What to Consider When Building a Pet-Friendly Custom Home

If you’re like most pet owners, your pet is part of the family. As a beloved family member, you want the best for your pet. Certainly, you should take your pets' needs into consideration as you build your new home. Doing so will not only increase your pets’ comfort, but it will make it much easier for you to provide the care that your pet needs.There are several ideas that can make this possible.

Include a Pet Area Near an Entry

Just like a child needs a space that they can call their own, your pet needs a territory it can control. This space is where your pet can feel safe during an uncomfortable situation. Most homes don’t come with such a ready-made space. This means that pet-owners usually just put down a bed anywhere that it will fit. Unfortunately, this can result in the pet bed causing inconveniences.

You can solve this problem by including a small pet area in the plans for your new house. The best place to put it is by an entryway. Being near an entryway will allow your pet to easily enter and exit the house when it needs to relieve itself or stretch its legs. It also adds another layer of protection to your home.

Build a Fence around the Yard

If you have a pet, you are going to want to have a fence around your yard. Many pet owners make the mistake of trying to get a fence that blocks a pet’s ability to escape. Pets are clever animals, and they may view this as a challenge. The more you try to stop a pet from escaping, the more they will try. It’s a better idea to install a simple picket fence and train them to respect it. In this way, a fence defines a puppy’s boundaries and keeps them contained by principle rather than force. Keep in mind that the fence can also serve to protect your pet from other animals.

Choose Hard Floor Surfaces

Even the best trained animals tend to make a mess. Many white carpets have been permanently ruined by ignorant muddy paws. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by using hard floor surfaces. If you choose to install wood flooring, be careful to coat it with scratch resistant surfacing, otherwise you might discover your cat sharpening its claws on your beautiful floor. Just be sure that your protective coating will not make the floor too slippery.

You’ll also want to make sure you keep the toenails clipped on your dog. If you can hear a clacking sound as they walk on the hard floors, this means that the toenails are too long. It can also be very uncomfortable for your dog if you don’t trim their nails.

Add Plenty of Windows

If your pets are indoor animals, be sure to have plenty of windows. Even animals that don’t like to be outside will need to feel the influence of natural light. They will enjoy spending hours at the window watching the day go by. If you have dogs, make sure that there are windows low enough for them to see out of. You can keep the windows clean by training the dogs to not scratch or put their paws up on the windowsill. If you have a cat, you might not be able to stop them from jumping onto the windowsill to sit. You can avoid causing messes by designing ways to give them easy access to and from their sitting spot.

Install a Doggy Door

One of the worst mistakes you can make as a pet owner is to own a dog without a doggy door. If you do, every time your dog wants to go outside it is going to come bother you. This can be extremely frustrating if you are trying to get an important task accomplished. Unfortunately, if you ignore your dog, you’ll likely end up with a smelly mess to clean up. By installing a doggy door, you give your pup the freedom to enter and exit the house according to its needs and wants. This can be somewhat problematic in poor weather. You won’t want to have your dog going out and getting all wet and muddy and then coming back into your home. Fortunately, this can be easily solved through proper training, and by making the doggy door lockable.

Round Door Knobs

Pets are curious creatures. To the frustration of owners, this curiosity can often result in messes and destroyed possessions. You’ll likely have areas of your home that you want to keep closed to your pets. Locking the doors can work, but chances are you’ll forget sometimes. A better way is to use round doorknobs. A round door knob is much better than oval door knobs or door handles. Without opposable thumbs, it is extremely difficult for animals to establish the grip necessary to open a door with a round door knob. On the other hand, dogs can easily open doors with door handles by jumping and putting a paw on the handle.

Safe Curtains

Just like you need to make sure that curtains are safe for children, you need to make them safe for pets. Avoid using curtains that open and shut by pulling on a string. These strings can easily get wound around the neck of a curious pet and cause severe problems. The curtains themselves need to be firmly installed. You don’t want your cat to try to climb the curtains and have the curtains tear out from the wall.

Pet Bath

Keeping your furry friend clean can be a major chore. There are hundreds of videos on the internet showcasing the failure of a pet owner to get their pet into a tub. Many times, the animal antics can cause damage to the porcelain in the bathroom. If you have a big dog, it can be especially difficult to get it up and over the edge of a tub. You can save yourself a big headache by investing in a bath design especially for your pets.

Your new home needs to be a dream house for you and your pets. As you include features that will improve the life of your pets, you’ll find that caring for them will be easier than ever. You’ll be able to focus more on your relationship with them rather than the hassle of their upkeep.

Looking for a custom home builder? Contact us today and let us help you design and build the house of your dreams!