| Living with pets can be a dream come true or a | | | | things clean and organized. The more crevices and |
| nightmare depending on your experience with | | | | clutter that you leave out, the more dust, pet |
| pets and that particular pet's natural tendencies. | | | | dander and opportunity that your pets will have |
| For example, there are a lot of people in the | | | | to get into something that they shouldn't. |
| United States who adamantly prefer to adopt | | | | If you live in an apartment building and own a pet, |
| dogs over cats because dogs are more easily | | | | you may not necessarily have a say when it |
| trained than their feline counterparts. However, | | | | comes to trading in your wall to wall carpeting for |
| with a little training and some creative thinking, | | | | some nice, shiny hardwood floors. If this is the |
| owning a cat can be just as gratifying. | | | | case, you may want to invest in a couple of hepa |
| The first thing that you will naturally want to | | | | filters to throw around the apartment. Additionally, |
| consider before you adopt a pet is the layout of | | | | a good vacuum is a must. The vacuum should |
| your home as well as the things that you own | | | | also state somewhere on it that it has or uses a |
| inside of your home. Will you allow your pet to | | | | hepa filter. Hepa filters are specially designed to |
| have free reign of your house? Will the pet be | | | | trap pet dander, dust, and other allergens that are |
| restricted to just one room of the house? What | | | | in the air, making it a little easier to breathe. |
| sorts of restrictions will you impose (if any) when | | | | Vacuuming should be done the day before you |
| it comes to the safety and well being of not only | | | | are expecting company- not the day of. If you |
| your pet but your furniture as well? There are | | | | have to vacuum on the same day that you are |
| many things to consider. | | | | expecting company, try to vacuum as many |
| Once, when I went over to one of my friends | | | | hours in advance, and then exit the apartment if |
| houses, she had two cats and a small dog and | | | | you have allergies because you would have stirred |
| wall to wall carpeting. I would usually be ok for the | | | | up a lot of airborne allergens. |
| first five minutes before I started wheezing and | | | | Living with an animal means lots of training and |
| then it would go downhill fairly quickly after that | | | | even more patience. For example, I used to own |
| to the point where I absolutely could not breathe. | | | | a leather couch. I had just bought it at a time |
| It's one thing if you own pets, but it is quite | | | | when I was sharing a town home with one of my |
| another thing to consider the guests that you | | | | friends. Shortly after I got the leather couch, her |
| may or may not have over to your home. For | | | | mother gave her a puppy. Suddenly, we had to |
| instance, not everyone is fond of animals, and | | | | train a puppy to not tear up the furniture. This |
| even those who are fond of animals cannot | | | | required a lot of patience as well as crate training |
| necessarily tolerate them due to the pet dander | | | | before we were able to leave the dog out in the |
| that is left behind as well other factors. | | | | house while no one was home; however, it can |
| Remember, if you are going to live with a pet, | | | | be done. |
| you have to be even more diligent about keeping | | | | |