Pet-proofing your home

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Who doesn’t love having pets at home? We can’t live without our dogs or cats, and we treat them like they are very much part of the family. Naturally, among a responsible pet parent’s concerns is to make the house a safe place for his or her four-legged bundle of fur.

1 No matter how much you’ve trained your dog, it is best to assume that anything he or she can get his or her paws on, he or she will regard as his or her toy. That will include ballpens, sunglasses, paper money, jewelry, among others.

Keep items that are off limits—especially those that you can’t afford to be damaged—far from your dog’s reach. Keep these in drawers, inside your bags or on tables which your dogs cannot get their paws on.

Keeping a house that will also be a safe haven for your pets will also give you the discipline to be neat and tidy. You make a conscious effort that there are no stray paper clips, staple wires, rubber bands or sharp objects lying around the house which, when swallowed, can be very dangerous to your pet.

2 Want to keep your pet out of the kitchen, bathroom or upstairs living area? Use pet gates to keep your dogs or cats from going into rooms and areas that are off limits. Pet gates are cheap, easy to install, and do not take up much space at all.

3 That bottle of painkillers may look harmless since it’s screwed on tight. But what if your dog decides to turn it into a chew toy and accidentally spills out its contents?

Your dog will most probably mistake the pills for dog treats and what happens next is a pet parent’s worst nightmare. Know better and keep those bottles of medicines where they belong: inside the medicine cabinet.

4 The same should be done for cleaning, bath and laundry supplies. Household items which contain chemicals that may be hazardous to your pets should be stored on high shelves, out of reach.

5 Install latches on cabinets, especially those where you keep your and their food and other things that they should not have easy access to.

Never underestimate your cat’s ability to figure out how to open cabinets. A curious pet is a clever pet.

6 Keep your trash cans covered and make sure that the lids are secure and tight. There’s nothing more horrendous than going home and finding your trash bin toppled over by your ever probing pet.

7 Love plants inside the house? Make sure that these are safe and not poisonous for your pets and will not pose a threat to their health.

If you can’t keep plants out of reach, just make sure that it won’t be easily overturned by your playful pets.