How to keep your pet safe in your rental

Rentals come in all shapes and sizes. Because of that, each carries its own level of danger whether that be due to their location, environment, or interior. Make sure that the rental you’re staying at is safe for your pet and their individual needs.

Pets are curious, especially in a place they’re unfamiliar with. They’ll want to explore, sniff, and can inevitably get into mischief. Hazards are everywhere inside and outside a home, and they may be overlooked entirely until your pet finds them.

• Control cords. Chewing cords can injure your pet and damage the property.
• Store medications, toxins, food, etc. out of reach. Place these out of your pets reach so they don’t accidentally inhale or consume them.
• Cover trash cans. Pets can’t eat most human food safely, so cover and secure trash cans.
• Keep toilet lids down. Not only could a small animal potentially drown in one, toilets can be filled with unsafe chemicals.
• Consider baby gates. Baby gates can be a great option to sequester pets to certain areas of the rental away from more hazardous rooms.
• Secure furniture. As best you can in a rental, secure furniture that may be easily knocked over.

There are some things you can’t control in a rental, such as the plants in the backyard or any bodies of water surrounding the rental. In such cases, you as the owner should be hypervigilant and watch your pet to ensure they don’t enter into a dangerous situation. When in doubt, get on your pet’s eye level to see what hidden dangers may be present.

Cleaning supplies and chemicals are often hiding in plain sight for us, which makes them easily accessible to our pets. Many of the cleaning products we use on a regular basis are incredibly dangerous to our pets like ammonia, bleach, laundry detergent, and phenol. The best way to ensure they don’t get exposed to these chemicals is to make sure they’re stored where your pet can’t access them. Whether a storage space is “pet-safe” is entirely dependent on if your specific pet can access it (think cats that jump up onto counters or dogs that can open drawers).

Preparing for a worst-case scenario is daunting, but necessary. This is why we always recommend that your pet has their proper identification on at all times. Proper identification includes a collar with your contact information on it and if you want, a temporary tag with the rental information in the event they get lost. With this, you should also have recent and up-to-date pictures of your pet. Consider updating your microchip company of any changes in location, even temporary ones like your vacation address.

The last thing anyone wants is to lose their pet, especially while on vacation. Using a service like FidoAlert—that uses the power of community and networking to bring lost pets home—can give peace of mind.

We can’t always watch our pets, especially when we’re off enjoying our vacation, but there should be safeguards in place whether you’re at the rental or not. When you aren’t there, your pet should be confined and safe, away from hazards and other potential dangers. For the times that you are there, you should be keeping a close eye on them. Supervision is necessary to protect our furry friends in a new space, and the use of pet gates or leashing them can help make this process easier.

You never know when you’ll need them, but having your pet’s vet records on hand when traveling is always a good idea. Many rental pet policies require each pet to have up-to-date vaccination certificates and provide a clean bill of health, so you should already have most of that information easily accessible. This can come in handy if your pet needs a visit to the emergency vet or in the case that your pet bites someone or another animal or they themselves get bitten.

Liability around a bite accident while on vacation can seem pretty tricky, but we’ve made it easy in our guide.

A well trained pet is less likely to get into many of the situations that can be dangerous, whether that’s chewing on items or eating unknown foods. If you’re able to ahead of time, work with your pet on any problem areas they might have. A dog that’s prone to running away when off leash can post a major hazard if your rental is near a busy road and a cat that likes chewing furniture could hurt themselves on a power cord.

Rentals marketed as being pet-friendly often do a lot of the leg work in pet-proofing their space, but it’s always a good idea for you to do your due diligence in ensuring the rental is up to standard for your pet’s unique needs.