5 Updates to Make in Your Home To Make it Dog Friendly

If you want to get a dog or already own one of these loveable pets, you’ll want your home to be as safe and suitable for your dog as possible. You might need to make some changes around your home to make it a dog-friendly setting, but not all modifications have to cost a lot of money. With these five home updates, your home can be a dog-friendlier environment that will give you greater peace of mind.

1. Get the Right Floors

Not all floors are ideal for homes with dogs, so you might need to have your old floors replaced with new flooring materials that will be more suitable for your pet. You’ll want floors that can withstand scratches and stains so that they stay looking great. You’ll also want to make sure that the flooring materials are comfortable enough for your dog to walk across so that your canine pal doesn’t have to endure any pain when moving around your home.

Vinyl plank is one of the best flooring options for dogs and is also a popular choice because of its waterproof material. Other great material choices include tile, laminate, and engineered hardwood flooring.

2. Add Scratch Guards

In addition to your floors, dogs can scratch furniture and other surfaces around your home with their nails. Wood and other materials that are vulnerable to scratch marks can quickly become worn and even ruined if you don’t have scratch guards in place.

Scratch protectors can be placed on doors so that scratch marks won’t be left when your dog wants to be let into a particular room and paws on a door. You can also find scratch protectors that can be cut to fit around certain sections of furniture pieces that might get scratched by your dog. To keep your windows scratch-free, you can install some window films that are resistant to scratching.

3. Reinforce Your Yard to Prevent Escapes

You can keep your pet out of harm’s way when they play outdoors in your yard if you’ve taken measures to reinforce your premises to keep your dog from wandering off your property and into danger. Reinforcing your yard can also help prevent other animals from coming onto your property and potentially harming your dog.

Gates, aluminum fencing, or other barriers can be placed around your yard so that you won’t have to constantly watch your dog and make sure that they remain on your property as they play. Concrete or gravel may need to be placed at the bottom of the fence so that your dog won’t be able to dig underneath the barrier to escape.

4. Designate an Indoor Potty Area

There might be times when your dog can’t go outdoors for a bathroom break, or your dog could have a medical condition that makes going to the bathroom outside dangerous. You can designate a certain section of your home as a potty area for your dog whenever they need to relieve themselves indoors. Your dog might seem resistant to using this area in the beginning, but your dog should soon make a habit of going to the bathroom in this specific section if you’ve used the right potty-training methods.

You can use a standard litter box, but potty mats and patches that feature grass to resemble an outdoor potty area often work great indoors and can keep your flooring safe and dry. Some mats and patches even contain attractants to encourage dogs to use the spots for potty breaks.

5. Make Your Home More Fun

Your dog may start to feel sad, lonely, or anxious and might even get into trouble if they become bored in your home. By making your home more entertaining for your dog, you’ll have an easier time keeping your pet happy.

Dog toys can be placed in certain areas of your home so that they’re always available whenever your pet wants to play. An obstacle course that you build yourself can serve as a great source of entertainment for your dog. You can also buy a jungle gym for dogs or build your own and place it in a spacious indoor area or outside in your yard for your dog to use for fun and exercise. Your dog will have a much more enjoyable time living with you if you’ve done everything possible to make your home a place that accommodates them the best. The right changes in your home can be highly beneficial for both your dog’s physical and emotional development.