The Basics of Pet Proofing Your Home

Some say that having a pet is like having a child, but I’d say that having a pet is like having a perpetual baby on your premises. A pet is a baby that may or may not grow tall or agile enough to chew on and destroy everything in its path. Pet proofing your home is beneficial not only for your stuff but also for your pet.

As every owner knows, there are a lot of things that are perfectly capable of hurting your oblivious furry friend.

Here are some tips that will help you pet proof your house.

The Basics of Pet Proofing Your Home

Limit their access

Not used to closing the doors in your home? Well, you better start getting used to it, unless you’re cool with stumbling upon hidden piles of poop and rivers of pee.

What you need to do is designate the areas in your home that are pet-friendly.

For example, a living room, toilet, and garage are generally places where dogs can roam around relatively freely.

On the other hand, unless you don’t mind collapsing into a wet (and smelly) bed towards the end of the day, you need to learn that closing the bedroom door is of the utmost importance.

However ridiculously far-fetched it may sound, even a poodle can learn how to work the door handle, and once your pet learns how to open doors, your restrictions will count very little.

This is why it’s so important to teach your furry friend that they are not allowed to enter certain rooms, especially if the doors are closed.

Also, opting for knobs instead of handles helps.

Clutter is disaster

I’m not going to nag you into clearing the clutter in order to function properly, but I am going to try and persuade you to declutter by saying that it’s bad for both you and your pet.

For the little furry ones, especially dogs, everything that can fit into their mouths is potential food, and everything that can’t is potential teething equipment, even that expensive iPhone.

Once you become a pet owner, you need to come to terms with the fact that the vast majority of your stuff should have its own place.

From a different, perhaps even more worrying perspective, a pet most likely won’t be aware of the fact that the pills aren’t food, and can, in fact, cause a ton of harm.

Your pet, especially if we’re talking about a dog, probably has an endless appetite for, well, everything which is why everything should have its own place in your home.

Babyproofing sometimes works with pets

Sure, pets can be regarded as perpetual babies in some respect, but for all intents and purposes, pets do not equal human babies.

However, some precautionary measures we use for keeping our kids safe can also keep our pets from trouble.

These babyproofing items that include everything from the electrical outlet and power strip covers to baby gates that limit access to certain areas and safety locks for kitchen and bathroom cabinets are easy to find and install and are relatively cheap.

Every expert Sydney electrician, for instance, will suggest any pet owner get a containment system for their electrical cords, for obvious reasons.

Keep an eye on specific food types

As most people know, the biggest problem with food, when it comes to dogs, is probably chocolate.

However, unfortunately, there are other potentially toxic foods that you may or may not be aware of.

We’re talking about grapes, avocados, raisins, macadamia, onion, garlic, nuts, and coffee.

So, always make sure to keep these foods out of your pet’s reach.

Pet proofing your home is a long process that you will have to enforce, one way or the other.

Start while your pet is still a baby. Teach them to respect the boundaries, clear the clutter, babyproof everything, and always keep a watchful eye on certain food types.