Dogs make wonderful pets, and good owners treat them like people, like members of the family. But it’s very important to remember that dogs are not people — no matter how lovable and loyal your dog is, things in your house that are people-friendly may not be dog-friendly. Something as innocent as leaving an open bar of chocolate on the kitchen table could lead to a disaster. It’s important to know where the dog dangers are in your home and on your property.
The infographic below, How to Make Your Home Dog-Friendly, is an easy to read, extremely valuable guide with 15 tips for reducing the risk of something bad happening to your dog. Many of the tips will help you, too. For instance, keeping breakable items in spots where your dog won’t knock them over will not only prevent your dog from getting hurt, but also will prevent you from losing a keepsake forever or incurring a substantial financial loss.
The infographic mentions eliminating poisonous plants from your home and property. If you’re wondering which plants pose danger, the list includes azaleas, daffodils, tulips, sago palm, oleander, mums, irises, ivy, aloe vera and tomato plants. These plants and flowers can give dogs a bad case of indigestion, or worse. If you have many of such plants as part of an extensive outdoor garden, you can seal off that area of the yard from your dog by installing a fence — something you should have around the boundaries of your property as well.
There are many foods that are harmful to dogs that humans never think twice about, coffee and dark chocolate being two prime examples mentioned in the infographic. In addition to these, don’t let your dog ingest any food with the sweetener Xylitol, avocado, alcoholic beverages, onions, garlic, caffeinated products of any kind, grapes, raisins, dairy products, macadamia nuts, fruits with pits (choking hazards), raw eggs, raw meat, and raw fish. The safest and easiest way to nourish your dog is to stick to dog food, which is made specifically for the nutritional requirements and taste preferences of dogs — which, as you can see from the list above, are quite different from those of humans.
Remember, too — and you probably don’t need reminding if you have had a dog in your home for any length of time — that dogs like to chew on things. A very useful tip from the infographic is to give your dog a steady supply of non-toxic chew toys. This will help keep your dog from looking for shoes, TV cables and furniture legs to chew on. Keeping these items out of reach or protected will also go a long way toward keeping your belongings in good condition, especially when there is a young, active dog or puppy in the house.
For more information on creating a dog-friendly house, please continue reading now.
Infographic created by First Fence Company, elevate your property’s appeal with a high-quality aluminum fence