Having a pet is an enjoyable part of life: you have a faithful companion who is by your side and always keeps you company. But one hard truth about pets is that they don’t clean up after themselves, and sometimes they mess up and use the bathroom indoors. Laying down a few ground rules for your pet and you’ll save the headache of cleaning up all the time. The Corpus Christi movers love having pets—so we want to help you learn to coexist with them in clean and blissful harmony. Dedicate some parts of the house to your pet, and enforce some rooms as off limits. This may mean using a doggy gate to keep areas blocked off. Make sure that your pet sleeps in his or her own bed, not in yours. Some people are tempted to let pets in their bed, but this can breed disease. Stick to a grooming schedule to keep fur and stray hairs at a minimum, and if you don’t take them to a groomer be consistent about when you bathe them. Make sure your pet gets consistent exercise and attention, as the more energy they burn the less likely they are to mess up inside. Assess where your pet eats. Consider an outer room, if space allows, such as a utility area to feed your pet. A utility area often has a sink so you can wash your pet's dishes and any knives or spoons you use to dish out the food away from your own. Store your pet's food here too — only opened cans need the fridge. Place food and water bowls inside a large plastic tray and you protect the floor from spills and can also keep the tray clean by washing it in a solution of bleach and hot water each week. Avoid feeding your pet on carpet, which is a chore to wash. Limit feeding times for your pets. How often you feed your pet is probably dictated by your working day, as much as its needs. But for good hygiene, you need to get those bowls cleared up promptly, especially in hot weather. So teach your animal to eat right away so you can wash up his food bowl before you go to work. Get animal fur under control. A quality vacuum cleaner is an essential tool in your campaign to lift pet hair from your home. Groom your cat and dog outdoors, to minimize airborne skin particles that contribute to allergies. Get loose fur off a molting cat or dog by rubbing over its body while wearing damp rubber gloves. Metal flea combs make good grooming brushes for cats. They're quicker to use and clean than traditional wood and soft-bristle brushes.You can try removing odors by sprinkling baking soda in the smelly dog or cat's bed. It won't harm your pet, and freshens him as well as the bedding. A bed for your cat or dog has to be one that you can clean out and disinfect regularly. Failure to do so means that your pet's bed is likely to become home to mites and fleas that live to bite your pet, making that basket not so cozy after all.