5 Ways To Protect Your Pets From Electrical Hazards

Keeping Your Pets Safe

Humans aren’t the only ones that can be endangered by electricity. Your pets are even at greater risk because they don’t know how to avoid electrical hazards as we do. Your pet doesn’t understand potential electrical dangers around the home, so you need to take measures to help them.

A pet might even make matters worse by going where it shouldn’t. Getting too close to damaged electrical equipment like outlets or chewing through cords. We’ve all heard about child-proofing a home; shouldn’t you consider pet-proofing your home? Simply repairing the existing hazards may not be enough. Here are five ways to prevent an electrical disaster from happening to your pet in your home.

Prevent Cord Chewing

If your pet, particularly a dog, sees an exposed cord, chances are they’ll chew on it. This impulse can be avoided by placing the cords out of sight or reach. You could also use protective coverings. Spend time with them and watch to see what interests them.

Buy Quality

Buying electrical equipment is not an opportunity to save money. Higher-quality electrical equipment is not as likely to break or overheat. Add to that that you can’t always be around if something happens. An electrical fire can start when you’re not home, which can be deadly for your unsuspecting pet.

Unplug

Considering all the possible ways your pet could do damage and shock themselves can get complicated. Try unplugging all the devices that are not being used. Once it becomes a regular habit, it’ll be easy to remember and no longer be a threat to your pet. You’ll also find that you’ll save on power bills.

Train Your Pets

If your cat or dog has free reign, you can increase their safety by training them. For cats, negative stimuli will work better, like scent spraying. Bitter or citrus scents are good choices. Or you can spray the cat with water when they approach a danger zone. Dogs respond better to positive stimuli. A scenario you can set up is to try rewarding them when they move away from any cord. Ultimately, they’ll understand that avoiding a cord is a positive thing.

Know How to Handle an Emergency

Act quickly with these procedures if your pet receives an electrical shock.

1. Unplug and remove the cause of the electrical shock. This prevents further injury to anyone else.
2. Check your pet’s pulse and breathing. CPR does work on animals, and you can begin artificial respiration.
3. Apply cold compresses to any burns. This also helps protect the injured area.
4. Call your emergency vet and follow their instructions. Most often, you will need to take them in to be examined, but if their injury was slight and they recover quickly, you may not need to.
5. Vigilance is critical during the next 12 to 24 hours. Keep checking their breathing and pulse and monitor them for any unusual patterns.

Keeping your pets safe from electrical hazards can be a big job. Taking stock of the hazards around your house and training your pets are important measures to prevent dangerous situations. Pet owners can provide extra protection by covering all electrical installations with plastic covers when not in use. Cats and dogs are curious, and although they soon find that life is full of lessons, this is one lesson you can take measures to avoid.

A Good Pet Owner Reduces the Risk

One way to lower the risk of your pet getting shocked is simply by being aware of electricity’s inherent risk. How your animals navigate through your home is a great way to determine where problems might arise. You can make an effort to keep electrical hazards out of heavily trafficked areas in your living space.

Educating yourself about electricity and its hazards is a good place to start. Understand the potential threat when handling electrical appliances, outlets, and cords, like keeping water away from frayed or faulty outlets. Look for potential problems before they become dangerous, and have safety protocols in place.

Choose Wire-man Electric for the Best Source of Information

Not all electrical services in Vancouver consider your safety and that of your pets as much as we do. Contact Wireman Electric and know that your home or business is safe and in reliable hands. Our team of skilled professional electricians provides superior electrical services to Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Contact Wireman Electric and get a free quote.