Dog proofing.

It's been a bit of a challenge to make our new home fit for our little dog. After living in the country for her whole life, Maisy now had to get used to having a smaller space and no grass :(. It was time for some doggy DIY projects. It's so important for us that she is settled and feels at home in our new house so we had to fork out some money and do some DIY projects to see what could make her feel more comfortable in the new environment.

A fake grass patch

After looking around I found that most were a good two hundred or so dollars but eventually found one for $99.She is starting to use it more and more. It has a base that can be emptied on the bottom and can be hosed down too. Since we haven't decided exactly what to do with the atrium, it's the perfect short term solution.( I love the bench the old owners left behind too and got a new outdoor pillow for the hanging chair- which isn't hanging yet - thanks to a welcome to the neighbourhood voucher).

 A doggy door

Before

Our new house has a cat door but Maisy soon broke it after trying to squeeze herself through it too many times. It was hilarious to watch but definite proof that our dog needed her own door.  For $100 I'm sure she'll enjoy her new larger door. It actually ended up taking a good half a day to put in as the door might not look it but it weighed a tonne! Also the wood was very thick and a few jigsaw blades were broken in the process :( but with the help of Grandpa and Dad it was eventually completed.

A safety gate

We live only a few houses away from a busy main room so it was crucial to us that Maisy couldn't escape and run down the street whenever vistiors come over. I bought an extra wide perma safety gate and then a 10 cm extension for about $70 to make it fit across the hallway that connects to the front door. This is actually an extremely easy DIY project, I did it all myself in about 10 minutes so anyone could put up one of these safety gates. I always love a DIY project where I don't need to call in help! You can see the end product in the top left corner of the photo of the fake grass.

A happy dog makes for happy owners. Now, if only I could train her to use the fake grass patch all the time!

Lisa x