Upgrades to Make Your Outdoor Living Space More Pet Friendly

Fence Your Yard

Responsible pet owners fence in their yards. There, we said it. With over 10 million pets lost each year, we highly advise you to fence in the perimeter of your property. While your furry friend might be trained to stay on your property lines, this also protects you from an unfortunate situation in which someone enters your property lines to steal your dog and/or prevents other animals from coming on to your property, potentially attacking your precious pet. To keep your pet the safest, we recommend your fence be low profile and durable, requirements met by steel gates.

Provide Your Pet Shade with a Pergola or Deck Covering

In many states, it is against the law for a pet to be left outside all day in extreme heat without access to water and shade. Your pet’s threshold for hot temperatures is even lower than yours.  Dogs, for example, run about 15 degrees warmer than humans and can begin overheating in temperatures above 87 degrees Fahrenheit!  This is why fully we recommend adding a pergola or deck covering.  Pergolas have more recently become a popular gardening trend, but they also provide your animal with plenty of shade and a place to cool down on those hot summer days. With the right design and a water bowl, your dog can easily have it’s own oasis right in your backyard.

A deck covering is another excellent option to make your outdoor living space more pet friendly, as this provides ample protection from all elements, including rain. Your pet is guaranteed to have a safe space inside your (fenced in) yard.

Deck Railings

Deck railings are typically created with a human in mind, not your fur baby.  For instance, many deck railings will have small gaps between balusters that will prevent a small child from suffering injury – but – are they small enough that your cat, or smaller dog will not get stuck in between the rails? You want to ensure that your deck railings are pet friendly.  To do this, to ensure your deck rails are 1. Strong enough to withstand the weight of your pet, 2. durable against the weather and against the wear-and-tear from your pet, and 3. possess properly spaced balusters to keep small sized pets from squeezing through, as mentioned above. For all things deck rails, your friends at Dynamic Decks have you covered!

These are just a few potential upgrades you can make to your outdoor living space to ensure it is not only enjoyable for you, the human, but for your pet too. At Dynamic decks, we can help you ensure your yard is safe for your pet and aesthetically pleasing.