Studies say that people who live with dogs are happier and healthier. But on the contrary, their houses don’t.
Living with a dog is always an exciting time but you will need to put in a lot of work and commitment as well. You have to ensure your house does not smell like a dog house. You also do not want to spend the whole day cleaning.
Although the challenges of cleaning your house may be different depending on the type of a pet you live with, you will have to clean dog hair, mud, and paw prints sometimes.
But don’t fret. With a few tricks and tips, you can keep your home spotless when living with your dog.
And here are the seven tips for you as shared in the AustralianWritings blog.
1. Make Grooming a Daily Routine
It’s understandable; it can be costly to use pet shampoo every day but you can use plain water to wash your dog routinely. Just imagine how much dirt your dog will be bringing home every time you take him out, especially, when walking on muddy areas.
When you groom him regularly, you will be keeping away dirt from your house. Jackson Ludovic, a pet researcher at AssignmentGeek advises pet owners to keep their pets, especially dogs in a confined area every time they come back home from a walk or from exercising. This way, you can clean and dry him before you leave him to roam around the house.
Moreover, you will need to trim his hair to reduce shedding. You should brush your dog a few times every week using a professional dog groomer. This way, you will remove all the fur while at the same time bonding with your dog. You can brush your dog’s hair outside so that you prevent the furry mess inside the house.
2. Contain Dirt and Mud at the Door
Usually when your dog goes out, especially when it rains, he will carry mud and dirt back to the house. You need to prevent the mud from getting into your house by containing it at the door.
You can do this by placing a container of warm water and a piece of cloth on the door so that you can wipe the dirt and mud before your dog enters the house. Put at least two mats on the outside and inside of the door to enable you to wipe the paws before your dog enters the house from a long walk.
3. Clean Dirt Immediately an Accident Happens
You just can’t prevent accidents from happening when living with a dog but. For that reason, you need to ensure you clean them up immediately they happen. Failure to clean messes will make them spread inside or stain your carpets and make the whole house smelling bad. In fact, your dog will think that it’s his toilet so he will always come back and do the same thing again. When cleaning dog messes, ensure to use specially recommended products for pet messes.
4. Give Your Dog Enough Exercise
Regular exercise is beneficial to your health and your dog’s as well. Harry Anderson, of AssignmentHolic UK, says that the best way to spend quality time with your furry friend is exercising together. When your dog comes from a rigorous exercise, he will not get into mischief since he is tired. That means he will just sleep and not chew up your carpet.
Imagine how a bored dog without exercise can be an annoyance to your house, especially when he needs stimulation. You will find him chewing your carpet, gnawing your table legs and other petty things inside your house.
To prevent your dog from chewing things while in the house, you can stock some chew toys and make your dog access them easily so that he can keep himself busy playing while you are away.
5. Have a Stain Remover Nearby Always
You never know when your dog will have a stomach bug. Your dog may eat food that may not go well with his stomach. The last thing you will see is accidents happening without you noticing it. To keep your house clean, you should always have a handy cleaner that is designed for dealing with stains and odors.
Use the cleaner to tackle stains immediately they happen following the instructions provided with the package so that you can get rid of stains and odors completely.
6. Vacuum Your House Constantly
Whether your dog is shedding too much or not, you should always have a handy automatic vacuum so that you can vacuum your house constantly. Just because your dog does not shed does not mean you will not have to deal with debris, dirt, and leaves.
Whenever your dog goes out to roll around in the compound, you can expect it to carry leaves and dirt on his paws and fur back to your house. And if you have an active dog, then expect to get rid of the dirt every time because he will be going out and coming back. So to avoid the hustle of cleaning every time, just keep an automatic vacuum nearby so that it can run anytime even if you are not around in the house.
7. Dust Your House Regularly
Unfortunately, most dog owners are usually concerned about messes on the floor and forget that dogs can bring in dust inside the house as well. Well, dusting is not as hard as removing stains and odors. It is one of the simplest tasks but you should not forget it regularly. Ensure to use a good dust remover that can trap all the dust and fine particles easily.
Bonus Tip
Bathe Your Furry Friend Constantly
Does your dog get smelly easily? Is he active? Do you live with an allergic person in your family or do you have pet allergies yourself? If you answered yes to these questions, then you will need to bathe your dog regularly else you can do it occasionally.
Bathing your four-legged companion regularly is also not good as it can get rid of his natural oils in his skin which can make him stay dry. You may want to bathe him at least two times every month unless he has rolled around in muddy areas.
Final Thoughts
Undoubtedly, your dog will be messy at times, but the happiness you and your family will have when living with one is incomparable. Your dog will teach your kids so many things. You too will learn a lot of things from your dog as well.
We would love to hear the tips you use to manage a clean house with your dog in the comment section below.
