Having a brand new puppy around the house can be a bit of a challenge, as any current dog owner might tell you. Situations can quickly escalate with a limber, energetic animal always scouring the house’s floors and high-up places for anything it can find. While you can’t always account for every bit of trouble your puppy might get into, you can make sure you cover your bases as well as you can. Let’s take a look below at five ways to puppy proof your house:
- Keep a lid on your trash and any containers. Puppies will do whatever it takes to rummage through open containers. Often, you’ll find your trash bin to be a favorite spot for your pup to find something to play with or nibble on. In this case, make sure you have a trash bin with a lid over it. Furthermore, don’t leave any food containers in an area where your puppy can easily get to, including places they can climb to!
- Put valuables in an out of reach place. The last thing you want is to come home one day, only to have some of your valuables destroyed. This could include things like jewelry, or even money. More than just keeping them safe for your own sake, some of these things could be potentially dangerous for your puppy, especially sharper objects, so be careful!
- Keep potentially harmful objects off the floor, and keep the pup away from dangerous areas. By harmful objects, I’m basically referring to electrical cords. Don’t let them chew through them. This one is quite self-explanatory. Another dangerous area in the house could be the oven. Keep an eye out when you open the oven to take some food out, just in case!
- Have boundaries for your dog to run free. This tip is very important. If you have a designated area for your dog to freely roam, you might not even have to worry about any of the prior tips. Firstly, don’t give them the opportunity to climb on anything to get to areas you don’t want them to be. The less stress the better, so if you can allow a room or large area for your puppy to run, play, and sleep that is sectioned off, it will take some weight off your shoulders.
- Poisonous plants. That’s right – poisonous plants. And I don’t mean the plants are spitting venom, I’m talking about plants, when eaten, are toxic to dogs. Yes, this exists, so please take caution and refer to this link if you have concerns.
New puppies are both a bundle of joy, and little rascals trying to destroy anything they can get their paws on. Follow these five tips, and you’ll be sure to be as ready as you can to bring your new friend into your home.
