Creating the dog room of your pup's dreams
What you should and shouldn't have in a room for your pets, especially if they'll be alone for long periods of time
It is always touch-and-go with this Carolina dog. Sometimes I walk in the back door, and the dog sits down and is ready to walk. Other times she darts away like she’s never seen me in life. It doesn’t happen as much when I walk her on a regular basis, but if there are long stretches of time, she always acts like I’m a total stranger. (This is wild to me considering I walked a dog today that I hadn’t walked since 2023, and she jumped on me immediately like an old friend.)
A small part of me thinks this dog acts like she has amnesia (and doesn’t smell my scent, whatever that may be) solely so I have to coax her into walking — only to march out of the door when her leash is on. This past winter, I saw her take off running full speed into a back room before one walk. I followed her, walking slowly and singing her name so she wasn’t shocked when I entered the doorway. But when I stopped in front of the open door, I didn’t see a dog. I doubled back and peered in the room next door, wondering if she darted somewhere else. The second room, which was empty, was dogless.
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I turned around again, walking back into the doorway of the room I was fairly sure she was in, looking from a large bed to a closed-door closet, now wondering where could this 50-plus-pound dog have possibly hidden. I’m not a big fan of walking into clients’ private rooms unless I’m dogsitting, but how else was I going to find this dog? So, I tentatively stepped a few feet inside and looked around. That’s when I saw a creme-colored flash out of the corner of my eye. It turns out that the Carolina dog had army-crawled underneath the bed and snuck out the other end and through the doorway when my back was turned.
I busted out laughing, which made her turn around and look at me. Just like that, she flopped down in the hallway and waited to be leashed. Twenty minutes later, after we’d walked around the neighborhood, I unleashed her and she sat in the living room like this had never happened. I petted her head and left. This dog was a handful, and I knew she’d be right back to these antics soon enough.
Her escape plan was also a reminder of what not to put in a dog’s room — a bed big enough for pet owners and dog walkers to not be able to find them. If I wasn’t already familiar with this dog, seeing a dog crawl from under a bed would’ve been terrifying for a new dog walker.
In addition to skipping the massive bed, I also have 10 other ideas about what should be in a dog’s room — whether it’s a foster dog, a new puppy or an adopted adult dog. Check out my dog room supply suggestions below.
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Water dish and food dish
While there are dog feeders and water jugs that can automatically release their contents when needed, to avoid having to pay a dog walker to stop by, keep in mind that sometimes both dishes can be abandoned. I recall walking a Miniature Pinscher whose dog food would constantly be pouring all over the floor. I still don’t know if he just hated the food, wasn’t eating enough of it or was the feeder measurement too high. What I do know is that feeder was going to be the source of bugs if something wasn’t corrected. Make sure to clean your dog room regularly to avoid pests, which can happen in even the neatest home.
Turf grass
If you’ve crate-trained your dog, you probably won’t get much use out of this. But if you’ve trained your dog to release herself indoors, turf grass is less messy than newspaper. Make sure you have a tray to avoid staining carpet or leading to bubbled-up wet spots in laminate flooring.
Crate
Right before I adopted Junee, I read all of these articles about how dogs are terrified of crates and treat them like jail. I haven’t the slightest idea why, but my dog warmed up to a crate the first day I got it. While she tore a dog tent apart within a few days, she treats both her small crate (from when she was a puppy) and her adult crate (where she has way more room to stretch out in a dog bed) like dog houses. Although I still haven’t figured out why she still prefers curling up on the carpet of the much smaller crate, these are her go-to places to sleep sometimes — even though she has access to my entire home. I did figure out fairly quickly that she’s not a big fan of sleeping with lights on, so one crate is partially covered by a couch and the other is behind a doorway. Just like me, she prefers pitch blackness for her best rest. If your dog prefers dark areas for sleeping, keep the dog room crate away from windows.
Dog stairs for couch
If you’re a furniture-friendly household and your dog enjoys lounging on a couch, this will be a happy combo. But for dogs who have back issues, hopping up and down from a couch is going to leave the dog owner with some pretty hefty vet bills. Make it easier on the pup by providing dog steps for the dog room couch so she can go up and down as needed instead of excessive straining and potential falls. And if she’s anywhere near as nosey as my dog is, make sure the dog room couch is near a window for her to spy on the neighborhood.
Dremel for clipping nails
If your dog is not a climber and is well-behaved around tables and drawers, a dog room is a good place to keep all of the pet grooming supplies, including a Dremel to keep her nails from getting too long. While pet groomers can also handle dog nails, it’s much cheaper to learn to do it yourself. I learned to cut my dog’s nails when she was a puppy — after watching a gazillion videos, examining where a quick is, and trial and error. I have only ever clipped her nail short enough to bleed one time in four years.
Nowadays, she starts pawing at my arm when she wants her nails clipped, marches to the dog cabinet and shoves her own nozzle into the soft muzzle before I can pull out dog nail clippers. In her puppy months, I used the soft muzzle initially to avoid her accidentally biting me. Now? It’s more or less just routine, like putting on a hat before you put on a winter coat. When I’m done, I unhook the muzzle, she stands by the fridge, waits for a baby carrot and strolls away to eat it.
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Dog toys
Be careful with the type of toys that are left with your unsupervised dog for long periods of time in a dog room. I’ve found that leaving any type of plush toy around my dog for more than 30 minutes will 100% result in a pile of cotton. I can leave all the pillows and blankets I own around her. However, if I toss that same pillow or blanket into her crate, she’s chewing enough holes in it to look like Charlie Brown’s ghost costume for Halloween. I’ve never seen her chew or destroy anything in my home in years, so she can run loose for a few hours. But I realized fairly quickly that if she’s ready to go or bored, she will “protest” by sneak-chewing blankets at other people’s homes.
Dog ear cleaner
Dog breeds with floppy ears (such as Cocker Spaniels or Basset Hounds) may need their ears cleaned weekly or bi-weekly to avoid ear infections. For my own Hound mix, cleaning her ears once a month has been sufficient. If you’re worried about whether you’re cleaning your dog’s ears enough, first, ask a vet. Second, be on the lookout for redness, strange odors, ear discharge or ear wax buildup. Be careful to follow the ear wax cleaner instructions and don’t overdo it. Let your dog immediately shake her ears free to get out excess solution.
Dog couch
This is your chance to check out Freecycle, Craigslist or another platform that is trying to get rid of a gently used couch. Make sure to investigate and properly clean it to avoid the risk of bed bugs. If you don’t have assistance with getting a used couch to your home — and don’t want to buy a brand new dog couch that can be delivered — ask if the social media poster would be cool with you just taking the couch pillows. The dog just wants something comfortable to rest on anyway. She doesn’t always care about a couch frame. Her goal is to snuggle up on the soft cushions.
Dog robe
Some dogs are totally OK with being dried off with a towel. My dog treats towels like they’re a wrestling match and growls the whole time. She also hates getting wet. I’m not interested in getting her a raincoat because rain is an easy, hair-clog-free way to bathe her. I lather her in dog shampoo after a rainy day walk and scrub away. But when I see her beelining through my home trying to make the air dry her fur faster, I realize a dog robe may actually work to her advantage. Just hammer a hook into a wall to hang the dog robe when not in use, so she doesn’t treat it like a blanket.
Dog toothbrush
I learned the hard way that some dogs’ digestive systems do not do well with dog dental bones. Once I realized that, and donated the rest of the dental bones, I stocked up on toothbrushes and dog toothpaste, and brushing dog teeth has been a breeze ever since.
Along with these 10 and your dog walking supplies, your dog room should be a hit with your pup. If you think of anything else that is safe to have within reach while you’re away (or locked away in a cabinet), will help entertain your dog and keep her from disturbing the neighbors, feel free to add onto these ideas too.
Shamontiel is a dog lover to her core: 627 completed walks with 99 dogs, eight dog-housesittings and six dog boardings at the time of this publication.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday. Thanks for reading!