Pets are one of the best things a person can have, but they are a fairly large commitment. While not as big a commitment as a child, there are still many things to consider when bringing a pet home for the first time. One of the biggest things is to make sure that your apartment is pet-friendly and ready for your new family member. Pet-proofing your home is instrumental in making sure your pet is not only happy, but also safe. Here at RentHop, we compiled a list of things you should consider, and do, to make sure your apartment is ready for a pet.
1. Know The Costs
Before even getting a pet, know the costs of making your apartment pet friendly and the costs of owning that pet. First of all, your apartment complex might have a pet-rent per month or charge a flat fee to have a pet in your apartment. These can vary a lot but are usually around $50 a month or so. Once you make the choice to have a pet in the apartment, you will likely need to spend some money to make your apartment pet friendly. Pee pads, gates, a crate, toys, pet cleaning products and more are all things that you will be required to purchase to make sure your apartment is ready for your furry friend.
2. Watch the Chemicals
Just like children and toddlers, pets are inquisitive by nature. They will search for new things and likely try and eat/drink these new things. As a result, keeping all harmful chemicals safely locked away will prevent your dog from getting into it. Things like dishwasher liquid, bleach, floor cleaner and more are many different things we all have. If your pet gets a hold of these liquids and drinks a lot of it, they will more than likely die. Just by keeping these behind a cupboard or off the tables and ground, you could be saving your pet’s life.
3. Keep Cords Out of Reach
Our homes are full of cords and cables lying around. Almost every electronic device in our homes is plugged into a wall with a cord. These cords are necessary, but can be very hazardous for pets. They will often chew through these cords which could not only cause them some serious damage, but they will also wreck your electronics. It’s a good idea to either keep these cords hidden, or at least keep them out of reach for your pets.
4. Leave Plenty of Toys Around
Dogs and other pets love nothing more than to play. It is a good idea to have a large number of toys throughout the apartment so your pet will never be bored. If you don’t have any toys for your dog, there is a good chance they will become mischievous as they look for things to play with instead. Oftentimes, this ends up being your shoes, couches, and other things that you would rather not have a dog be playing with.
5. Arm Yourself With Cleaning Products
Whether your animal is brand new or used to your living space, accidents happen. When those accidents happen, you need to be prepared to take care of them right away. If your pet goes to the bathroom or vomits somewhere in your apartment, that is not something you want to let sit. Cleaners, carpet brushes, mops and more are all good things to have when your pet inevitably has an accident.
6. Do NOT Keep Food Out
There is no doubting that the food we eat is more appetizing than the food our pets eat. As a result, our pets will try get a hold of our food in any way they can. Whether it is climb on the table, jump to the counter or even take it right off of our plate. If you leave a pet unattended and there is food in the room where they can get to it, they will eat it. This is bad for a number of reasons. For one, some food (such as chocolate) is very harmful to dogs and can kill them. Also, if dogs eat too much food too quick, there is a good chance they will get sick and puke all over your home.
7. Get a Better Trash Can
For some reason, dogs absolutely love to rummage through the trash. They cold have a completely full bowl of food, but will still elect to rip into the trash bags. To combat this, you might need to change the type of garbage can you have. If you garbage can is small or flimsy enough that your dog can get inside it or knock it over, you should invest in one that will prevent your pet from accessing it.
8. Control Clutter
Most of us have a fair bit of clutter in our homes, but this is a big no-no if you are trying to pet-proof your home. If you have piles of things lying around, there is a huge chance your dog will get into it and destroy things. Couches, boxes, clothes and more can all be targets for pets to play with and wreck. Also, pets can easily knock things over and spread your clutter around, which will take you a lot longer to clean up than it took them to mess up.
Looking for other articles related to pets? Take a look at Apartment searching…it’s for the dogs! and Moving a Dog to Your New Home – Checklist.
