This post is sponsored by Swiffer and Febreze. 

Someone once told me that there was no difference between having one cat and having two…or three. I thought long and hard about bringing another kitty into our home way back then, and I found that they were actually right in their theory! Aside from spending a bit more on cat food, litter and vet bills, the cats pretty much merged into one. Dogs on the other hand…there is a big, fat, huge difference between owning one dog and say, owning three. We were in this three-dog family situation for a while, until Angeline brought home her new puppy, Swish, earlier in March. Each time I’ve been presented with the idea of adopting a new dog into our family, it is usually by the bequest of Angeline, and well, I have a hard time saying no to her – especially when I am sent photos of adorable doggies and she promises to take care of them all by herself…if you are a parent, you are probably chuckling right now, as these promises are rarely upheld! Swish has been a new addition to our home for a few weeks now, and while he’s adjusting quite well and I am happy to have him here, it is not without its challenges. I thought I’d share my Tips for Stress-Free Multiple Pet Ownership with you all today in hopes that if you are facing a similar situation right now, they might be of help!

Tips for Stress-Free Multiple Pet Ownership

Give Each Pet Their Own Space

The first thing you should do when bringing a new pet into the home is ensure that they have their own space to retreat to, so that they don’t get overwhelmed by your other pets. Sometimes they won’t need it at all – as we discovered when Angeline adopted little Kyrie in 2017. She warmed right up to Bailey and Toby, needing no time at all to adjust! When we lost Kyrie in 2018, and subsequently brought Kilo into our home a few months later, he was very much the same! He immediately took not only to Angeline and I, but to Bailey and Toby, as well as the cats. He was a rescue and had grown up with other animals. However, Angeline’s new dog, Swish, is a bit rambunctious, and wound up needing his own doggie bed to mellow out from time to time. 

While Kilo doesn’t necessarily have his own designated “space,” he has pretty much claimed every soft thing in the house – including our papasan chair that we keep in the living room. It’s become one giant dog bed that none of the other dogs can jump into. 

Use Febreze Pet Odor Eliminator to Keep Pet Odors Under Control

You can easily keep pet odors at bay with Febreze Fabric Pet Odor Eliminator and Febreze Air Heavy Duty Pet Odor Eliminator! No matter how often you bathe your dogs or have them groomed, they always have a certain smell. In our home, three dogs love to lay on the couch, on the bed, on the chairs – only Bailey resigns himself to laying on the floor. 

Tips for Stress-Free Multiple Pet Ownership

While we do keep our dogs pretty clean, we can’t bathe them every day! They’re always playing outside, and with the unpredictable Miami weather, they end up getting rained on quite a bit. Those flash sun showers are no joke! I like to give the couch a good Febreze once or twice a week to keep it from smelling like stinky dog, wet dog…or just plain old dog! 

Febreze Fabric Pet Odor Eliminator makes such a difference, and it is safe to use on any fabric surface, including bedding, furniture, drapes and even your pet bedding. I give the dog beds a quick spray a few times a week, as that seems to be where the dogs want to lay as soon as they get wet outside!

Swish has taken a liking to our couch more so than the other dogs…and for some reason, he seems to be the strongest smelling of the bunch! Perhaps because Bailey and Toby are long haired, and Kilo is just so tiny? At any rate, I have taken to laying a throw cover over the corner of our sofa to protect it from wear and tear, and give it a good spray a few times a week. 

Pro tip: As much as you’d like to spray Febreze directly onto your dog…don’t do that. 

Another great tool for keeping pet odors under control is the Febreze AIR Heavy Duty Pet Odor Eliminator, which you would spray just as any air freshener. I like to give each room a quick spritz before company comes over to get rid of any lingering scent. Plus, it just smells good!

Use Tools to Keep Pet Hair and Dander at Bay

Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Pet Refills or Sweeper Dry and Wet Pet Refills with Febreze Odor Defense that Traps + Locks are great tools to help you keep pet fur and dander under control. While I do have a housekeeper who comes twice a month to help with the heavy lifting, it is up to Angeline and I to keep the house livable and presentable for the most part. I always have a stock of Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Pet Refills on hand for quick dusting once or twice a week. I can’t remember what it was like to not have to dust constantly…but it is what it is! My little furry friends are totally worth the few minutes it takes to Swiffer each week!

Bonus? Swiffer Dusters can double as a cat toy, should your cat be as crazy and temperamental as our Gizmo. 

There is so much love to be had with multiple pets. While it can be a bit more work, and honestly, at times it can be a bit overwhelming (have you ever tried to feed four dogs at once, when they all want each other’s food? OH BOY!), but there is so much reward in having several furry little bodies loving you unconditionally…and a few cats sitting in the corner of the room, giving you a major case of side eye for bringing yet another dog into their space. Just use Swiffer and Febreze to clean and freshen up pet messes quickly and easily so that you can spend more time with your furry friends! 

Swiffer offers easy-to-use sweeping, mopping, and dusting cleaning tools for virtually every household surface. They’re quick and help you not sweat your pet so your family can spend less time worrying about the mess and more time playing with your pet. All Swiffer products, including Swiffer Sweeper, Swiffer WetJet, Swiffer 360 Dusters, are safe for use in households with pets.

• Swiffer Sweeper: A 2-in-1 hard surface sweeping and mopping tool. The dry cloth has deep ridges and grooves that conform to the surface of your floor to trap and lock dirt, dust, and hair, while the wet cloth dissolves dirt and grime and traps it away giving you an amazing clean.
• Swiffer Dusters: With Dust Lock Adhesive™ and 50% more fibers than regular dusters, this amazing all-around design cleans deep into grooves to trap and lock up to 3X more dust than a feather duster.
• Swiffer WetJet: All-in-one system that cleans floors thoroughly using cleaning solutions specially formulated to break up and dissolve tough messes.

Find out more about Swiffer products at Swiffer.com and get yours Target.