Browsing Category

Home

Solutions for Keeping Your Pet Out of the Kitchen

April 7, 2016

Day 3 of our 30 Days to the Best Pet Home is all about keeping your pet safe by keeping them out of the kitchen. On Day 1, we talked about pet-proofing the cabinets (which is still the best solution for cats), but today I want to talk about some additional safety solutions, specifically gates to keep your pet out of the kitchen.

Why is it important to keep your pet out of the kitchen?

Simply put, it’s a safety issue.

Even though your pet might not be able to get into the kitchen cabinets and eat anything dangerous (thanks to your awesome pet-proofing), they could still be exposed to toxins if you’re cooking and you drop poisonous food items on the ground.

Secondly, they could get hurt in the kitchen. Most things in the kitchen are either hot or sharp. Chances are if you are in the kitchen making a delicious meal, your dog wants to be in the kitchen too. Especially if they think they might reap the benefits of a few dropped pieces of delicious people food. However, in the kitchen, they could easily get burned, or get something hot or sharp dropped on them.

Therefore, for your pet’s safety and your peace of mind, it’s a good idea to keep your pet out of the kitchen.

Now, let’s talk about gate options.

If You Own a Home

If I owned a home, I would want to put together, a permanent gate in the kitchen entry way. The great news is, a DIY doggy gate can be customized to your style and fit seamlessly with your decor.

My father has over 40 years of experience in the lumber industry, and he recommended Pine as the wood of choice for building a DIY doggy gate and sticking to a budget.

I have pinned an option below that links to a blog post from Yellow Brick Home. This post has full DIY instructions for building your own doggy gate, including materials. (I really love Yellow Brick Home, and if you are enjoying this series, I highly recommend you check out their site!)


 

If You Rent

If you rent, you may not have the opportunity to build your own doggy gate. I know my husband and I don’t have the option to put anything too permanent in our place. Therefore, we opt for a good ol’ baby gate.

However, we are lucky that Rooney doesn’t challenge this baby gate, because he could definitely knock it over. If you are worried that your dog might knock over a baby gate, you might want to try a free-standing gate that is a little sturdier, like this one from Wayfair or this one from This Old House.

Freestanding Walk Over Pet Gate

Freestanding Walk Over Pet Gate

Regular Price:From $53.99

See More Gates

I would love to hear your feedback and ideas. How are you keeping your pet safe from the kitchen?

Disclaimer: I am part of the Wayfair Homemakers Program. I am occasionally provided with Wayfair products in exchange for my honest opinion. My Kid Has Paws strives to share only products we believe would benefit our readers.

Protect Your Pets From the Wires in Your Home

April 6, 2016

Day 2 of our 30 Days to the Best Pet Home is going to focus on protecting our pets from the wires in our home. Although we are getting closer and closer to a wireless world, right now, many pet parents are battling the dangers of wires. I’ll share a little story with you…

…when I was in college my wonderful mom was kind enough to buy me an electric blanket for the winter because I lived in a house with no heat. When my husband and I adopted Rooney 3 years later, I still had this electric blanket. Due to the limited storage space in our apartment, we stored the blanket and wire under the bed. Luckily, the electric blanket wasn’t plugged in because Rooney, who was still very new to our lives, had crawled under the bed and chewed up the wire into tiny little pieces.
I am so grateful that the wire was not plugged in. Although I never saw a case of electrical burns while working at the veterinary hospital, electric cord bite injuries aren’t as rare as they might seem. In addition to burning the tissue in the mouth, many pets also suffer from injuries sustained to the heart, lungs, muscles, and other tissues. Pets may also experience high blood pressure and fluid accumulation in the lungs, or even eye injuries (PetMD).
According to PetMD, here are some signs that your pet has sustained a severe electrical injury:
  • Rapid Heart Rate
  • Difficulty Breathing or Shortness of Breath
  • Muscle Tremors
  • Collapse
  • Coughing
  • Seizures

If you believe your pet has sustained a serious electrical injury, please call your veterinarian or emergency veterinarian immediately!

How do I know if my pet is interested in chewing on wires?

Here is what I learned; wire dangers threaten 3 different types of pets:
  • The Teething Pet: This may be limited to puppies and kittens, or can include rabbits, ferrets, or other pets that might continue to “teeth” throughout their lives.
  • The Curious Pet: Some pets never grow out of their curiosity, so this is about knowing your pet and their tendencies.
  • The Bored Pet: Exercise and mental stimulation is important for so many reasons, but many people don’t realize that a tired and entertained pet is also a safer pet.

Truth be told, Rooney was probably a mixture of both curious and bored when he decided to chew up that wire. It’s possible that he may have been going through a phase at that time and no longer finds wires (or other household items like my dresser) interesting enough to chew. However, from that moment forward my husband and I have been very careful about the wires in our home.

Here are my tips on wire safety in the house:

Before bringing your pet into your home check your cords:

The point is to make sure there are no damaged or exposed wires lying around your home. All such wires should be removed immediately.

Make sure there aren’t loose wires near their crate:

A dog in a crate might be just bored enough to chew on a nearby wire while you aren’t at home. To avoid this kind of dangerous activity, make sure there are no loose wires or wires plugged into the wall near your dog’s crate.

Make sure there aren’t any loose wires where they like to sleep or rest:

I was really surprised when I found the chewed up wire under our bed. Now, we are very aware of what gets stored under the bed, and we actually try to block as many spots under the bed as possible so that Rooney won’t even go under there.
Don’t forget about the loose wires and cords in closets or other storage areas as well (specifically for cats who like to hide in closets). Even though your pet may not get electrocuted, chewing on cords and wires is still a choking hazard and a possible foreign body surgery.

Cover as many visible wires as possible:

Some wires have to be visible and have to be plugged in. There isn’t always a way to avoid it. In this case, you can take the extra steps to make sure that all of your wires are covered and secured to the walls.
While researching this topic for this blog post, I did come across a product called Critter Cords on Amazon. This product goes over your cords and is infused with a bitter scent and taste to deter your pet from chewing on the cords. I have no experience with this product, and I am not sure if I would ever use it, but it one of my readers does, I would really appreciate you leaving some feedback in the comments.
We recently rearranged our room and I am personally opting for the below wire cover systems from Wayfair. Even though Rooney shows very little interest in wires in the first place, I know that he won’t really be interested in things that aren’t tempting him. A wire sitting behind a secure wall cover isn’t enough to tempt him. Whereas a wire sitting on the ground might be just tempting enough to chew.

Wall Mounted Cable Management System

Wall Mounted Cable Management System

Regular Price:$16.43

Cable Management Wire 10 Ft Cord Channel

Cable Management Wire 10 Ft Cord Channel

Regular Price:$19.99
Once again, the solution to protecting our pets is very similar to baby proofing a home. So if your family is growing, you are really taking care of multiple safety precautions all at once, which is great!

Have your pets had any interest in wires? How do you keep your pets safe from electrical injury?

 

Disclaimer: I am part of the Wayfair Homemakers Program. I am occasionally provided with Wayfair products in exchange for my honest opinion. My Kid Has Paws strives to share only products we believe would benefit our readers. 

Pet-Proofing the Cabinets

April 5, 2016

Day 1 of our 30 days to a Better Pet Home Challenge will focus on pet-proofing the cabinets in your home.

Importance of Pet-Proofing the Cabinets

It’s important to pet-proof the cabinets in your kitchen & bathroom for a variety of reasons:
1) Keeping Your Pets Away From Pet Poisons in the Kitchen: Not only do your want to avoid leaving poisonous foods on the counter, but you also don’t want these foods to be available to your curious dog or cat in unsecured cabinets.
2) Avoiding Accidents or Injuries: Not only do your pets risk hurting themselves by falling off kitchen counters and cabinets, but kitchens are also full of knives and other very sharp objects with pose a threat to your pet’s safety.
3) Avoiding medications: Many people store vitamins, supplements and other medications in their kitchen or bathroom cabinets. While mostly curious pets will seek out these items in the cabinet, it definitely puts them at serious risk as many medications and supplements can be harmful.

Read More

30 Days to the Best Pet Home

April 4, 2016

April is already in full swing, and I am so excited about this month’s challenge!

Throughout the month of April, we will be researching and making updates to create the best pet home!

The upcoming blog posts will consist of tips on how to pet-proof your home, how to integrate pets into your decor, how the items in your home can help rescues & shelters, and more!

I have been trying to improve the monthly challenges that we have for 2016, and I thought a checklist for this month might be very helpful. At the end of the month, I will update the list as a PDF with links to the different blog posts.

30 Days to the Best Pet Home

Download the PDF: 30 Days to the Best Pet Home

There will also be a giveaway this month and a few discounts for purchases, so stay tuned!

Top