It’s true, we all love our pets, our four-legged best friends who are always there for us no matter what. But we also love our newly bought expensive furniture right? For some homeowners, they’ve had the unfortunate experience of having to choose: pet or furniture? Which one do you love more? Luckily, you guys don’t have to choose anymore and can actually keep both without having to worry! Here are tips on how to protect furniture from pets. In this article though, we focus more on dogs.
Dogs may chew on or damage your furniture because of many reasons, some of which include separation anxiety, stress, and boredom. Sometimes dogs will chew furniture as a way to exert their energy if they are not receiving enough exercise, or if they are bored with their chew toys. Because of this, remember that you should not just focus on protecting your furniture but also focus on addressing the underlying cause and train your dog to keep him or her satisfied, happy, and preoccupied.
Exercise your dog on a daily basis. Exercising him or her will help stimulate both his or her mental and physical aspects. This will also allow your dog to focus his energy on something else other than chewing or scratching furniture.
Provide your dog with stimulating and challenging toys. You should provide him or her with a variety of toys too, and not just one, so that he or she will remain interested in playing with them and not be preoccupied.
Allot an enclosed place or space for your dog where he or she can roam freely without damaging any valuable items or furniture. A good example is an enclosed yard with a fence, or in a dog run. You can also simply place your dog and their toys in a room without furniture to prevent them from causing any damage.
You can also try applying unpleasant flavors to furniture where your dog has previously chewed on. This will help prevent your dog from continuing to chew on your furniture in the future. Some good examples of unpleasant flavors include seasonings such as hot sauce and cayenne pepper.
The last resort is behavioral modification. Do this by scolding your dog when you catch them on your furniture or when they are caught in the act of chewing on it. Doing this regularly will help your dog understand that they are misbehaving and this will also convey to them that their behavior needs to stop.
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