Ever heard of a “life hack”? It’s a way to make life a little easier by maybe finding a shortcut, a better technique, or doing things in a cheaper way by just doing it yourself. I always come across unique tips or tricks that do just that. As a parent, I always try to come up with ways to make life easier. Being a pet parent is no different. Pet parents want to know life hacks too and there are plenty! I’ve learned a few dog hacks while Simba has been in my life. I hope these dog hacks are helpful for you too! Some of these pet hacks can be used for other pets too like a cat!
Potty Train Your Dog With Potty Bells
Potty training Simba was a breeze with potty bells! At first I just tried to teach him how to use a dog litter box, but that didn’t work as well. The potty bell training worked much better for us. My husband laughed at me when I told him I was going to teach my dog how to let me know he had to potty by ringing the bells. I had the last laugh though because it worked! All I had to do was hang the potty bells on the door and train my dog to go and hit the bells when he wanted to go outside. Eventually he would stand at the door to let me know he had to potty and he didn’t need the bells at all.
Grab Dog’s Attention for Pictures with Squeaky Toy
If you want to capture the picture perfect moment of your pet, a squeaky toy will definitely do the trick. Simply position your dog and have the squeaky toy in your hand (or have someone else do it) ready to squeeze in order to capture a couple of shots. Doing this gives me an alert dog for a great shot! Want some picture perfect photo tips? Check out my previous blog post.
Store Dog Food in Airtight Pet Food Container
Storing dog food in an airtight pet food container keeps the food fresh. You can also see how much food is left. It’s easier to remember that you need to buy more dog food soon when you can actually see how much food is left in the container. It’s also easier to get the food out and it just looks better in the pantry.
Use Old Baby Clothes as Dog Clothes
Old baby clothes are perfect to use for a small dog. Play around with different sizes until you find the size that fits for your dog. If you don’t have a baby you could go to a Goodwill or a consignment shop and pick up some baby clothes for the low which would be much cheaper than buying actual dog clothes. This shirt that Simba has on below is a 9 month baby boy shirt. Looks good right?
Restrict Dog Access with Baby Gate
If you already have kids and just recently got a new pet then there is no need to go out and buy a pet gate…simply use the baby gate! It works the same exact way and will keep your dog out of areas that you don’t need him to be in. We have a baby gate to keep our daughter from going downstairs and it is also used to keep Simba from going up the stairs when we are away or at work.
DIY Dog Closet
Tired of your dog’s stuff everywhere? I was! My husband had the bright idea to turn a storage cabinet into a dog closet. You can use a cabinet you already own, buy a brand new one, or buy it used. We bought a used one for an awesome price and then set it up with all of Simba’s stuff. It stores his dog clothes, grooming products, photo props, dog books, leashes, dog collars, treats, and toys! We used children clothes hangers and a PVC pipe as a rod to hang the clothes on. I used decorative bins inside the storage cabinet to store other dog items in. It’s working very well for us and I love knowing where everything is! The DIY dog closet is still a work in progress, but at least all of Simba’s stuff fits and I know exactly where it’s at!
Use Command Hook for Dog Leashes and Collars
My dog’s leashes and collars always ended up getting misplaced because someone would always leave them in random places. I thought a command hook would be great to use inside on the door of our DIY dog closet. The command hook can be used anywhere you’d like if you don’t have a dog closet. It’s super cheap and works like a charm.
That’s all the dog hacks I have for now, but if you are looking for more pet hacks go and visit all of the pet blogs below! They are all sharing their pet hacks and I’m sure you will find those just as helpful as the ones I shared.
I love your dog closet! I should do something like that!
So many great pet hacks here, I don’t even know where to start! I love the dog closet idea. With three dogs in the house, there is dog gear EVERYWHERE! I really need to get their stuff organized! I’m also going to grab some of those Command strips to create some hanging space in the closet for extra leashes and collars.
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What great ideas! Tho I have only cats, I do use the airtight container, and I have a cupboard she;ft devoted to just the kitties.
LOL! I thought I was the only one who used baby clothes for dog clothes! I also used my daughter’s old stroller for my former dog when he was in his senior years. Once my daughter started to walk on her own, our sweet senior pup wanted to ride in the stroller. It worked out really well.
That dog closet is awesome! Now I think I need to work on getting organized. 🙂
This are all great ideas! Even with no kids, I have a collection of bay gates. I like to keep them around because you never know when you’ll need one.
I love your DIY Dog Closet and I really like that you bought it used – I’m all about saving money these days! My dogs have a ton of stuff too, it’s nuts! These are all great hacks, thanks for sharing.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Nice life hack ideas. Your doggie is adorable. I’d never think about the baby clothes idea. Very clever!
Thanks for sharing!
The doggie closet was my fav too! And why not?? Our pets have as much stuff to keep up with as we do these days!
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The food container is crucial! Not only can it prevent the dogs from sneaking an unplanned snack (like our family’s lab used to do all the time) but it keeps the smell away. In my roommate days, a housemate contributed to our rodent issue by leaving the bag of dog food out. That became a nightmare! Now I use stainless steel canisters that look nice and require raccoon like skills to get them opened. And I wish I had the closet space to spare for doggy stuff. I may have to do some culling of old items to make that happen.