As you might have seen on Instagram, The Sniff HQ recently underwent a renovation. While we are thrilled to now have a finished basement, the 4+ months of construction were trying. (First world problems, I know!) Our dogs, especially, had to acclimate to workers coming in and out of our house throughout each day, and to the various loud noises and vibrations. As always, we learned as we went along — thanks to the dogs patiently teaching us! Here are some tips and tricks that we learned to help keep your dogs feeling as comfortable as possible during a renovation project.
Door manners
As you prepare to open up your home to a revolving door of contractors, carpenters, designers, electricians, plumbers, etc., you’ll want to be sure to brush up on your dog’s door manners before construction begins. If your dog barks uncontrollably, lunges at the door, jumps up on visitors, or is just generally rowdy when he hears a knock of the doorbell, you will want to work on some desensitization early — as in, before you start gathering quotes for your renovation project! Having solid door manners will make the weeks (or months!) of construction work much more bearable.
Introductions
Be sure to introduce your dog at least to the people who will be coming over the most frequently. Better yet, explain to your contractor that you’d like each person who comes over to meet your dog (assuming that is feasible with your schedule.) It’s important to create positive association for your dog when it comes to these new people. I’m a big fan of having “new friends” ask our dogs for a sit, before rewarding with treats and allowing some sniffs.
…And reintroductions!
Especially if your dog is going to be interacting somewhat with the workers who are coming and going from your home, be sure to keep them acquainted with “reintroductions.” This is especially helpful on Monday mornings, after a couple of weekend days of not seeing each other.
Baby gates, crates and safe places
Now, this might surprise you, but…not everyone working on your construction project is going to want to interact with your dog. Unbelievable, right? (True story: one of our contractor’s workers was actually so petrified of our dogs that for the first month of construction he entered and exited our house through a basement window!) Plus, your dogs might not want to interact with them! And especially when you are not home, your dogs should be segregated from the construction workers. (For real, you guys…imagine me saying that with my lawyer hat on!)
If your dog is crate trained and comfortable in the crate when you are not home, place the crate in the most quiet part of the house, away from the construction. If he prefers to be out, acclimate him to staying in a room with the door closed. I also recommend setting up a baby gate between the door where your dog will be kept and where the workers are working, as extra separation for when you come home and let your dog out of his room or crate.
Distractions
Especially in the early days of construction, or when you are not home, or on particularly loud days (pro tip: tile saws are really, really loud!) give your dog a nice distraction to work on so that he is focused on something other than the noise. I made some particularly challenging kongs with lots of layers of deliciousness, and froze them to make them even more challenging. Other good distractions are might be food puzzles, bully sticks, or new toys.
Ear muffling
Our dogs hear much better, and much more, than we do. I’ve read that a dog’s hearing can be approximately 4 times greater than a human’s. What that means is that construction sounds are even louder for your dog than it is for you. I’m not sure if it was more about feeling secure or the ear muffling, but Beau (who is quite noise sensitive – it’s an anxiety trigger for him) noticeably relaxed when he had on his zoo snood, pinning his floppy ears down to muffle the sound a bit. (Bonus: he looks like a pig bunny when he wears it!) A friend of mine, a trainer with her own noise-sensitive dog, swears by mutt muffs and happy hoodies. After some trial and error, but you might be able to find a muffling solution for your dog.
White noise
I found that white noise (rather than music, talk radio, or a TV) drowned out the construction sounds the best, and allowed our dogs to calm down the fastest. If you can leave a computer nearby your dog’s crate or safe space you can use this free website for white noise, or you can purchase the same $20 sound machine that we have.
Time away
Sometimes, time away from home during the construction is the best option for the resident dog. If your dog likes going to doggie daycare, that’s a great option. (Or, if he’s never been before, you might consider doing a few trial days before the construction begins so that you know if it’s an option.) Or, if your dog is comfortable at a friend of neighbor’s house that might also be an option. During our renovation I would often take conference calls from my car (I work from home) with the dogs in the backseat!
If you have a home renovation project on the horizon, I hope you find these tips helpful! And if you come up with any that we’ve missed, please share them in the comments below.
With that, I’ll leave you with a photo of our completed basement laundry room — you, too can survive a renovation with your dog. And it will be worth it!
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