How To Prepare Your Home For A Handicapped Pet

Typically, having a pet at home can bring happiness and love to homeowners and to the households they belong to. However, accidents and other related unforeseen events may occur and inflict harm and injury to the animal. Some injuries are minor in a way that recovery is possible. But there are others that may leave the animal with a disability.

Thus, if you’re a pet owner, it’s important to give your pets the love and care they deserve while they’re dealing with an injury or disability. While it might be heartbreaking for you to see them suffering, you can just imagine the pain they have to go through.

And as you bring home your pet from the veterinarian after seeking medical help, you need to make sure they’ll be comfortable and safe around your house, given their newfound circumstance.

Below are some ways on how you can prepare your home for a pet with handicaps:

1. Make The Necessary Changes At Home

One of the best ways to prepare your home for a handicapped pet is to make it more comfortable to them by carrying out some necessary changes. This means doing some home upgrades to ensure their comfort while recovering in your dwelling place. The following are some upgrades you can make for your pet with handicap:

Roof Repair: For handicapped pets, healing and recovery are important. Thus, to make sure they can heal and recover quickly, your home should be in tip-top shape for their comfort. However, you can’t do this if you have a leaking roof. In such a case, you need to carry out a roof repair to protect your property and handicapped pet from natural elements, such as snow, rain, debris, and many more.
Pet Ramp Installation: If your home has an elevated space your pet with handicap needs to climb, you should consider adding a ramp that allows them to go up and down to any area with ease. That way, they can still practice their independence, and they won’t feel they have limited movement options inside your home.
Pet Gates Installation: Apart from doing some roof fixes such as spot hail damage on your roof and provide a pet ramp for your pet’s convenience, you also need to decide which areas in your home they can still have access to, and which ones are off-limits to ensure their safety. Besides, they can’t just roam around your home considering their disability. This is where the installation of pet gates comes into play. Ideally, you should install pet gates by the stairs, bathroom doors, fireplace, and other potentially dangerous areas.

2. Ensure Cleanliness In Your Home

Sometimes, handicapped pets are unable to groom themselves due to their disability. In such a case, it’s important to ensure the cleanliness in your home, so keeping up with your pet’s hygiene and grooming will be much easier and convenient. To do this, you can consider the following things:

Make sure you have a designated area in your home that allows you to bathe your furry companion with handicap.
Make sure to prepare all the hygiene products they need at home. These can include a pet shampoo, topical conditioning treatments, baby wipes, and even a pet diaper to avoid household mess.
Make sure your handicapped pet has its own special pet bed with beddings. Wash it regularly to keep it clean. If you want your pet’s bedding to be moisture-absorbent, then look for a material like nylon for a better outcome.

3. Make Sure Your Home Has Harnesses and a Wheelchair

To prepare your home for a handicapped animal, it’s also important to secure harnesses and wheelchairs to support their mobility. When you want your pet to move around in your place, using a wheelchair can be a good idea for their psychological and physical health. This is especially true if they still have strong front legs and upper body.

However, if your furry animal doesn’t have strong front legs, you can use a harness instead. It can also help them move around your home by wrapping it under your pet and having a handle on top that lets you lift them while they’re walking. For example, if you have a disabled dog, using a harness can be one of the effective ways to help them stand and keep them active and mobile.

4. Create A Spot In Your Home For Exercises

When you prepare your home for a handicapped pet, then you should be mindful of their comfort. As such, it can be a perfect idea to create a spot in your home to carry out some physical exercises for your pet.

For example, you can designate a spot in your house where you can conduct pet massage, to help ease joints and sore muscles, and improve blood circulation. Make sure the spot you create for your animal is comfortable enough that they can lounge if they want to. By doing this, you can have peace of mind knowing your handicapped pet is doing good at home, and on the way to recovery.

The Bottom Line

Indeed, taking care for an animal with handicap can be a huge responsibility. But, as a pet owner, you need to ensure they’re comfortable in your place as they deal with their disability. Luckily, by keeping these steps in mind, you can get your home ready, and be on the right track in properly caring for them.