How to Secure Your Dog During Home Remodeling?

We always start our home improvement with a good purpose: to renew our dwelling, to make our apartments more beautiful and comfortable. But we have to live in a real chaos and suffer from thousands of nuisances during repair handling.

Imagine, what your pet feels when there are many strangers around, which make noise and the air is full of dust and strong smell of building supplies. Dogs are not only frightened, but also can be harmed. So how to make your dog feel more comfortable during repair works and prevent him (her) from spoiling your new interior finish?

In the Shadow of Stress

Strangers are at home. Furniture is out of place. No favourite chimney-corner. Bad smell of glue and paint, which provokes sneezing all the time. Drill is switched on from time to time, which sounds worse than frightful vacuum cleaner. In short, your pet feels stress and anxiety during home improvement. A response to nervous atmosphere can be the most unexpected.

Family territory, which the dog was defending and protecting earlier, turned suddenly into a revolving door. Dog's behaviour in this situation depends on how well it is trained and educated.

Chemical Cocktail

Don't ignore harmful influence of various construction mixes on your dog's health. Few minutes will be enough to turn your back so that your dog could become muddy with paint. If a building material is toxic, it may cause strong poisoning and even fatal case. Unfortunately, even harmless materials, as producers assure us, may be unhealthy for our dogs. Continuous contact with dust, dirt and unpleasant odors may lead to allegy. Many dogs can suffer from dandruff and spots.

Slim Pickings

So if you plan your home remodeling and you have a dog, there are few variants what to do with a pet. The most convenient and safe way out is a temporary relocation. You can send the dog to your relatives, to the country with your children, gramma and grandpa or to make an agreement with your familiar friends.

If there are no eagers to shelter your dog, you can house it in a boarding kennel for a while. The dog will be out of danger away from your house under repair.

If Your Dog Stayed at Home During Repair Works

In this case you have to take care of your dog's security and never leave it alone. Perhaps, it's better to take a vacation or make some changes in your timetable during repair works.

Here are some tips that will help your dog and you to cope with difficulties:

1. Make home improvement in a warm season. You can air your rooms oftener, that means unpleasant smells will disturb your pet less.

2. Walk your dog and pass the time outdoors as often as it is possible. There it can relax and rest from stress.

3. Pick up only eco-friendly building materials. There is no guaranty they will protect your dog from allergy, but there will be no danger of poisoning. Moreover, it will be comfortable for you to live in a flat (house) with such finishing.

4. Divide your home remodeling into three stages. Bathroom is first, then toilet room and kitchen - two weeks. Break once again. The last one is a living room. It's very convenient for two reasons. First, your repair is localized in separate rooms and you can spend your time in other rooms. Second, your dog and you have time to rest between repair stages.

5. Walk your dog or close you both in some room or on a balcony (if it's insulated) during noisy works in spring, summer or at early autumn.

6. If the dog is eager to walk along the whole flat, you can tether it in a spare room during repair works. It's not so humanly at first sight, but thus you protect the dog from getting dirty with paint and other mixes.

How to Save Your Interior

Just imagine...Your repair works has already finished. Your happy dog can come at every room. You've finally relaxed. But your dog has started to chew the wires, to clapperclaw your new furniture, carpets, wallpapers and doors. Your new interior won't stand such a terror in as little as a month. So what has happened?

The trouble is that new interior is unusual for your dog. And if you didn't consider that you have a dog when have chosen new furniture, then your new interior would fall into disrepair even earlier than you had been expected.

It's Not a Trifle!

There is a lot of various electronics even in a humble dwelling. Telephone, TV cords and Internet cables often attract your dog's attention. Young and curious dogs, which are full of energy, like to play with wiring especially. Don't be after something. Experience shows that every dog had tried to chew the wire at least once in its life. Your pet will leave you without Internet, TV or phone at best or it can be electrocuted deadly at worst.

All these wires should be hidden into the walls or into special ductings or under floor mouldings. Visible wires should be processed with special anti-chewing alloys, which you can buy at a vet store.

The Dog Won't Scratch It

Flooring is under higher loads in a flat where the dog lives. Dogs love to have a lark scratching occasionally floor covering. That's why pay your attention at cover durability before you've bought it. Moisture resistance is also important because if your dog brings puppies annually, you'll hardly save your floor from getting wet.

Ceramic tile with grained surface is an ideal variant. It defies scratches, wet and dog's bites. Laminated flooring is a cheaper variant. It's non electrifiable. However, you have to choose only durable and moisture-proof models.

Some types of linoleum are also suitable for dogs. This covering is moisture-resistant, it's easy to clean it. But only semi-commercial grade linoleum is worth buying. Large dog can easily tear usual domestic kinds of linoleum.

Caution, It's Slippery!

Don't lay slippy covering on the floor. The dog can slip and hurt itself or break something. After that, regular walking on slippery floor is harmful for large dogs' joints and posture. If there is slick flooring in some room, it's better to cover it with a carpet. But choose it with low pile.

Instead of Wallpapers

Walls are also suffered from dog's tricks. Paper prints are the most vulnerable. Choose vinyl or glass cloth wallpapers, they are more durable. They are easily cleaned, don't fade and wear.

As lower parts of walls are at-risk, they can be covered with special panels of plastic or ceramics. They will protect the walls and decorate your room. Wall painting or textured finish is also suit to cover the walls. Choose water-resistant ones.

Doors with Dog Flaps

Interior and entrance doors are also stumbling blocks for dogs, which got used to walk along the whole flat (house). Dogs can scratch the door when it's closed. If you want your dog to enter a room when the door is closed, it's better to set a door with a dog flap. Your pet will like it.

Another variant is to set the door with plastic or laminated covering because wooden door is very good scratched. You can also use special anti-scratch covering for the door.

What Is In?

Dogs are very curious. So f you're going to set sliding door wardrobes, make sure that doors are closed tidy and they won't hurt your dog.

Furniture Protection

Lounge furniture is a central victim of all dogs. You will hardly secure all of it. But if to upholster the furniture with durable cloth, it will look presentably for a long time.

Chenille fabric or fiber flock are ideal for this purpose. Their dense and plushy pile won't allow leaving scratches or loose stitches. By the way, such clothes are good and easily washed. Slips are also good for furniture protection.

And Other Tricks

Buy dog toys to take your pet's time.

Don't hang long curtains, use roller shades or louver shutters.

Dog's place is better to warm and protect from dirt. There you can cover walls with panels and lay down additional floor coating.

House plants are placed so that your dog couldn't get them. Only safe for your dog's health plants can be place in a free area.

Dog-friendly plants are such as Wild Pansy, Orchid, African Violet, Coleus, Peperomia, Begonia, Arrowroot and Cacti.

If you set vinyl windows, don't forget about mosquito nets with claws protection.

The best dog products for dog's healthy growth and development, click on the pictures!

Read also how to understand your dog better.