THE DELEON INSIGHT
CREATING A PET-FRIENDLY BACKYARD By Jessica Taylor
Pets are considered family members by many people – in fact, on some days I would say my dog is my favorite family member. Just look at the number of dog parks popping up around the country, or the countless pet groomers in every city, or even the number of TikTok videos starring a person’s furry friend: people truly love their pets. According to the American Pet Products Association, 67% of U.S. households, or 84.9 million homes, owned a pet in 2019-2020.1 Of these, around 63.4 million homes owned a dog, and 42.7 million homes owned a cat. Since the pandemic hit, the demand for pet adoptions has gone up significantly.2 Since we treat our pets as family, we should provide them an environment that is safe from wild animals, toxic plants, and the dangers of the outside world. Our backyard should be a place where they can eat, sleep, and play safely. When moving into a new home, there may be dangers that you are not aware of that should be addressed before letting your pet run free in the yard. Spring also happens to be the perfect time to assess and update your yard as the winter months could have destroyed fences and gates, which may result in unexpected wildlife visitors to the property.
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Proper Yard Enclosure is Important Having the right yard enclosure is critical. Not only will it keep your pet in, but also help keep unwanted wildlife out. A standard 6-foot tall fence should contain most dogs. If you have the “Michael Jordan” jumper of dogs, you may need to consider using landscaping such as dense shrubs along the fence line to keep your dog away. For diggers, consider an L-Footer which is wire fencing laid down and bent to a 90 degree angle shaped as an “L.” If this is a bit of an eye sore, you can hide it under dirt or grass. A simple, yet important recommendation is to add a more sophisticated lock to your gate. A typical latching system can easily be blown open by the wind or opened by a curious child. Adding an additional hook-and-eye latch or self-closing gate hinges are options to consider. Grass: Natural and Artificial Over the winter months, grass can get long and unkempt. Make sure to mow your lawn and keep the surrounding shrubs trimmed. Short grass will let more sunlight reach the ground, which in turn makes
