Here at Chicago Dog Trainer, we know how much you love your dog for being a dog. An acquaintance of mine often talks about how, after his dog passed, he started to notice that he would be sad when there were crumbs on the floor because he actually missed when his dog would eat the food that dropped off the table.
It’s the little things that our dogs do – our dogs just BEING dogs – that we love them for. But it’s also these things that can get them into trouble.
Dogs, Exploration, and Pests
One great example of this is the way that our dogs respond to things they’ve never seen before. Humans have a tendency to stay away from strange things, at most maybe poking it with a stick.
Dogs, on the other hand, eat what they find. They go up really close and link, sniff, or consume strange things that they find in the house.
If you have pests, that means that your dogs may be eating:
- Rat Droppings
- Dead Insects
- Bacteria-Ridden Foods
Your dogs may attack and eat mice, lick places where flies have brought illnesses, and more. Fleas and ticks are not the only pests that can harm dogs, and since your dog responds to things it doesn’t understand by putting it in its mouth or bringing its nose up really close, pest infestations can be risky.
It is for these reasons that we need to think about pest control as a safety issue for our pets, not just as something we consider for comfort. Mike, who runs a pest control company in Roseville, California, writes that “some people only notice that they have pests when their cats bring in a rat or their dogs are scratching themselves.” He says that “we have pest control products that are safe for pests, even more than the ones that people buy in stores, and very effective at preventing and eliminating pests on the property to keep your dogs safe.”
But Mike cautions that pesticides are only part of the solution. “If pests are still able to enter the property, they’ll die, but they’ll still be present. You’ll also need to make sure they cannot come indoors at all.” Chris, a contractor in Staten Island, writes “pests are sometimes the first time that someone notices something wrong with their roofing, siding, or windows. Pests are the first to spot damage and openings, fitting into spaces we can’t even see with our eyes.” These may need to be sealed and addressed as well to keep pests away.
Pest Control as Safety
We want to keep our pests safe. We want them to be free to be dogs without us having to worry about them. That often means rethinking how we look at pest control, viewing it as a necessary part of pest ownership rather than a separate service for your home.
Our motto here at Chicago Dog Trainer is to let dogs be dogs, and often pest control is one way to do that. For more help with raising happy and healthy dogs, please reach out to Chicago Dog Trainer, today.
