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In this blog, we take a look at how you can let your beloved pets on the sofa and armchairs without them scratching or damaging them.
Keeping Your Dog Off the Sofa
We start off with good intentions, but those puppy dog eyes melt the hardest of hearts! So yes, the dog which wasn’t allowed on the sofa, is allowed a sneaky cuddle on the soft furnishings.
1. Covers for sofas and armchairs
If your beloved Fido jumps on the sofa or you have cats or house-trained rabbits that love a snuggle, their pet hair shedding all over your priced sofa or tub chair is a nuisance.
As well as investing in inexpensive lint rolls and regularly vacuuming, you could also invest in covers that protect your soft furnishings.
If you don’t fancy that idea, some pet lovers allow the use of one chair as the dog bed and covers that with a cover, blanket etc.
Top tip – use an easy to brush off material so that the dog or cat hair doesn’t stick to it.
2. Avoid bare wood
We all know that puppies, as they grow, shed their baby teeth before they get their big adult fangs. Problem is, to help the baby teeth and soothe their irritated gums, your dog may find chewing on the bare wooden leg of the dining table a real treat.
And then you’ve got kitty who loves keeping your claws in mint conditions by using the other table leg as a scratching post.
If you can, avoid bare wood opting instead for a metal frame dining table and chairs. There are some remedies that spray on wood to discourage chewing and scratching but how effective these vary.
3. Choose a pet-friendly material
Pets are family thus it makes sense that when you choose furniture you consider them too;
- Leather – an all-round versatile material, leather is super-easy to keep clean and maintain whether that is a paw print, pet hair or sticky finger marks. Use a conditioning cream or wipes every now and then to nourish the natural material.
- Microfibre – cat owners swear by it is to very durable and hardy, more than capable of withstanding your kitty’s claws on it. Add to this it is also easy to clean with a damp cloth.
4. Regular grooming
All pet owners are guilty of falling behind with the grooming regime of their dog and cat but it is something that is not only essential to their health, but your furniture and vacuum will thank you for it too.
By regularly grooming your pet, especially around the times of the year that they shed, you save a lot of pet hair from disappearing into the creases and crevices of your sofa and armchair.
5. Coordination
This works for some people but coordinating the colour of your couch with your pooch is one way of your soft furnishings showing up less cat or dog hair.
Not sure how you’d feel about a flame red sofa to match your ginger tom so we’ll leave this thought with you…
6. Create a mud room or space
You know how you take off your shoes before you enter your home and ban muddy wellies from tramping through the hallway? You need to do the same thing with your dog.
In the ideal world, a home with canine family members who have a mudroom, complete with dog shower to keep them clean after their morning walk.
Sadly, we don’t live in an ideal world! But creating a space where you can use old towels to clean up Fido before he rampages all the sofa will clearly pay dividends.
7. A nice dog bed
As we suggested at the start, some households have an old sofa or armchair that is the dog’s bed.
But, not everyone is keen on turning over their stylish wingback chairs to the hounds of the family. We also accept that some run-of-the-mill dog beds are not really very fancy…
The solution is to spend a little extra cash on getting a fantastically cosy dog bed for your pooch. Depending on your budget, you can buy a miniature sofa for a few hundred quid… isn’t your four-legged best friend worth that?!
8. Shut rooms off
Of all the suggestions on here, this is surely the most controversial. Post this on social media and you will be amazed at the divisive response it inspires in people.
Boundary training is an option and one that needs pointing out. If you have spent thousands of your soft furnishings and don’t want claw marks and slobber on it but can’t trust your fur babies not to enjoy its warmth and comfort, ‘banning’ them from certain rooms may be the only answer.
Tell us how you take care of furniture with pets in the home? What tried and tested methods do you have?
Office and marketing manager for Sloane & Sons Stylish Chairs, who sell a range of high-quality tub chairs, accent chairs and more.
