6 Preventive Actions to Protect Your Home From Your Pets

When making a big life decision such as moving to a new home, you think about how this will impact your family’s everyday life. And a big part of your family is your furry friends. Depending on how active your pets are, thinking about their daily habits may deter you from buying a new home due to the likelihood that your pets will “ruin” your home in some way. While not every pet is suited for every type of house, here are six preventive actions you can take as a home owner to protect your home from your pets.

6 Ways to Protect Your Home from Damage Caused by Pets

Flooring

Let’s start with flooring. Yes it’s true, try to stay away from hardwood if you have medium to large sized dogs. Their claws can scratch up your floors over time and will be very difficult to repair. However, there are hardwood alternatives. Hardwood laminate and engineered hardwood are two of the most common options for home owners with active pets since they both offer the “hardwood look” while being waterproof and resistant to scratch marks. If the wood appearance does not matter to you, tile is the safest option if you have dogs who frequently run around the house.

Felt Furniture Pads

On all floors, sliding a chair back and forth over the years will wear out a visible patch of your floor. If your pets like to run around the house weaving under your chairs and bounding off the sides of the table, you will see and hear the scratch marks forming. This will be very expensive to repair. So here is a preventive action you can take to protect your floors from sliding tables and chairs. Purchase felt furniture pads and place these pads underneath your kitchen table and chairs. If you have hardwood/tile throughout your home, also place these felt pads under the couch and other pieces of large furniture.

Furniture Protecting Blankets

Whether your pets are allowed on the furniture or not, they will be curious and want to see the view from up there. Protect your couch from claws, rips, and hair by laying down a form of furniture protecting blanket. Amazon sells many different kinds from reversible to quilted that will match the style of your couch while protecting your couch from your pets. If you do not want to buy a specific protecting blanket, using a couple throw blankets also works well to protect your couch.

Designated Play Area

Having a designated play area in your home for your pets will help the aimless wandering that gets them into trouble. Bring all of their toys to this area along with their bed, blanket, and whatever else they play with. This way your pets feel like they have a designated spot to lay down, relax, and de-stress.

Do Dishes Before Leaving the Room

Well you don’t have to fully do your dishes before sitting down to eat, but make sure your pots/pans are not openly sitting on the counter. Pets have the innate ability to use their paws as hands to pull things toward them, including a pan full of leftover chicken. Push your pots and pans toward the back of the counter, or lay them in the sink. This way your pets won’t be able to get to your delicious smelling dinner and think it’s their dinner too. This will prevent you from having to clean up a big mess and buy new plates.

Hide cords

Cords are dangerous for your pets to ingest. You don’t want to take a trip to the vet because your dog ate your computer charger. The typical MacBook charger costs about $80 plus tax, so there are multiple reasons why you wouldn’t want your pets to eat your cords. When you are finished charging an electronic, put the charger into a box, drawer, or cabinet so your pet won’t be tempted to play with the cord. If you have a gathering area for your cords inside your home, consider gating off that area so your pets won’t have access. You and your pets will be happy that you’re taking this precaution.

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