How to make your home Guide Dog-friendly!

Hello everyone,

In this article we will be talking about actions that you can take into making your home Guide dog friendly. We will cover what to do with indoors and outdoors to ensure that you and your furry friend have the perfect environment to be happy and make memories together!

It is always important to remember that when you have a companion like a dog or another animal that you now share a space with, it should be one that benefits both of you and is not harmful. A critical question that many pet owners face is how to keep their space friendly to everyone living there. Although it can take time and experience to learn, here is a cheat sheet you can use to ensure that you and your guide dog have a place to live that benefits all!

Indoors

• Unplugging all electrical cords, stringing them through cord concealers, or even moving them out of reach will inusure that your dog will not have the temptation of chewing them to avoid any burns or electrical shock.

• Either avoid feeding your dog human foods or create a list of things that are harmful to them such as chocolate, raisins, and grapes.

• It is best to keep cleaning supplies in cabinets with child proof locks, or even keeping them out of reach to ensure that your dog will not come into contact with any vapors and chemicals that could be dangerous.

• Keep all your medicine put away and not on places like low tables, pill dispensers, or night tables. This will keep you dog from accidentally consuming them.

• Avoid leaving toilet lids open to eliminate the hazard of your dog falling in or drinking from them.

• Insure that all lift cords for blinds are secure to avoid the hazard of your dog choking

• Keep all sharp and small items out of reach like scissors, jewry, paper clips, est. These items can be a choking hazard and could be dangerous.

• Secure your trashcans to ensure that your dog cannot get to them. Some dogs are attracted to the oder coming from waste even though it may be poisonous.

• Move all poisonous house plants to keep your dog from mistaking them as a snack! Some house plants that are poisonous are Oleander, Peace Lily, Sago Palm, ZZ Plants, Snake Plants, Lilies, Areca Palm, and Weeping Fig.

Outdoors

• If it is possible, add a fence to your yard that is not short enough to jump over. Some dogs may have the tendency to run away so this is a good way to prevent this. If you already have a fence in place, check to make sure that it is in good condition and there are no holes to crawl through.

• Remove toxic plants from your outdoor yard to keep your dog from consuming them. Check out the button below to learn more!
  

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• Always keep your lawn trimmed and your bushes under control. Ticks love to live in places like these so by keeping up your lawns and bushes, you are lowering the risk of having your dog come into contact with one.

• Make sure to keep your dog away from your yard if has just been treated with pesticides, fertilizers, or insecticides. This can be unhealthy for your dog to come into contact with.

• Always be aware of the heat and avoid keeping your dogs outside in the heat for too long because dogs are animals, they can get overheated and cold as well.

• It is best to have a place, a section of grass in the best case, for your dog to use the restroom outside to ensure that need. Always remember to clean up after your dog as not doing so could result in them becoming dirty, or even eating their own waste!

We hope you find this helpful!

BY Chelsea and Pippa