Author: Guest Author

The folks over at Neato not only make really neat robot vacuums, but they also made this really neat infographic to help pet parents clean up and remove pet hair from every surface! We don’t mind a little pet hair on our things, it’s just part of owning pets, but we also like to keep our homes and offices spic and span, which includes regular removing of pet hair. We knew a few pet fur eliminating tricks learned some new ones reading through these pet hair removal tips, and now you can too!
Infographic courtesy of Neato

Living in an apartment or condo doesn’t mean you have to wait to adopt a pet. Cats, dogs, and other pets can thrive in smaller settings — it just takes some extra preparation and care, especially in the case of dogs. Here are some pet safety tips for small-space dwellers keen on adopting a pet:

 

#1 Cabinets and shelves are easy access.

If you’re away for an extended period of time, your pet may do some exploring. Keep cabinets and shelves firmly closed. Cats are especially good at climbing and using their paws to open things, so store anything dangerous behind a childproof cabinet. Also install childproof locks (about $460) in cabinets near the floor — or train your dogs to stay away from them.

 

#2 Your houseplants could be dangerous.

If you have plants around your apartment or house, be aware that some are poisonous to cats and dogs. Some examples include:

• Poinsettias
• Hyacinth
• Oleander
• Daffodils

 

If you have hazardous plants in your home, place them out of your pet’s reach. Or, better yet, donate them to a petless, green-thumbed friend.

 

#3 Balconies are a major hazard.

Apartment and condo balconies weren’t designed with animals in mind; it’s easy for a cat or small dog to fall through. Keep a close eye on your pets at all times when out on the balcony. Or, keep them off the balcony altogether. You can also install plastic garden fencing or clear acrylic sheets around the balcony, though you should check with your landlord to make sure it’s okay first.

 

#4 Safety features aren’t just for kids.

Depending on the layout of your space, there may be additional hazards for your pets. A fall down the stairs, for example, may result in a broken bone. Use a safety gate to keep them from falling. Other safety features to consider include:

• Electrical outlet guards
• Power cord protectors
• Rubber table or countertop edge guard

 

#5 Exercising is a must.

Because of the limited space in apartments and condos, your animals can’t exercise as much as they could if they had a yard. While cats can make the most of any space and should be indoor-only animals, dogs need a bit more help. Schedule time into your day to exercise them. They could need anywhere from 20 minutes to more than an hour every day to get their energy out. This doesn’t include playtime with toys. Think about a minimum of two walks per day, even for small breed dogs.

 

#6 House train your pet!

House training is an absolute necessity when living in an apartment or condo, especially if you’re on an upper floor. House training a cat can be relatively simple, as long as they take to the litter box. Dogs are a bit harder, although training works well when you use a crate. There will be accidents along the way, but once they get it down, you and your pet will enjoy a solid routine. Then you can spend more time playing and less time cleaning up soiled carpets (here are some tips on cleaning those up too).

 

Written contribution by Andrea Davis, Home Advisor.

Dogs love to play outside. Even cats and small furry pets can safely enjoy the outdoors supervised in a pet- and predator-proof enclosure. For those of us who like to keep our backyards green and lush, having pets means having gardens that can accommodate our furry friends while still looking beautiful. Here are some gardening tips and tricks to help you create a pet-friendly yard:

Plants to Include
There are a few plants that dogs, cats, rabbits, and other pets may like to eat and that are safe in small quantities, such as wheatgrass and other grasses. If you have cats, try planting some catnip in their outdoor enclosure. As most cat owners know, many cats go wild for catnip and get very playful around it. Cats may also enjoy catmint. Local gardeners might have more suggestions, depending on what thrives in your climate.

Plants & Toxins to Prohibit
The ASPCA has a list of toxic plants that could seriously harm your dogs and cats. In addition to poisonous plants such as hellebore, this list includes thorny, spiky plants — such as roses — that could physically injure your animals.

There are also types of mushrooms and weeds that contain harmful toxins and seeds. If you find any wild mushrooms or weeds in your garden, remove them immediately. You should always remove weeds from your garden, so they don’t spread, but some seeds can be seriously toxic if inhaled by your dog or cat. Also keep your animals away from the compost pile, and don’t use fertilizers or pesticides.

Other Pet-Friendly Garden Elements
There are many other pieces you can add to your garden to make it friendly to your furry friends. ImproveNet offers a lot of good ideas — like patrol platforms and patrol paths. Depending on how much time and effort you want to put into your pet-friendly garden, you can add:
● Soft mulch: Tree bark or cedar chips are good for the paws and won’t cling to pet fur. Avoid toxic cocoa mulch and mulches treated with chemicals.
● Running area: A pathway is a good place for pets to exercise without trampling the rest of the garden.
● Freshwater fountain: A small pool or fountain offers fresh drinking water all the time.
● Sandbox: This is a good place for diggers.
● Fencing: A 3-foot fence is good for keeping very small dogs in – most dogs require a 5-or 6-foot fence. Adding a screen allows them to see out without feeling trapped. For cats, you can build them a fully-enclosed catio, or in areas without hawks or coyotes, a 6-foot or taller using material (like smooth vinyl fencing) they and predators can’t climb. The cost to install a fence is between $1,400 and $3,600.
● Toilet area: Create a corner for your dogs to relieve themselves. It could be made of flagstone, pea gravel or cedar chips. You’ll have to train them to use it, but it cuts down on mess in your garden. You might use sand for cats.
● Shaded area for shelter: Create a deck or patio area — or a house of their very own — where they can rest while supervising you work in your beautiful pet-friendly garden.

Written contribution by Andrea Davis, Home Advisor.

Recall, or coming when called, is an incredibly useful skill for all dogs to have. While it’s often used to keep your pup safe when exploring off-leash, you can also use it when your dog is playing with other dogs to keep the play relaxed and fun! As you can imagine, being able to have your dog come back under any circumstance (which we can teach you!) has many applications.

Start off in an enclosed space like a patio or garage, with your dog on leash. Also, make sure that there are few, if any, distractions. It’s hard to learn when there’s lot of other stuff going on. We want your dog focused on working together with you!

As you’ll see in our video “Coming When Called”, it is important to make being near you awesome. This means rewarding your pup every time she checks in, whether called or not. Use an upbeat, cheerful tone when you call your dog and run backward in an exciting way. Using a low-pitched voice or leaning towards your dog discourages her from coming to you.

Your “Coming When Called” sequence should look like this: call your dog’s name, wait for her to look up, say your recall word (“come”) and then run backwards away from your dog. As your dog catches up to you, click and deliver a tasty treat.

Like the old saying goes, practice makes perfect! So practice often, even on walks when your dog is just a step ahead of you, and you’ll have a great recall in no time!

Contributed by Wagfield Academy, the online dog training school. For more info on Wagfield Academy, please visit https://www.wagfield.com.

When removing stains and other pet debris from your furniture, you don’t want to spend half an hour or more on the project. Sometimes — in the worst cases — the stains are deep and require a lot of work or a professional cleaning service — but most times you can get it done in a few minutes. To get your furniture cleaning down to a science, here are some quick tips on removing pet debris:

General Tips:
1. Use dampened rubber gloves and run your hand over the furniture’s surface to attract hair. Rinse the glove and repeat. You can use a wet sponge in its place.
2. Spray a mix of water and fabric softener on the furniture and wipe off.
3. For wood furniture, use a soft cloth and anti-static dust spray. Wipe and repeat.

New Stains Tips:
1. Soak up most of the moisture with newspaper and paper towels. Put down a layer of paper towels and newspapers, then stand on it. Repeat until about dry.
2. Rinse with water and blot with paper or a wet vac.
3. Use a pet odor neutralizer once the area is really clean. Follow instructions on the label carefully.
4. Use a carpet stain remover if it looks stained.
5. Vacuum the furniture if there are loose pieces of pet hair, dirt or debris.

What NOT to do:
● Avoid using steam cleaners as the heat will permanently set the stain and odor.
● Avoid using cleaning chemicals because the odor will remain and encourage a repeat accident.

Machine Washable Furniture Tips
Sometimes you invest in furniture with covers that you can throw in the washing machine. In such cases, just throw in about a pound of baking soda with your detergent for good measure. Air dry the covers instead of putting them through the dryer. You might have to repeat the process a couple of times if you still see the stain or smell the odor. You might also add an enzymatic cleaner, which you can find at pet stores.

 

Upholstery Tags and What They Mean
When cleaning fabric upholstery, each type will have code, and its cleaning method will be different:
● Code W: Man-made fabrics that you clean with water-based cleaners.
● Code S: Organic fabrics that you clean with solvent-based cleaners.
● Code W/S: A mix of organic and man-made fabrics, so you can use water or solvent cleaners.
● Code X: Fabric that must have a cleaning professional handle them.

Conclusion
These are only some quick tips for removing pet stains from your furniture. When you have to deal with pet stains in other places, you might have to use alternative, deep cleaning methods. For more information on pet accident removal, check out this article on cleaning pet messes.

 

Written contribution by Andrea Davis, Home Advisor.

 

Dogs can really enjoy a ride a car, but just like it’s now illegal in many states to leave a child in a car even for a moment, leaving pets in cars is NOT a good idea! Check out the infographic above created by the caring and knowledgable folks at the ASPCA. Even if it is a balmy 70 degrees outside, and you’ve left your car windows cracked and parked in the shade, especially if the sun moves and you loose part or all of that shade, the temperature in your car can be as much as 20 degrees hotter! What should you do if you see an animal left in a car on a hot day? As the infographic says, first try to quickly locate the owner, or call 911 and stay by the car until help arrives. If you’d like a printable PDF version of the infographic above, go to the ASPCA’s blog article and click on the Don’t Leave your Pet in The Car infographic here. Thank you for caring about the well-being of pets and sharing this infographic (you can easily do so by clicking the social icons below) to spread the word and keep pets safe: Don’t leave your pet in the car!

Having a dog or cat, like having a child, means your flooring stands to see increased traffic and possibly some stains over time. You can take steps to prevent stains, like house-training your animals from the time they arrive home, but even that is not a foolproof plan. So when accidents happen — and they will — you need to know how to remove the stain quickly and efficiently before it irreparably harms the flooring. Here are some tips on getting stains out of common flooring types:

#1 Fabrics (carpets and upholstery)
If you can catch the accident early on (while it’s warm), start by using towels that can absorb liquid from the fabric. Replace them with dry ones, if needed, to get as much of the stain out as possible. Once you’ve done that, start using a commercial pet stain cleaner with enzymes. Enzymes are good at removing the bacteria that causes stain to give off a bad odor. Enzyme-based cleaners also have detergents that help to get the stain out without hurting the coloring of the fabric.
If you don’t want to use a commercial cleaner, you can make your own with:
● 1 ⅓ cup water
● 1 cup vinegar
Pour cleaner over the stain, just enough to get the surface wet without oversaturating it. Then place a waterproof material over it to give the cleaner time to sit and get into the carpet to remove the stain completely. If you don’t get to the stain before it settles, you can always have a carpet cleaning professional get it out for $100 to $250.

#2 Laminate flooring
If you happen to find a pet stain on your laminate flooring — old or new — there are ways to remove the stain from the flooring. It depends on whether your flooring still has the protective coating. With older stains, you’ll need to take extra steps to remove the stain in addition to cleaning it off with a solution. Follow these steps:
1. Wipe with a damp cloth until dry.
2. Sprinkle baking soda and gently scrub with a stiff-bristled brush. Let sit for a few minutes.
3. Spray with white vinegar and watch it foam.
4. Wipe the area with a cold cloth to remove remaining vinegar.
5. Blow dry to dry floor and subfloor.
6. Refinish the floor to avoid letting the stain destroy the laminate.

If you don’t have a protective coating over your laminate floor, you will need to apply one after cleaning off the stain. You can hire a flooring professional to re-stain your laminate floor which will help protect against future stains.

#3 Hardwood floors
With hardwood floors, you’ll need to treat pet stains with a specialized wood bleach. Make sure the bleach you use is specially designed for wood flooring. If you don’t want to invest in wood bleach, you can also use two-part peroxide bleach.
When treating your hardwood flooring with bleach, be sure to keep pets away and use rubber gloves and goggles to protect yourself because it can cause serious injury. However, it shouldn’t harm your hardwood flooring if used correctly. If you’re worried about the potential damage, you can use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda.

#4 Wall cleaning
Cleaning pet stains off your walls depends on whether you catch it early or late. If you see it happen, you can use a wet cloth to wipe it off the wall.
For older stains, you might need to use a mixture of bleach and warm water. You’ll need to keep the pets away to prevent them from licking the wall. However bleach can damage paint or wallpaper, so try the enzyme-based cleaner for stains in such cases. Just read the label to make sure ahead of time.

How to prevent future accidents
Once you know how to handle accidents, how do you prevent future ones? It comes down to figuring out the why, really. There are a few reasons your pet could be having accidents:
1. They can smell past accidents, which makes it comfortable to continue having accidents.
2. They don’t have a personal space.
3. They’re left alone for too long or get nervous.
4. With older dogs, sometimes their bladders are not functioning as well as they used to.

You should do the best you can to keep an eye on your dogs and take them out for potty breaks regularly to avoid accidents. You can even install a doggy door and train them how to use it. Get your backyard fenced in so they can come in and out as they please. Clean up past accidents thoroughly so they don’t develop bad habits. And of course, the more you train them to know where to go and where not to go, the less likely accidents will happen.

Written contribution by Andrea Davis, Home Advisor

Adding new family members to your home means changing up its design and making adjustments for the health and happiness of your new additions. Just like you would make improvements for a new child, you’ll need to make a few changes for the benefit of your new pets too. While you don’t have to design a nursery or playroom like you would for a kid, there are some remodels and renovations you can perform around your home to make your new furry friends feel more at home. Here are some quick renovations you can do without changing your entire home:

 

#1 Mudroom for Storage and Organization

While a “mudroom” may sound fancy, this design is really about an entryway with hooks and some storage, along with a mat where dirty paws can tread without hurting the floor underneath. You’ll also need a wall that can handle wet fur splashing onto it, so consider your paint choices carefully — as well as any decor. You’ll want towels on-hand to dry the dog before he proceeds into the rest of the house. Consider drilling holes into beadboard or stock lumber for hooks for leashes, jackets and other dog-walking necessities.

#2 Pet-Proof Flooring

You need easy-to-clean surfaces when owning a dog or cat. Carpet is not your friend in this situation because it’s hard to keep clean. If you really want carpet, consider removable, washable carpet tiles. Tile, hardwood flooring and bamboo are good, but dogs can scratch soft wood.  Woven vinyl mats are also easy to clean and are almost indestructible. Linoleum is also easy to clean after a pet has an accident, and it’s relatively easy to maintain on a regular basis too. If you decide to invest in this flooring material, it would cost between $800 and $1,400.

#3 Specialty Furniture

When you get a new pet, you’re likely going to deal with an excessive amount of fur everywhere. To protect your furniture from grabbing too much of it, you should get slipcovers that are easily washable. You can also consider covering furniture with painter’s drop cloths that are easily affordable and a quick solution. If you want to reupholster your furniture, be sure to check for any VOC in the fabric before you hire a professional to do the work. Some options for pet furniture include:

• Window seat
• Top-of-the-stairs lookout
• Cat ramps & trees

 

#4 Bathtub for the Pets

If you have one, utilizing a laundry sink is your best option for keeping the dog and cat clean. You don’t have to get your bathtub dirty and it’s easier than bending over the tub to clean them on a semi-regular basis. It’s also easier to clean than a bathtub because a laundry sink has less square footage than a tub. You can also invest a little more money to install a dog shower in your laundry room.

 

#5 Safety Gates

To protect your dog from some of the dangerous foods in the kitchen or keep him away from the dinner table during meal time, use a gate to set boundaries and protect him from injury. You don’t have to use a chain-link fence design if you don’t want to. Dog gates come in various styles and shapes at pet stores, and there are different heights so even your Great Dane can’t get over the boundary. These don’t work as well for cats so it’s probably best to just put your cat in a room and close the door to protect it in certain situations.

 

#6 Dog Doors

When you leave home during the day for work or school, your animal is going to want to explore and do their business. Instead of trapping them in the house, you can install a dog door in the bottom of the back door for easy access to the backyard. The best solution will depend on your situation and the design of your home. Installing a dog door will involve cutting out a piece of your existing door to install it. If you’re uncertain about how to install a dog door, you can talk to a door contractor about the best way to proceed.

 

Written contribution by Andrea Davis, Home Advisor.

Sometimes our pets get adventurous and search our homes for things to sniff and eat. And sometimes, they find things that pose a hazard to their health — food in the kitchen, in particular. It’s important to store food out of our pets’ reach to prevent them from getting sick and requiring an emergency trip to the veterinarian’s office. Consider these quick storage solutions for pet-hazardous foods:

 

#1 Avocado

Should your dog or cat ingest an avocado peel, it will likely result in an upset stomach.  However, should a pet happen to eat an avocado pit, it can harm the gastrointestinal tract and require an emergency trip to the vet. Avocado seeds contain a toxin known as persin. Persin can cause respiratory problems which can lead to fluid buildup around the heart — and sometimes even death — for animals.

Where to store: Pet owners should store fruit in a refrigerator drawer. However, avocados often require some time to ripen on the countertop. Since cats are particularly agile counter-jumpers, take the added measure of storing avocados in a container with a plastic top on the windowsill. It might slow the ripening process, but it will protect your cat from getting near the peel or pit.

 

#2 Chocolates, Coffee and Caffeinated Beverages

These three items are grouped together because they contain something known as methylxanthine, found in cacao seeds. Ingestion by your pet of any of these substances can cause vomiting, diarrhea, panting, thirst and urination, tremors, seizures and in extreme cases, death.

Some things to note:

• Dark chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate.
• White chocolate is the least dangerous.
• Baking chocolates are the most dangerous because they have the highest concentration of methylxanthine.

Where to store: Keep coffee in a dog-proof canister and store it away in a pantry for added safety. Store chocolate in the refrigerator, pantry or freezer — and keep unopened caffeinated beverages stored in the refrigerator or pantry. Also, keep open caffeinated beverages far away from prying noses and paws.

 

#3 Alcohol

Alcoholic beverages can negatively affect human beings, but it’s even worse for an animal. Some effects include:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Decreased coordination
• Difficulty breathing
• Tremors
• In extreme doses, death

Where to store: Keep alcoholic beverages in the refrigerator or cabinets. Some cats are particularly good at opening cabinets; if yours is this way, consider buying and installing a childproof lock. Also, consider putting the alcohol in the pantry. The doorknob will prevent your dog or cat from pushing it open.

 

#4 Salt

While your pet may like fries and chips, excessive amounts of salt can lead to results like:

• Frequent urination
• Poisoning from sodium ion
• Vomiting
• Depression
• Elevated body temperature
• Seizures

Where to store: When you aren’t using salt, store it as far away from your dogs and cats as possible. If you have a particularly adventurous pet, put salt in a pantry with a doorknob or store it in a cabinet that has a childproof lock.

 

#5 Onions and Garlic

Onions and garlic include a compound harmful to dogs’ red blood cells. Depending on its strength, it can be very toxic. Never feed dogs any onions or garlic, not raw or in concentrated soup mixes or powders. Some side effects include weakness, exhaustion, and orange or red urine. Should your dog ingest onions or garlic, take it to a veterinarian for potential blood transfusions immediately.

 

Written contribution by Andrea Davis, Home Advisor

photo credit: Rubbermaid LunchBlox – Lunch Containers via photopin (license)