How to make a safe home for your new puppy
Ah, the joys of owning a new pup: The warmth, the fuzz, the licks. The cute playbiting. The middle of the night potty calls. The discovery that your new bundle of sweetness can completely destroy your house in less than an hour.
Even if you’ve owned dogs before, it’s easy to forget how mischievous a new puppy can be. This checklist will help you to keep your puppy safe in your home – and your home safe despite the puppy!
Clear the surfaces: Keep papers, books, magazines, knick-knacks, remote controls, and everything else off your coffee table, counters and other tables for the next 2-3 months. If your pup grows up believing that there’s never anything interesting on these surfaces, he’s much less likely to search there for fun in the future.
Food, food containers, plates, candy wrappers and other food-related items should be thrown out or put away as soon as you’re finished with them. Never leave food on tables or on the counter or you’ll be training him to “surf” these areas for reinforcement.
If you don’t want your pup in the bathroom garbage, shut the bathroom door.
Secure your kitchen garbage out of your puppy’s reach, locked under the sink or behind a shut door.
Spray all baseboards, furniture legs and lower portions of walls with a taste deterrent before your pup discovers the joys of wood and drywall.
Secure electrical cords to baseboards or better yet, make them inaccessible. Apply a taste deterrent to these cords as well.
Keep holiday ornaments out of pup’s reach.
Never burn candles where your pup can reach them by jumping.
Don’t leave cigarette butts in ashtrays where your puppy can get to them.
Keep medication bottles out of your pup’s way. Childproof containers are not puppy-proof.
Keep the toilet lid down if you use toilet bowl cleaners.
Wipe up all antifreeze drippings in garage or driveway. Antifreeze tastes sweet to your puppy but is highly toxic.
If you’re using antifreeze in the toilet to stop pipes from freezing, tape the lid shut and label “Toxic to dogs!”
Keep cellar doors and upper story windows closed, just as you would for a young child.
Dispose of cooked poultry bones carefully; these can be life-threatening if ingested by your pup.
Put away needles and pins.
Use pesticides and rodent poisons with great caution, making sure your pup has no contact with them. Store all poisons out of puppy’s reach.
Many lawn treatments and weed killers are also toxic. Consider other methods such as organic gardening.
Toxic plants to avoid include rhododendron, Japanese yew, Lilly of the Valley.
Watch out for peach and cherry pits.
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