Prep Your New Home For Your Dog
Buying or moving to a new home can be an exciting adventure, even for your dog, but you’ll want to make sure before you bring your best buddy over that the grounds are safe and secure so you don’t have any unexpected surprises or mishaps.
Start with inspecting the new yard to make sure there are not any dangerous items that can be ingested or injure your dog. If the previous owners didn’t have dogs, or even kids, there is a good chance that there may be small or sharp items lying about.Look around garage, workshop, and basement floors, driveways, and decks to see if there are any pools of liquid or chemicals that may have spilled as these could be extremely dangerous if your dog were to get into them. Check the yard for holes, stumps, debris, exposed cable or phone lines, and irrigation systems to be sure there’s nothing they could get hurt on. You’ll also want to check out the flower beds and plantings to determine if any of them might be harmful to your dog and take precautions to keep them away. An obvious thing to look at while you’re out in the yard is the fence line as you wouldn’t want your dog escaping through an opening you didn’t notice. Press your foot at the bottom of the fence to check for gaps and check the latching mechanisms on any gates to make sure they’re working.
On the interior of the home, carefully examine each room and closet looking for loose edges of carpets; items, medicines, trash, or food that may have been left behind; exposed wires or cords; unsecured cabinet, attic, garage, or basement doors (or doors to any place you don’t want your dog to be); etc. Check bathrooms and kitchens for chemical cleaners, shampoos, soaps, or cosmetics and don’t forget closets, basements, and storage areas for mothballs, pest traps, and other things that you may not want your dog to have.
Taking the time to make sure your new space is safe for your dog is an important step as a responsible homeowner and can help ease the transition for the both of you as you’ll know that your best buddy will be safe.
By Lisi Ward
Realtor/Broker with Allen Tate Realtors
https://lisiward.allentate.com/
Lisi.Ward@AllenTate.com
(704)-962-8821