Having a new puppy is wonderful, but it’s also got some big responsibilities with it. In my blog “List of Things to Do When Getting a Puppy” you’ll read some great tips around getting a puppy, but I thought that ‘Puppy Proofing’ was a great side topic. Here are my thoughts to get you started.
Puppy Proof Your Home
Get down to their level
The very first thing I suggest is walking around your home with a notepad and pen and get on your hands and knees. Look at your home from a puppy perspective. I’ll bet you’ll see lots of things that inquisitive little minds and sharp little teeth would love to get into.
Fencing
Keeping your little one inside is super important. You might say, ‘tick’ I’ve got that covered because your home is ‘fully fenced’. But really, is it? Fencing have a way of breaking or rotting (especially if timber) or perhaps a paling is missing, or there are gaps underneath that a full size dog couldn’t possibly negotiate, but a puppy, especially a determined little puppy, well, they often find a way, even if a little digging is needed.
Plants
These are important. Ensure you don’t have anything which is poisonous to dogs, or toxic to dogs. Read here for some mentioned. Remove them entirely. It’s just not worth the risk. If you’ve got some beloved pot plants around the place, perhaps put them out of reach. You might leave some (non toxic) less beloved plants around; they are a good opportunity to teach pup to ‘leave it’ with them and get the messaging across that shredding every plant within reach is just not on.
Power Cords
Power cords are not good to chew on, and not good for you either. I know Theo wasn’t terribly popular with his Dad when he chewed his Dad’s computer charging cable. Sure, it wasn’t connected to power, but it was left dangling and yes, Dad had to buy a new one. I have a laptop on a desk with a power cord that runs down the desk to the wall. I can’t ‘hide’ those cables behind the desk, so I got some 20mm PVC piping and split it and ran the cable down it, then to the wall. At the floor I put on masking tape to keep the cord in place, and then a mat on top of the masking tape. Cord safe. Puppy safe and a bonus; it wasn’t a trip hazard for me either.
Breakables
Tails and boisterousness have a way of getting things broken; just put precious breakables up higher and avoid any challenges.
Shoes – glorious shoes
Puppies love shoes (and sox and unmentionables). Now something to remember here. If you’ve an old pair of thongs or joggers you’re happy to give to puppy to play with, but don’t want them touching your new Crocs or Archies, then don’t give them ANY joggers or thongs. How does your pup know the difference between the old and the new. Just remove shoes from access and if you catch them with any, start practicing (and teaching) the ‘leave it’.
Chewables
Puppies love to chew – oh how they love to chew, and play and find things to get into. So whilst you might remove any temptations, be sure to replace those items with lots of other things to keep them busy. Balls, toys, even a teddy on elastic can provide hours of distraction and fun.
Choking Hazards
Anything small can be a choking hazard. It might be a nail, a 5c piece, a button, a twist tie off the bread, some jewelry, palm tree seeds (some can be poisonous as well), Leggo, kids toys, craft items, pebbles, even the biscuits of a larger adult dog. Just be careful and check out the home and take care of what you or your family members might drop.
Secure garbage
Sharing Theo’s secrets here. When he was a pup, he was ‘garbage dog’ … he loved getting into bins and being a big dog (even as a puppy) knocking over bins was pretty easy for him in the early days. So for us, bins with lids (not just the swing type) worked well on him. He could smell those glorious chicken bones in the bin; we had to have solid lids to keep him out. They also keep out the flies, so that was an extra bonus.
Poisons, Rat Bait, Tools & Dangers
I would go beyond just ‘putting them in the shed’. What happens if someone leaves the shed door ajar one day – and before you say ‘that will never happen’ … it might. So even if you put these things in the shed, also put them on a high shelf, or in a cupboard that no dog (or child) could access.
Restrict larger water containers
This includes your toilet! Put the lid down every time. Even consider large dog bowls; for a small pup, could they fall in and drown? If you’ve a pool, then naturally that’s a large area of water to consider – so please ensure that you do. Whilst you might be inclined to put some extra meshing around the bottom to keep puppy out, be aware that meshing might inhibit the safety of your pool fence from a human perspective; pool fences generally are not meant to have things attached to them which children can use to climb up on.
Gate off areas
I found when I had a puppy (or when dear old Chloe was in her ‘Twilight years’ and became incontinent/confused) it was just easier to fence off with baby gates or puppy/small animal fencing the areas we didn’t want the dogs to access. For a puppy, you might not want your new carpet overly christened plus limiting spaces, makes it easier to keep an eye on them. Closing doors to rooms is fine for adults in a house, but if you’ve got children, just know they will leave doors open – so inspect under beds – your puppy sure will!
Go back to your list
What else needs to be done?
I strongly recommend you prepare for puppy before you go and get them. There are lots of things you need to go and get, so prepare as much in advance as you can. Start that list and begin preparing early, so when it’s time to bring home your fur-baby, you’ll be all ready.
Don’t forget to check out my other blog “List of Things to Do When Getting a Puppy”. These two blogs definitely go hand in hand (or perhaps I should say ‘Paw in Paw’ and both definitely worth a read if you’re expecting the pitter patter of little paws.