There are videos on Youtube to teach your dog to wipe his paws on the doormat ! This is nice to see on movies but I don’t see my mastino doing it yet … luckily there are other solutions.
10. The doormat
Provide a 5-step entrance, then most of the dirt or wetness will drop off in this dry-run zone. Ideally, such a zone should consist of a mat and then another 4 steps on tiles or another material that is easy to clean.
9. A drinking bowl & cuddly towel
Does your dog like to get wet or dirty during walks or in the garden while playing? Then he will surely come back in with a thirst and he will want to go straight to his drinking bowl, clean or dirty! Provide a drinking bowl and a cuddly-towel at the end of the dry run zone: while he drinks he will get a towel-hug. Drinking and drying take about the same duration. Perfect match!
8. A basket
The basket shouldn’t be too far off either. A tired dog thinks only of one thing … his basket to go to sleep.
7. Many baskets
The basket can also be several baskets: one to sleep undisturbed, one to keep an eye on the garden and another one to be with people. So make sure you have a few places in your house that clearly represent different moments during the day.
6. His couch
Perhaps the most important basket is the one to keep an eye on the garden, the street, the driveway, …. Provide a window to the ground or a window in a door so low that a napping dog only has to lift his head when he wants to check. Or if you don’t feel like rebuilding: put a nice old couch with a cozy blanket to look through the high window! This avoids your dog having to stand up all the time and getting stressed.
5. The garden shower
A super tip for the garden: a garden shower ! Blessed cooling for the dog (and yourself !) at hot summer temperatures, but also the ideal place to give him a good shampoo or combing. The one place to cuddle full body contact with a wet dog !
4. The toilet zone
An absolute dexterity is a “doggy toilet zone”: a few square meters, finished with wire, where you let him do his needs from puppy on. Did you know that dolomite is very easy to maintain? Use a soft dolomite that doesn’t hurt the paws or scratches them if it gets between the toes.
3. The hedge
Be attentive and think of the neighbours: a toilet zone like this can smell a little and might cause some nuisance. So first look where the wind usually comes from (there’s moss on the trunk of your trees: that’s where the wind usually comes from!) and keep that in mind. Or put a hedge around it.
2. Double cautious
If the dog is allowed in the garden on its own (they love it !), take some extra precautions: if you think that a certain height of wire is sufficient, take one size higher. If you have full confidence in that sliding lock, add another key lock. You’re sure he’s not digging? Then, just to be sure, put a strip of 1 m wide garden wire under 10 cm of dirt under the gate. Dogs are very resourceful and can achieve a lot if they are suddenly motivated to break out.
1. Finally
Nothing more frustrating for a dog than being locked inside while that cat is strolling through the garden, there are leaves on the lawn to play with, those tiles of the terrace are so blissfully warmed up by the sun to lie on, … Grant your dog his freedom and install a nice wooden Tomsgates dog door so he can walk in and out freely. A relaxed and happy dog guaranteed! Go through the tips above to keep your house tidy: a doormat behind his pet door, the basket not too far away, …
