How to Keep Your Pet Calm During a Renovation

Renovations can be stressful for a variety of reasons, most of them very obvious. You have to destroy the place you live…on purpose, only to reconstruct it during your “free time”. Not to mention the expenses, the noise, the dust, and the dangers for your pet.

Most pets and animals are going to get very anxious during a renovation project. However, if you are renovating your home over the course of several years (like us), it’s going to become a challenge to keep your pets calm throughout this process.

Last weekend, I experienced this myself as my husband was sawing a hole in our living room ceiling for our new ceiling fan. The end result being that Rooney will be cooler for the remainder of the summer, but I can’t explain to him the long-term benefits of the scary noises and debris falling from the ceiling. Based on this experience, I started to think of ways to entertain and distract Rooney and thought I would share those ideas, along with a few others, here.

Safe Place

First and foremost, I highly recommend creating a safe place for your pet to be while completing your project that day. In some cases, this might be your yard, but yards aren’t always the best place for them if it’s too hot or cold. Occasionally, crates can also come in handy, especially if your dog is already crate trained.

At our house we also use a baby gate to prevent Rooney from walking through the work zone. The baby gate allows for more air flow so that it doesn’t get too hot in the room during construction, but also keeps him out of danger, and in some cases out of the paint can.

A post shared by Kim + Scott (@yellowbrickhome) on Aug 7, 2018 at 7:08am PDT

High-Value Toys and Treats

Make sure your pets have some of their favorite high-value toys and treats. For example, last weekend during the ceiling fan installation, we had Rooney in our room with his two favorite toys. While my husband was cutting the hole in the ceiling, I would distract Rooney with his toys which worked about 70% of the time.

For high-value treats you want to make sure it’s something that can distract your dog for an extended period of time. For example a stuffed kong can keep a dog busy for quiet some time and serve as a nice cool treat on hot days. Healthy bones to chew on can also help keep your dog busy and distracted during the loudest and most intrusive parts of a renovation.

Take Your Pet to Work

There are occasions where you might pay to have someone else renovate your home rather than DIYing, and you don’t actually have to be present during the construction. If that’s the case, and you have a pet-friendly office, it might be best simply to take your dog to work with you. As the construction on our home continues over the next few years, I can absolutely see this being a solution for Rooney.

Pet Sitters 

If you are doing the work yourself and can’t take your dog to the office with you, you make want to consider getting a pet sitter. Sometimes the amount of noise and distress is really unavoidable for pets. Renovations are already expensive, so it will be difficult to justify adding another expense to the list. However, if you think it will make your pet more comfortable, and you less stressed, it might be worth it set up a pet sitter during construction (or demolition). If expenses are an issue, perhaps you might even have a friend or family member nearby who can watch your pet for a few days during the most severe construction times.

Exercise

Whenever I ask Rooney to be calm for an extended period of time, I am sure to exercise him before I do so. Daily walks before and after renovation can help keep your pet calm, especially if these are part of your daily routine already.

However, mid-renovation you might not have the time or energy to walk your dog. If so, there are many dog-walking apps and services available, which are often less expensive than a full days petsitting, perhaps your dog can go on a walk or hike with one of those services during the first hour or two of your renovation, making it easier to keep them calm in their safe space.

CBD

In some places this might not be a popular solution, or even a popular topic. However, here in the Bay Area, the cannabis community is growing and at a very rapid pace. Most of this growth has occurred since I left the veterinary hospital, so I don’t have as much personal experience with these treats as a solution. However, CBD chews, treats, and oils have been known to help with the following: “seizures, nausea, stress, anxiety, arthritis, back pain, symptoms of cancer, and gastrointestinal issues” (PetMD). Therefore, CBD could be a great solution to help your pet during a renovation.

However, when selecting a CBD solution for your dog, keep in mind that many items in the pet industry are unregulated, and this solution is still new, meaning, much of the data on efficacy and proper dosage is still being collected. Ideally, you can consult with your veterinarian (which is always my #1 recommendation), before trying CBD chews.

Medications

If your pet’s experience with renovations is very negative (i.e. they are destroying items or are extremely nervous and anxious), and there is no where for you to take them, you can always speak with your veterinarian about temporarily using medications to keep them calm during a serious renovation.

There you have it! Those are my top 7 solutions for keeping your pet calm during a renovation! Have you renovated your house? How have you kept your pet calm and comfortable?