How to Puppy-Proof Your Home
- In This Quick Guide:
- Puppy-Proofing 101
- In the House
- In the Garage
Before you bring your puppy home, you’ll have to make sure that your home is safe for him. This includes removing possible hazards—including some unlikely ones you may not know you have.
Puppy-Proofing 101
Puppies are inquisitive little critters. They love to explore. Unfortunately, puppies use their mouths like hands, and anything that a puppy puts in his mouth is fair game to chew and swallow. Even adult dogs may find some temptations too irresistible. After all, dogs are often happiest with something in their mouths.
Puppies have an undiscriminating palate. They’ll chew on furniture legs, electrical cords, or carpeting. Outside, many puppies pick up an affinity for landscape rock. I’ve known one puppy to chew on bricks and car tires.
The best way to keep a puppy from being destructive is not to give him the opportunity. Limit his exposure to mischief and he will be the perfect puppy. Leave him “home alone” and you’ve just told the puppy “Here are your toys—have a ball.”
The time to puppy-proof your home is now, before you bring home your new dog. The following sections give tips on securing some of the places in your home where puppies are most likely to run into trouble.
In the House
Decide where you’ll allow your puppy and where is off-limits. Use baby gates or other barriers to cordon off areas that are off-limits. Many experts recommend that you choose one or two rooms as “puppy areas” and expand as your dog becomes more reliable. Many breeders recommend ex-pens—fold-up wire pens that can expand to any size space.
If you haven’t done your spring cleaning, do so now—even if it’s winter. You should keep out of your puppy’s reach anything that is small, that can be chewed and swallowed, that is poisonous, that can fall on him, that is sharp, or that can break. Hide electrical cords, put away tempting items like candy and chocolate, and keep breakables out of reach. Some trainers recommend getting on all fours and looking at your house from a dog’s-eye view. Some things that don’t appear tempting from a human level are tempting to a dog.
In many respects, puppy- and dog-proofing is a lot like child-proofing one’s home … only a puppy is far more destructive than a child is. I’ve had puppies tear up carpet and chew it, tear down drapes, eat drywall, and gobble parts of a recliner.
Here’s a partial list of items to look for when puppy-proofing your house:
- Foods that are poisonous to dogs, including chocolate, onions, grapes, macadamia nuts, raisins, and alcohol
- Kitchen knives
- Pesticides such as mouse and rat poisons, roach and ant baits, and insecticides
- Plates and glasses
- Shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash, and toothpaste
- Suntan lotion
- Electrical cords
- Plants
- Cleaners, including dish soap and laundry soap
- Garbage pails
- Household cleaners
- Candles, scented oils, and scented air fresheners
- Medications, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), acetaminophen (Tylenol), and aspirin
- Vitamins
- Dental floss
- Children’s toys
- Pennies and other coins
- Socks and other clothing items
- Sewing needles, craft kits, and so on
- Glass knickknacks
- Pens, paper, and other small items that may be chewed or swallowed
- Paper shredder
- Wood stove, kitchen stove, and furnaces
- Batteries
- String, rubber bands, and paper clips
- Drapery cords
In the Garage
The garage is a particularly hazardous place for your puppy. You should not allow your dog in the garage because of all the potential poisons and dangerous substances there. Radiators leak, causing the potential for antifreeze poisoning. Another poison in the garage is windshield-washing fluid, which is just as dangerous as antifreeze.
While motor oil and transmission fluids aren’t deadly if consumed alone, they can be if they are mixed with antifreeze. They certainly aren’t healthy for your dog, and will cause severe gastric upsets. Other poisonous items a dog might encounter in the garage include rat and mouse poisons, insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
Hardware poses a hazard as well. Nails, screws, washers, and nuts can be swallowed. Sharp items such as saws can cut your dog. Trash cans are always a temptation.
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Labrador Retrievers, Second Edition, by Margaret H. Bonham
