Having a dog in your life is great, don't you agree? You have an adorable friend that loves you unconditionally and gets excited each time they see your face. They are always ready for an adventure or even just sharing a mid-afternoon nap on the couch. While it’s mostly fun and games, having a dog is also a lot of work. They require a great deal of responsibility to keep them safe, happy and healthy. To help you make pet ownership easier, we’ve compiled our top 10 favorite life hacks.
#1. Tub Life: If your dog loves running in the mud and trampling through every puddle, but cannot even fathom the thought of bath time, we have a trick for you. Place your dog in the bathtub and spread some peanut butter on one of the walls. Let your dog lick the peanut butter off while you bathe them. It will keep them occupied for just long enough to clean them off!
#2. The Gobbler: Does your dog gobble down her food like there’s no tomorrow? Place a ball or a large, sanitized rock in the middle of her food bowl. She will need to eat around the rock to get all her food which will help slow her down.
#3. Frozen Faves: The freezer is your friend! For summer fun, freeze some of your dog’s favorite treats with water in ice cube trays. For a special treat, you can even try using chicken broth instead.
#4. Reinvent the Kong: Speaking of the freezer, a great way to prolong your dog’s fun with a Kong toy is by filling it with peanut butter (and even a few treats), and placing it in the freezer.
#5. Downhill Dasher: If you have an energetic dog that can seemingly play fetch forever, try throwing a ball downhill. It will take more energy for them to run up the hill so they will tire faster. Remember, different dogs need different amounts of exercise.
#6. Chalk it up: If you’re feeding your dog on a hard surface outside or have water waiting on the deck after a game of frisbee, line the area around their bowl with chalk. Ants prefer not to walk through a line of powdery material as it interferes with their ability to follow scent trails left by other ants.
#7. Custom Bed: It’s a pain washing dog beds! Instead, when you get a new dog bed, place a fun pillow case over it. Next time it needs a wash, you just have to slip it off. This also means you won’t have to spend money a getting a fancy decorative bed because you can customize the design whenever you want just by switching the pillow case!
#8. Free the Fur: Snuggling with your favorite furry friend on the couch is the best, but not when they leave behind clumps of hair! Use a rubber cleaning glove dampened with a little water to remove all that hair in no time. Also, if you need other types of cleaning products check out some of our favorites.
#9. Breath Saver: Want to combat your dog’s stinky breath the natural way? Add a few sprigs of fresh parsley to your dog’s food.
#10. Closet Clean-out: What could be better than getting rid of old worn out clothes and letting your dog enjoy them? Did you know that many items in your closet can actually be used to make your very own dog toys.
Do you have a dog-centric life hack to share with us? We can’t wait to hear them!
