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Creating a
Dog-Friendly Decor
Housekeeping is a casual affair for
some–a little hair here or a stain
there is of no major importance. Others are more fastidious. While adopting
a
shelter dog can turn your house into a home, without some forethought
regarding home decor, a dog could turn your showplace home into something
less.
The following tips will enable you to have both a
loving canine and a well-appointed home.
GENERAL
 Employ
dog crates and gates to confine your new dog when
home alone until his house manners earn him unsupervised freedom.
Keep nails trimmed and file down
any fabric-shredding rough edges.
Wipe off jowls and long, floppy
ears after each meal. A large,
absorbent placemat under food and water bowls will make for easier
clean-up after messy eaters.
Keep the dog well-groomed. Trim
hair around genitals, anus and belly
so that dirt and waste have no place to cling. Frequent brushing outdoors
will keep indoor shedding to a minimum.
FLOORS
Machine-washable area rugs are preferable
to wall-to-wall carpeting.
If urine soaks into carpet backing, it is nearly impossible to remove.
A carpet care product such as Bissell’s Spotlifter® may prove
indispensable
if you can’t remove the wall-to-wall.
Roll up vegetable-dyed Oriental
rugs until your new dog is fully house-trained
and, if rugs have decorative fringe, well past teething age (over 8 months of
age).
Tile, sheet linoleum, and Pergo®
are very pet-friendly floorings that allow you
to easily wipe away any pet waste. Seal hardwood floors with polyurethane
to prevent urine odor retention.
Wipe off feet each time the dog
comes in from outdoors. Place a
machine-washable area rug by the door. Keep a towel handy near
the entry to wipe down the entire dog on rainy or slushy days.
WALLS
Use washable semi-gloss paint in areas
where the dog will
spend the most of his time. This is essential for those
with loose-jowled dogs such as coonhounds and mastiff types
that are more likely to shake spittle onto the walls.
Washable vinyl-backed wallpaper
is preferable to the traditional
paper-backed wallpaper.
Relegate antique wallpapers or
fabric wall treatments to the top half
of the walls; paint or hang a washable wall covering below.
WINDOWS
Avoid vertical blinds, pooling drapery,
ornate tassels and long cords
which can be a strangulation hazard. A dog that gets caught in any
of these treatments could panic and bring anything around him crashing down.
Mini-blinds can get bent beyond
repair when they block a curious
dog’s view of the outside world.
Fabric shades, café curtains and
dramatic valances are better
choices for dog-friendly homes.
FURNITURE
Patterns and tweeds are more forgiving, but if a
light-colored solid is your upholstery of choice,
machine-washable slipcovers will be your salvation.
Leather and vinyl are easy to
clean but can be damaged
by toenails that aren’t meticulously kept short.
Provide comfy dog beds in each
room or designate one piece of furniture
as the dog’s place. Cover this piece with a washable throw and teach the
dog that this is the only piece of furniture he is allowed to frequent.
By Jacque Lynn Schultz, CPDT
Director, Special Projects, Animal Sciences, ASPCA
© 2002 ASPCA
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"Make a friend for life!"