Taking advantage of the upcoming summer days to rebuild the deck of your new home is wise. The sunny days give you a good chance to get the deck completed and settled into place before the rainy days of winter come back. However, while you are thinking about your new deck designs, there is an important family member that you must bear in mind. Being mindful of your dog's needs during deck design is going to make sure they are always wagging their tails while heading out onto the new structure.
Deck Surface
While natural wood products give a lovely, rustic look to your deck, they can be painful to your pet if they lead to splinters in the paws. To get around this particular problem, there are two ways you can go:
The added benefit of not using pure wood products for a pet deck is that you also won't have to put up with your pet chewing the wood and destroying the deck.
Deck Railings
The other main point you need to consider during your deck design is the railings you will use to keep your pets safe. Imagine your pet as an unstable toddler, and use this view of the world to help determine potential issues for your dog. For example, how high do you plan your deck to be? Without railings, your dog will no doubt be encouraged to jump on and off the deck. For older dogs especially, this can lead to long-term joint damage and arthritis.
Additionally, how big is the head of your dog? If you make the gap between the railings too large, is it possible your dog could get their head wedged in there? This could be potentially fatal if your dog becomes trapped when you've gone out for the day.
So when it comes to railings, you need to include them to stop your canine buddy from jumping, but you need to make sure the gap is small enough that they can't get their heads into it.
Keeping your dog in mind during the deck design is going to keep your buddy happy once the deck is completed and they can spend time on it. A few simple changes could make all the difference to the long-term health of your furry friend. Contact a professional contractor for more info.
Share10 November 2015
The kitchen is the most used room in my home, and in the past, I found it could get messy and chaotic very quickly. Trying to cook dinner when you can't find an essential appliance or see past the clutter on the counter is no fun. I realised I enjoyed my time in the kitchen more and was more productive when my kitchen was organised and laid out in a way that optimised functionality. I changed my kitchen cleaning and organising routine, decluttered, got rid of appliances I don't use and moved things around to ensure frequently used items were easy to reach. I started this blog to share my tips for creating a kitchen that's enjoyable to use, and I post about ways you can optimise the space you have. I hope you find my posts useful.
