Keep your dog happy and your home clean

 

We all love our pets. They keep us company, protect us and are members of the family. But, we can all relate to common puppy problems.

These are less about the ruined furniture and more about boredom, stress and excessive energy. Chewing, shedding and anxiety problems can cause damage to our homes. So even though you love your dog, you will not appreciate the destroyed furniture and always present layer of hair on every surface. But, there are small steps you can take to keep your dogs happy and your home clean.

Chewing Problems

Some dogs have separation anxiety, which can lead to chewing on furniture, tearing through the house, peeing inside and other destructive behaviors. Puppies usually have chewing problems because they are learning about the environment around them, and the easiest way to do that is through their mouths. Usually puppies grow out of it as they grow up, but there are steps you can take to help curb this problem.

Tire out your dog. A tired dog is not going to have the energy to chew on the corners of your couch or lounge chair. Go for walks, run around the yard or play tug of war. This also a great tool for dogs with separation anxiety. If you get some of your dogs energy out before you leave, your pup will be less anxious once you are gone.

Give your dog toys. Puppies are always looking for new things to explore and get into. If you provide your dog with appropriate chew toys they will learn what is and is not okay to chew. Giving your dogs ropes, rawhides or kong toys will help them release excess energy and develop preferences for what they like to chew on.

Shedding Problems

Brush and bathe your dog. Taking a few minutes daily or a few times a week can make a huge difference in the amount of hair around your home. Brushing helps keep your dog’s coat healthy and gets rid of dead hair. Plus, your dog will enjoy being pampered. Bathing your dog will keep their coats clean, which leads to less shedding.

Protect Your Home

Aside from brushing, washing and providing your dog with energy outlets, there are other ways you can control your home and take care of your furniture. Nobody likes to come home to a chewed up couch leg. There are products you can buy and some you may already have to help you protect furniture, carpeting, flooring and window treatments.

• Use bitter spray on furniture your dog likes to chew on. It only takes a small amount of this nasty tasting stuff to stop your dog from chewing up your couch legs. It is nontoxic and won’t harm your furniture. This is a great method to send a message to your dog that your furniture tastes bad so they won’t want to chew it anymore.
• Hot sauce is also a great deterrent that you might already have at home. Dab a tiny bit on the spot your dog loves to chew and wait for results. Your dog won’t like the spicy taste and will learn to associate your furniture with the unpleasant reaction.
• To keep your furniture clean, you can use washable slipcovers on couches and chairs. This makes it easy to remove and wash them when Fido gets them too hairy.
• Putting down throw rugs can help keep your carpets and floors clean. Placing rugs at exterior doors will help keep your pup’s paws clean and confine the dirt they track in to one place. Purchase rugs that you can easily wash or vacuum.
• If drapery is a problem, you can easily tie them up. This can be done in a beautiful way that doesn’t sacrifice the interior design of the room. Cords are a great option to pull drapes away from the floor. You also can buy holdbacks in various designs to keep your drapes in good form.
• If your drapery is too long you can hem them without a sewing machine. Once you measure the drapes and find the desired length, fold over the ends of the curtains to the new length and iron at the fold. Then, unfold at the crease, place your hemming tape along it and fold the material back over, sealing the line.

We all want to love our dogs and our homes. With a few simple steps you can help protect your home and the furniture in it.