How do you design a pet-friendly home?

Anyone who raises a dog or cat knows that their four-legged friend is an integral part of the family. Therefore, when designing your home, it is important to create the space while addressing the pet's needs.

Whether it's an energetic dog that needs to release energy or a cat that likes to climb furniture, you need to find a design that takes the animal's needs into account while adding a personal touch that transforms the room into a place can transform into a place where everyone feels at home.

Yael Gabriel, interior designer, and Ori Mires, dog trainer and behavioral therapist, specialize in the relationship between humans and dogs. They have tips and ideas on how to create a harmonious home for everyone.

If you have decided to train your dog, you probably know the accessories intended for training such as a training fence (suitable for puppies) or a training cage. “Identifying designated areas for pets is an essential part of the proper training process. Therefore, a training fence or training cage must be placed in the center of the house, which is usually the living room. This way, our furry friends will feel part of it.” “The pack, i.e. the family, and staying in the designated and defined area gives them security and peace,” says Mires.

According to Gabriel, designating specific spots for your pets will help maintain order and prevent their belongings from being scattered throughout the house. To ensure that the training fence or cage does not get “stuck” in the middle of the living room, it is important to integrate the area intended for your pet into the design. How do you do that? “A training fence or cage can be both stylish and functional,” explains Gabriel.

“When choosing an item for your dog, it is advisable to choose an accessory that matches the aesthetics of the interior design in terms of colors and materials. Even a training cage can be stylish and look like a side table in the living room if it is planned in advance as a joinery item that matches the design style,” she added.

When it comes to cats, there's another area that gets quite a bit of attention: the litter box. “I recently designed a house for a family with a cat and it was very important to them that access to the litter box was not through the utility room door because they didn't want to leave it open,” says Gabriel, “That's why I designed a utility room with special joinery and a wall with a special opening for the cat. Through the opening, the cat enters the utility room where the litter box is located, and the door to the room always remains closed.

Who knows a destroyed sofa or a flower pot scattered on the parquet floor in the living room? Most of us. “Many dogs need to release energy, otherwise they will fumble around with our furniture at home. Therefore, it is important that the release of energy occurs outside the house by playing with a ball or another toy that the dog likes,” explains Mires. “It is advisable to get the dog used to a daily routine, at a fixed time and in a suitable area. I always recommend a fenced yard rather than a dog park because at a dog park you don't know in advance which dogs will be and what level of poise and friendliness they will display toward other dogs.”

According to Gabriel, in addition to instilling the right habits, the choice of upholstered furniture for the home is also very important. “Even if our dog or cat uses energy regularly, it is advisable to avoid delicate fabrics and upholstery that can easily come off. When I start a new renovation project or plan a new apartment, I am often told that don't plan to buy a new sofa because the dog or cat will destroy it in a second anyway.

It doesn't have to be that way. Next time you choose a sofa or armchair, choose durable fabrics that are easy to clean and maintain. There are a few of these on the market now.” According to Gabriel, tight fabrics are more durable than loose fabrics because loose hair is easier to remove from them, they don’t absorb liquids as much and they don’t tend to fall apart and wear out, like the Spanish ones, for example Aquaclean company.

Does your dog defecate on the couch or in bed? Mires says, “When training a puppy to go about his business, it is important not to train the dog to 'walk' on a cleanable surface that looks like a diaper or a baby's changing pad, because then the dog might interpret.” any other soft surface, such as a sofa, a bed, a cushion or a carpet, as a surface on which he can do his work. And if there is still a defect, it is a good idea to immediately clean the area with vinegar (or vinegar diluted with water, if necessary It is parquet), which will help you neutralize the smell so that the dog does not think says it's his territory and does it again.

Wondering what flooring is best for a home with pets? According to Gabriel, porcelain tiles are the easiest to maintain, but you really don't have to miss out on wood flooring if that's what you're dreaming of. “In recent years the world of parquet has developed significantly and the selection is large. More and more Israelis are tiling the entire house with parquet, including in the kitchen area. For those who don't want to miss out on the real thing, there is both visually and tactilely there is nothing better than a multi-layer wooden parquet, so from an acoustic point of view it is also the most recommended installation method in the area if the need arises without removing the entire floor covering in the house dismantle it,” says Gabriel.

If you are willing to compromise on the look of the parquet and are looking for a solution that is a little cheaper and a little more durable, it is worth getting to know SPC parquet made from a combination of stone and plastic, with a look and texture that comes very close to real wooden parquet.

“When it comes to flooring, we recommend not only choosing the material (porcelain stoneware or parquet) but also carefully choosing the color,” adds Gabriel. “I often came into the store with customers carrying a small bag of hair that had fallen from the fur of the dog or cat living in the house. We scattered them across the flooring we liked in the store and saw how it worked. “When we have to bend down and look for them with a magnifying glass, we know we’ve found the right shade.”

While you sit down at the table to eat, it is also important that your dog or cat has their own dining area. “The area should match the design of the house and the food should be selected according to the needs of the dog or cat,” says Gabriel. “You have to make sure that the water and food bowls are at the right height, because if the dog bends down while eating or drinking, he could injure his neck. Today there are a variety of design solutions that allow appropriate height and width adjustment so that it corresponds to the height of the dog or cat.

The choice of food and drink is also important. “It is strongly recommended to replace plastic or stainless steel bowls with ceramic or stoneware bowls, both of which are better designed, more stable and safer to use. “Ceramic doesn’t have the risk of becoming toxic like stainless steel or plastic can,” says Mires.

Adding plants to your home is known to create a calming energy and can calm both animals and us. “Anyone who is afraid of bringing plants into the house because they fear that the dog or cat will become wild should remember that during the training process the dog learns to release energy outside the house and everyone in the apartment agrees “You can enjoy green images,” says Mires.

“It is very important to choose the plants for the house according to aesthetic parameters: the color of the leaves (there are countless shades of green) and it is important to take into account the other colors present in the room to choose the most suitable shade) , the shape and size of the leaves as well as the correct proportions of the width and height of the plant according to the corner where we want to place the plant. In addition, we must first check that the plant is not poisonous to dogs and cats. There are a whole host of poisonous plants, and a quick Google search will save everyone a lot of heartache,” adds Gabriel.