How To Puppy-Proof Your Home
Are you a proud new puppy owner? Puppies are full of fun and always bring joy to a household, but the moment of bringing home a brand-new pup can be a bit terrifying. If you’re worried your new puppy will get hurt, there’s good news—it’s easy to puppy-proof your home!
There are a few very simple steps you can take to puppy-proof your home quickly and painlessly. It’s a great idea to take these steps before you bring your puppy home, but if you can’t, it’s not a problem. Just complete these steps as quickly as you can to ensure your puppy’s safety and health.
11 Steps To Puppy-Proofing Your Home
It’s important to note that this list isn’t exhaustive. Following these steps will keep your puppy safe from most hazards, but you should also get to know your own puppy and ensure that you take care of any other hazards that they are prone to get into.
1) Secure Cleaning Supplies
You definitely want cleaning supplies around when you have a puppy as they’re bound to make messes (including pooping or peeing in the house) that you’ll want to clean up ASAP. However, if dogs ingest cleaning supplies, they could become seriously ill or even die. Keep cleaning supplies locked up or in cupboards that are out of reach.
2) Hide Medications
Just as cleaning supplies can make puppies sick, so can medications. Some medications are safe for dogs, but you must speak to your puppy’s vet to get a prescription. Most medications—even the safe ones—can cause disease or death in dogs if taken in improper doses. Keep medications out of the way in a high or locked up cupboard.
3) Provide Puppy Food—Not Human
Puppies are well-known as beggars at the dinner table. However, it’s important to avoid giving human food to puppies in most circumstances. While a treat here and there may be fine, some foods (including onions, garlic, chocolate, raisins, various fruits and nuts, etc.) are toxic to dogs.
It’s best to avoid giving your puppy human foods as much as possible so that they don’t get used to it. If you do want to offer a treat, make sure it’s something safe for them to ingest and isn’t a choking hazard either.
4) Cover Up Cords
Puppies love to explore, and the best way for them to learn more about the world is by chewing and licking. However, as you can imagine, chewing or licking an electrical cord could be quite dangerous.
Keep cords out of the way by covering them with cord protectors, blocking access with heavy pieces of furniture, or simply unplugging them whenever you’re not in the room to supervise your puppy’s antics.
5) Close Doors, Windows, and Toilet Lids
Puppies are generally great escape artists, since they’re always trying to get out and see the world! Many puppies are also fascinated by toilets and could easily fall into a toilet or simply start drinking from the toilet instead of their water bowl.
As much as you can, keep doors, windows, and toilet lids closed and (if necessary) locked. That way, your puppy can have fun playing indoors without getting out and hurt when you’re not looking.
6) Seal Trash Cans
Puppies are drawn to new and exciting scents, and that includes trash cans! However, as noted before, many human foods and items that you might throw in a trash can are toxic to dogs. Plus, eating too much trash can just make your puppy plain old sick to their stomach.
If you can, keep your trash cans behind closed doors that your puppy can’t get into. If that’s not possible, you may want to purchase a puppy-proof garbage can instead.
7) Keep Away Dangerous Objects
Sharp objects like knives, razors, and tools can be dangerous to a puppy who likes to grab things with their mouth and take them for a run around the house. In addition, you may find that small objects like coins, pebbles, and small pieces of jewelry pose choking hazards.
Try to keep sharp and small, choking hazard items out of reach and locked up so your puppy doesn’t get hurt trying to play with them.
8) Tighten Up Your Fence
You definitely want to let your puppy out into the yard to play! Puppies need lots of exercise and fresh air to keep them happy and healthy. However, you don’t want your puppy running off and getting into dangerous situations as soon as they go outside.
If you don’t have a fence, you’ll want to build one as soon as you can. If you do have one, make sure that it’s secure with no holes or spaces where an adventurous puppy could sneak through and escape.
9) Remove Toxic Plants
Whether they’re houseplants or you have them growing out in your garden, it’s important that you get rid of toxic plants or keep them as far out of the way as possible. Certain plants such as oleander, snake plants, lilies, palms, tulips, tomato leaves, and many others can hurt or kill your puppy.
If possible, get rid of these plants. If you want to keep them around, make sure they’re in a safe place where your puppy can’t reach them and try snacking on them.
10) Guard Pools
If you have a pool or large pond in your yard, make sure it’s fenced off from your puppy. While some dogs are natural swimmers, others dislike it or struggle because their bodies just aren’t built for that type of exercise.
If you have a pool, keep it fenced until your dog learns how to swim. With help from an instructor and a life vest, you should be able to teach any dog how to move through the water safely if they ever end up in the pool for any reason.
11) Clean Up the Yard
Don’t leave pesticides, insecticides, or fertilizers on your lawn if your puppy is going to be out playing in the grass. You also don’t want to leave piles of dog poop in the yard that a curious puppy may be tempted to eat, thereby exposing themselves to parasites and potential illness.
Keep the yard clean and treat it without chemicals, if possible. Train your puppy to poop and pee in one spot, if you can, or make sure the poop is regularly picked up.
A Safe and Happy Puppy
It’s not hard to puppy-proof your home so your puppy can live a safe and happy life. If you follow these simple, cheap, and relatively painless steps, you can ensure that your puppy is safe in your home and around it.
If you would like help picking up your puppy’s poop so they don’t find it before you have time to get it, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Idaho Poop Scoop. We love puppies and their humans and we would be delighted to serve you by picking up the dog poop in your yard. If you want help, check out our services today!