Bringing a pet into your life, particularly a dog, is great for your health and wellbeing.
They’re touted to have a positive effect on your cholesterol, and even lower your blood pressure.
This is a great health and lifestyle advantage, but with it comes some drawbacks. Brace yourself for accidents, chewing, and hair EVERYWHERE.
With more and more people having their dogs live inside the home, it’s important to know how to keep your home, and particularly your carpets, clean.
Read on to discover 4 simple and easy tips to smoothly integrate your dog into your home with minimal mess.
1: Invest in a comfortable dog bed
The easiest way to keep your house clean and under control, and still enjoy having your dog inside is to limit their access to a certain area.
Buy a good sized, comfortable dog bed, and find a permanent spot for it. The hub of your home, where you spend most of your time, is recommended. By having your dog near you it will be able to see you, and therefor will be more likely to relax.
Start as you mean to go on. So as soon as you let your dog in and you’ve greeted it, direct it to it’s bed and spend some time making a fuss of it in this area.
Begin to teach it the command “Bed”. Make sure to reward it with treats while it’s learning.
With repetition and practice, your dog will learn that the dog bed is it’s space, and it will be manageable and relaxed indoors.
2: Handling the hair
Animals shed. There’s no getting away from it: literally. You’ll find it on your furniture, the carpet, your clothes, everywhere your dog has been.
This is where tip number 1 can make a positive impact. A calm dog that spends most of its indoor time relaxing on the dog bed will not spread as much hair around as one that races throughout the house, following you everywhere and leaping on furniture.
To handle the hair that does begin to gather, invest in a rechargeable cordless vacuum. These are very compact, can easily be stored close at hand, and are perfect for zipping around each day collecting the stray hair.
You’re more likely to stay on top of the hair situation with one of these compact vacs than having to lug out your heavy duty vacuum each time.
Added bonus: Most models come with a detachable hand held section, perfect for giving the couch a quick going over.
You can also use a rubber head broom or rubber squeegee to remove pet hair from your carpets.
Regular grooming will also help your pet to shed less, meaning less cleaning up indoors.
3: Accidents happen; react quickly to avoid stains
If your pet has an accident, the sooner you can deal with it, the less likely you are to be stuck with a permanent stain.
Remove any solids, and blot fresh stains with a clean cloth.
After absorbing as much moisture as possible, mix a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid mixed with a cup of warm water and blot with another clean, dry towel.
Rinse by blotting again with warm water and a clean cloth. Repeat until the mark is gone.
4: Don’t let odours take hold
Nose blindness is a real thing. You may not realise that your house is taking on a perfume of eau de canine because you’re quite simply used to it.
Incorporate these steps into your regular routine to keep your house smelling clean and fresh:
- Change cat litter regularly. Sprinkling baking soda underneath the litter will keep it smelling fresher for longer.
- Wash your pets regularly. Dogs particularly are big explorers, and consequently can quickly smell less than fresh
- Wash the pet bedding every couple of weeks, as well as any plushy toys. The fabric will quickly absorb smells, and can make your house smell distinctly doggy.
For tips on keeping your carpet clean with cats, check out our companion article on How To Keep Carpet Clean With Cats.
