Making the House Look Spot-Less
Any dog is bound to wreak a little havoc on a home, but here are a few tips to help keep your dog out of the doghouse, and your home looking less like one.
* Be realistic. Dogs and white carpet or cream silk furniture aren’t the best combination. Even the most fastidious pooches shed and have accidents.
Hard floors with disposable or easy-to-clean throw rugs are canine-compatible, as is furniture with durable (that is, leather) fabrics or washable slipcovers. Plan for the inevitable and have a jug of Nature’s Miracle on hand. Use it at full strength to lift the stain and the smell.
* Train for obedience. Every dog needs it, even that adorable little Pomeranian that you’d swear is stuffed. Beyond sit, stay and heel, dogs can be taught “off”--the furniture, that is.
* If you can’t change the dog, change the environment. Some dogs obey while you’re home but are on the finest chair the minute you leave.
Years ago, my family poodle had the nasty habit of making a puddle in the middle of my mother’s feather pillow if we went anywhere without her.
To prevent this sort of passive aggression, close the doors to off-limits rooms when you leave, or try a dog repellent.
One, called Boundaries, is sprayed onto beds or other furniture (test it on a patch first) or onto a towel that is placed on furniture. The scent should deter most dogs.
If your dog has a chewing habit, use Bitter Apple, another spray product that gives drapes, dust ruffles and furniture legs an unpleasant taste. Carol Moore of Mission Viejo solved her furniture problem by buying her active Brittany spaniel “a couch of his own.”
* Head off destruction. If the trouble occurs when you leave Hector for long spells, work to offset his boredom: Get a second dog.
Two really aren’t twice the work, and the dogs will amuse each other. Leave plenty of stimulation, such as an arsenal of toys that the dogs get only when you go. Be sure the dogs get plenty of exercise when you are home so they don’t have pent-up energy to burn.
