lover is one thing. But being able to care for a dog is completely another. I don’t mean to sound way serious but all dog-owners-to-be need to understand that in order to keep your dog happy, healthy and active you home needs to be dog friendly. So, we give you tips on decorating your home when you have or are preparing to have a dog.

Dog Friendly Floors

Floors are one of the main parts of furnishing to think about when you own a pet (this goes for cats, too or any other pet with sharp claws). I imagine you don’t want your floors to look old and scratched so you need to think of ways of preventing this from happening. Here they are:

a)      Go with tiles. They will make your home easy to clean and there will be no sharp nail marks on them. Plus, any type of ‘accident’ your dog may have (you know what I mean) will be easily wiped away. You can always decorate tiles with fine carpets, decorative rugs and similar. Additionally, tiles are always cold and they will probably be your dog’s favorite place to chill on during hot summers.

b)      If you have already decided on installing wooden floors and tiles aren’t an option then think of types of wood you’ll use. You’ve got hard woods and soft woods. While hard woods last long, soft tend to dent easily.

HARD WOODS: oak, sycamore, elm, cherry, maple, hickory balsa, mahogany
SOFT WOODS: fir, larch, birch, cedar, pine, redwood, fir

c)       A way to preserve wood as long as possible is by having carpets. Carpets can be a real pain though because you need to vacuum every single day. As you know, dogs’ hairs fall off a lot and you want to save yourself from allergies and that unpleasant dog smell. Another option is laying down some heavily anchored throw rugs (you can toss these in the washer for easy cleaning).

d)      Avoid slippery surfaces because as your dog gets older there may be some trouble with traction. Rubber banners are a great solution for this type of thing. Your dog will no longer have confidence issues while walking or running around your home.

Dog Friendly Furniture

Couches/Sofas/Chairs

Avoid white and variations to it. If you can’t help it, put a cover over. This way your furniture will get a makeover with every different cover.
The best solution is to have furniture with variety of colors and patterns because that way random stains and shedding won’t be visible.

Leather or faux leather is a good choice too because it’s easily wiped clean. Still, be careful about scratches your dog may leave. A way to prevent this is to regularly trip your dog’s nails.

Collectables and small items

If there are any worthy breakable items, make sure you move them to top shelves or put in cabinets that are not in your dog’s reach.
Also, all small items need to be put away because you dog may choke on them. Items like sewing needles, buttons, marbles, even small scissors or sewing threads may have serious consequences on your dog if he happens to swallow them. The best way to get rid of those little threats is to knee down to your dog’s level and look around for what he sees.
It would be good to hide cables behind cabinets because dogs tend to chew on them. Same goes for curtains.

Clean Up Station: A “dog stop”

This is a place where you keep all of your dog’s stuff – spare collars, etc. The best place to set up this station is close to your front door. It’s always a good idea to lay down some towels for your dog to clean his paws if there was some rain or mud going on.