Keep your dog safe: Control temperature, secure home

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For many dog lovers, leaving your home and your four-legged friend is one of the worst moments of the day. Dogs will often sit at the door or peer at the window for a long time watching you leave, but once you’re gone, they’re sure to settle in and patiently await your return. Of course, keeping your dog safe in between your early departure and happy return is a key step in caring for your pet.

Here are things you may not have thought about that are essential to their wellness.

#1 Keep Things Out of Reach

Dogs can get into anything and everything if given a chance. While some are much more relaxed than others, any dog suffering from boredom or separation anxiety can turn to destruction. Maybe you left a pan on the stovetop covered in delicious smelling bacon grease. Perhaps you have a pair of shoes sitting by the door that looks just like a tempting chew toy.

Fortunately, your dog is unlikely to be hurt by any of these common targets. It’s the more dangerous items, like household cleaners, that you need to be worried about. If you have a particularly nosy dog, try baby locks on cabinets within their reach. Push things back so they don’t hang off the countertops and shut doors to any rooms you don’t want your dog getting into. Also, provide lots of toys and things you do want your dog chewing on as a means of distraction and redirection.

#2 Secure Your Home

Whether or not you think your dog could scare away an intruder, there are things you need to secure for the sake of your dog’s safety. For instance, leaving windows even slightly open can turn into an escape hazard if something outside were to catch your dog’s attention.

Any dog could inadvertently claw or push their way through the delicate bug screens. Bigger dogs can nose a partially opened glass window open all the way. So, always keep windows shut and locked for your dog’s safety and security. Make sure outside gates and other areas your dog has access to are secure and escape-proof, too.

#3 Check Your HVAC System

While you already know that your HVAC system is essential to your own comfort, it’s also important for your pet’s. When you’re not home, your dog has no way of adjusting the thermostat or opening a window, so carefully maintaining your HVAC system and keeping it on during the day is important to make sure the house doesn’t get too hot or cold for your dog, especially when extreme temperatures hit.

Likewise, always leave your dog with lots of freshwater, especially during the summer. When in doubt, you can use fans to circulate air around the home and shut curtains to keep sunlight out when it’s hot. Myatt and Bates Heating and Air also list some of the symptoms of an HVAC breakdown that you should watch for.