How to dog-proof your furniture: When you make an investment in a piece of feature furniture, you will be keen to look after it. It is essential to protect it through the years to get the most value from your purchase. If you have any dogs in your home, you will therefore need to know how to dog-proof your furniture. As much as our dogs are a much-loved member of the family, they can bring some chaos and destruction to your home. Here we explore some the best options on how to dog-proof your furniture and protect your home from your best friend.
Territory
Dogs are used to having a territory. They are also happy with the idea of hierarchy. You are the alpha, the pack leader; therefore, to please you and keep in your favor is high on a dog’s list of priorities. This territory means that you can boundary train with your dog and only allow them in certain areas of the house. Any expensive furniture is then protected from the wear-and-tear that comes from owning a pet.
You can make this choice more comfortable by purchasing a luxury dog bed. If you fancy it you can even get a miniature sofa for them, should you really want them to live the life of comfort. If this is their area, then the dog will feel safe here. It is likely that they will more than happily trundle off to bed in this zone devoted to them.
Coping with pet hair
If all this talk of banning your dog from certain areas of your home sounds ridiculous, then you are going to have to take measures to combat the consequences.
Dogs shed hair almost continuously but at certain points in the year they will lose a lot of hair. The first choice you can make is to groom your pet thoroughly. You can take them to a pet-groomers and have them clipped, if appropriate. Alternatively, you can give your dog a good brush every week or so. This will allow you some control of where the hair falls.
Managing hair on the chairs is easily done with a lint-roll. This is easier than a vacuum cleaner, though making the soft furnishings part of your cleaning regime is a good option too.
The final option is to cover the chairs with blankets or other coverings. This will help you to keep the area clean, as you can machine wash these covers periodically. Alternatively, if your dog has a favorite chair, then you could put a dog bed on this seat. It could become their chair.
Coping with dirt
The other hazard to your favorite chair comes from muddy footprints. Option one is to devote a room to the mud. This is the place in your house where you may also try to train your children and your partner to leave the Wellington boots before entering. You might find training your puppy to wait to be washed and toweled down in this room a little easier, maybe.
However, often, no matter how hard we try, your pooch will pounce into the house and trail paw prints. Your house can go from sparkling to a post-apocalyptical scene in one playful tumble around your rooms. Therefore, you could also choose furniture that is made of material that is easier to maintain with pets. Leather is an excellent option with dogs. Not only can you brush the hair from the seat, but you can also wipe away mud with a cloth. It is also a good idea to maintain the leather with the specialist creams available.
An alternative to leather is microfibre. This is warmer for the humans to sit on but can equally be wiped down with a damp cloth if the dog does paw printing in mud. The great things about microfibre is that it also resists cat’s claws too.
Managing destruction
Dogs like chewing wood, particularly as puppies. Therefore, it might be a sensible idea to buy metal framed chairs and sofas. If this doesn’t fit with your hopes for your home, then you can always buy sprays that are meant to deter chewing behavior. The success of these sprays is varied, and you may need to do some experimenting along the way.
The only other alternative is to shrug and remember the love that the pet brings to your home. When you adopt a dog and bring them into your family, you are accepting that they may not always have good manners when it comes to your furniture. But you love them.
This is a guest post from the good people over at Sloane & Sons
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