Learn how to puppy-proof and cat-proof your home! Follow these 7 simple tips to help make your home pet-friendly!
Puppy and kitten-proofing a home is something that a new pet parent must add to the list of responsibilities that come with welcoming a new pet to the family. Whether you’re adopting a puppy, kitten, older dog or older cat, there are steps that should be taken before you bring your pet home.
Making your home pet-friendly will help assure a smooth transition to the pet to your home. Pet-proofing also removes items from your pet’s reach -- for their safety and the safety of your shoes, garbage can and other items that are irresistible to a pet who is adjusting to an unfamiliar surrounding.
Our team members are all pet parents and because of that we have conversations about things we did when we brought home a new dog or cat and things we learned from those new pets in our household! We want to help you make your home more pet-friendly; learn from our mistakes!
How To Make Your Home Pet-Friendly
In many cases, we have found that when a dog or cat or puppy or kitten destroys an item in the house or otherwise causes mayhem, it is something that could have been prevented with prior pet-proofing.
Here are our best pet-friendly tips:
- Pick it up. Don’t leave your shoes in an area that your dog or puppy has access to. Until your pet learns that chewing shoes is a no-no he may be tempted to gnaw on them. Each time your dog chews on an inappropriate item, you will want to take the item away and give him a toy or something else to distract him. Praise him when he chews his toy and not your shoes.
- Contain it. Look around your home, just as if you were child-proofing, and look for loose cords, plugs and computer cords. Contain them and put them out of sight of a curious puppy or kitten.
- Put away the valuables. If you have a cat or kitten, be aware that they love to climb and they also seem to love knocking items off shelves. If you have valuable knick knacks or items you don’t want knocked to the floor and broken, move it out of reach of the kitten.
- Cover the furniture. If you have a cat, you know that cats just gotta scratch. If you don’t want a cat scratching your furniture you can use CLAWGUARD’s furniture shields or furniture tape to protect the couch from the cat’s claws.
- Pack it away. If you have never had pets or children in the house before and you haven’t had to pay too much attention to hazardous cleaning materials, now is the time to do just that. Either switch to pet-friendly household cleaners or secure cupboards so your cats and dogs can’t get to them.
- Give your pet a safe space. Many dogs love, and feel secure, in their crate. If you want to crate train your dog, do so as soon as you bring him home. Make the crate a place of comfort and security -- not a place for a “time out” for bad behavior. If your dog associates his crate with it being his own safe space, he will not mind spending time in there when you’re away. If your dog doesn’t like a crate or if you don’t want him in one, find an area of the house that you can block off (with baby gates or pet gates) to give him room to roam, but not free range of the entire house.
- Protect your doors. If you’re bringing home a new dog or puppy, she will become very attached to you especially because everything around her is unfamiliar. If your new dog or puppy suffers separation anxiety and that manifests itself in her clawing the door or the doorjamb, protect it with a CLAWGUARD door shield. This is easy to install (no tools required!) and provides protection to both your home and to your dog’s delicate paws; when he scratches the door he runs the risk of getting splinters in his paws.
What have you done to puppy or kitten-proof your home before you brought a new pet home? We would love to know and your tip might just help another new pet parent.
Did you know: Many pets are returned to shelters because of the damage they cause to the home? Our products help keeps pets in their forever homes!
CLAWGUARD builds shields that help protect homes from dog damage and cat damages. Products include couch guards, universal protective tape and door shields that protects commonly scratched areas like window sills, furniture, banisters, doors and more. Check us out on Amazon and read our many FIVE STAR reviews!