Puppy proofing your home will be a constant work in progress. Your puppy will be excited to be in his/her new home and will explore every nook and cranny. We mean every nook and cranny!
This natural curiosity, mold’s a dog’s unique personality. It can also put them in harm’s way and cost you a fortune in vet bills.
Remember
Whether exploring, hungry or teething, absolutely everything goes in their mouth.They consider anything within their reach, theirs for the taking, eating or chewing.
Floor level is their level.
Make sure you know where your pup is at all times. A quite puppy is a puppy up to no good 😊.We will take you from room to room, educating you on things that present potential dangers to your puppy’s physical well-being.
KITCHEN
- Problem: Contents of cabinets, drawers and cupboards. This list includes but not limited to chemicals both poison and standard cleaning items, e.g sponges, steel wool, brushes, food (including their own), medications, plastic bags,foil/cling wrap, matches, batteries, cooking string, plastic ties, junk,bibs and bobs etc.
- Solution: Attach a child proof latch or if you have knobs, a rubber band figure eight style will suffice as long as the pup can’t reach it.
- Problem: Power boards, extension cords or power safety plugs.
- Solution: If you can’t secure safely behind cupboards or even fences, block them. This can be done by running electrical cords through thin PVC pipe to secure ones.They must not be kept in plain sight.
- Problem: Lino, carpet strips or mats.
- Solution: Make sure all lino is stuck to the floor. Don’t leave corners flipped up,as that is begging for your puppy to accept the challenge to pull it up.This includes the transition strips or mats that are used between your rooms,especially if carpet is worn or not finished off and with loose carpet threads.
- Problem: Garbage, rubbish bins internally/externally.
- Solution: Get rid of any tempting smells, food or otherwise, from garbage or rubbish bins. The garbage might smell gross to you, for a puppy, that’s the smell of heaven. Where there is a smell or will, there will be a way! Keep a secure lid on all garbage cans or put them behind a cabinet or door.
- Handy Hint: Consider putting your pet outside or in its crate while performing household cleaning; you may leave the room for one minute and the next thing you know your puppy is bathing/playing in pine-o-clean.
- Handy Hint: Consider installing a safety gate to keep pets out of the kitchen while cooking as Tenties are well known for getting around your feet when cooking and this can be dangerous for you and your pup.
LOUNGE ROOM
**Be extra vigilant in your puppy proofing here. Why you may ask? **
Well, this is where you and your family, including your new puppy (providing it is allowed inside), will potentially spend the most of your time;and therefore when you’re out of the house for extended periods of time, your puppy may try anything to get to this room, as it will be the most familiar to them (making them feel protected whilst you’re out) and has your smells all over it.
- Know which houseplants are toxic and relocate them to somewhere the pup doesn’t have any access to or it is best to replace them with nontoxic varieties and give your toxic ones away to a neighbor who doesn’t have dogs. (check for toxic plants here you would be surprised at just how many common plants inside and out can cause problems for your dogs) https://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/pets/pets-pet-care-native-animals/poisonous-plants-for-pets-2/ http://www.australiandoglover.com/2015/09/common-plants-toxic-to-your-dog.html however please note these list maybe in complete as comprehensive lists are still being compiled and therefore its best to replace with nontoxic varieties to be safe. As a side note re-think your dried or even plastic floral arrangements as well although these may not be as dangerous, per say (as plastic flowers can get stuck going down a puppy throat)they may very well shred them to pieces.
- Purchase or use an old box/basket e.g washing basket to specifically hold all your puppy toys this makes it easy to clean up fast you could even teach them via a game to put them back when cleaning.
- Relocate or move to a higher area the items below:
-Storage baskets, bags or totes containing items not intended for puppy.
-Craft supplies, books especially leather bound and magazines, kid’s toys and shoes.
-Cushions, Blankets and Shaggy mats tempt a curious teething puppy.
-Remote controls, mobile phones, iPod, iPad, laptops, DVDs and CDs.
-Ensure that couches,speakers, ottomans and coffee tables, that have the potential to be used as launching pads to get to higher areas, are also sensibly located.
-Tissue boxes,serviettes or paper towels.
-Prescription glasses or sunglasses. - Never leave your food unattended.If you eat in the lounge room, please be aware, if you must leave your food for any reason (e.g phone call, knock at the door, distracted by the kids), remember “dogs love human food”. Leaving something within reach, and you can pretty much guarantee it won’t be there when you come back.
- Your puppy’s exposure to people food should be very limited. Seemingly innocuous foods like avocado, grapes, onions, and garlic can be deadly for dogs.What you find delicious could be dangerously delicious to your puppy. Food like chocolate or grapes should be stored where your puppy can’t access them.
**I haven’t put this note in kitchen because people tend to think about it when preparing food, but not when they are eating, distracted, in other rooms of the house especially, teenagers in their rooms, or toddlers within licking distance of your puppy.**
HALLWAYS, FOYER, FRONT DOOR AREAS
- Block off doors and stairs in these areas. Why you may ask?
When your puppy first experiences you and your family arriving home (and probably for the rest of its life, if not taught not to) will want to run to or around you, jump and try and get to you as soon as they hear you arrive home. Plan the safest route for you and your puppy to meet each other.Allowing your puppy to meet you at the front door leaves you open to escaping puppies. - Closing off stairwells with a baby gate, is easiest until your puppy is confident in using them. We teach your puppy our stairs, but every set of stairs is different and have different surfaces.
- Never leave anything at the front door, as you walk in.Keep purses, bags and shoes out of reach.Purses tend to be filled with medications, keys, coins, hair ties,makeup, gum (containing Xylitol which is poisonous for dogs), sanitary products; all of which are potentially dangerous to puppies. Puppies have a thing for leather and by taking off your shoes and dumping your bag at the front door, you’re essentially giving your puppy the okay to, have it.
Remember: Floor level is their level.
BEDROOMS
- Relocate any clothing, shoes, slippers, (undies and socks are a favorite) from the floor into your wardrobe, cupboard or tall closed laundry baskets. Dogs are scent-oriented, so they gravitate toward anything that smells like you. Anything left on the floor will quickly become toys.
- Watch bedside tables for small ingestable items previously mentioned jewellery/watches, hair ties, coins, medicines, creams, remotes,phones, laptops, tissues, make-up, sanitary products and secure exposed cords or wires, dentures/mouth guards/ removable bite splints & bite plates.
BATHROOM AND TOILETS
- The biggest one here, besides all the above toiletry items is toilet rolls.
- Store toilet paper and tissues as high as possible.
- Toilet lid must always be down, especially if you have hanging smelling/cleaning devices in your bowl.
- Relocate toilet brush to a higher shelf or inside a cupboard.
- Make a rule to keep your bathroom door closed at all times.
- Safety latches or locking cabinets are essential, especially on rubbish bins, as there are huge hazards in your bathroom bins, like razors, q-tips,cotton balls, make-up pads, soap, tampons, make-up containers etc.
- Please understand child-proof does not mean puppy-proof;medication bottles can easily be chewed open, as can first aid antiseptics bottles etc.
OFFICE
- Be vigilant and remove office stationery from the floor.
- Remove all staples, paperclips, drawing pins, papers, magazines,computer wires and rubber bands from the floor immediately.
- Relocate chairs, low cabinets or coffee tables away from working areas, as they can be used to jump up to your laptop, mouse, iphone/ipad/ipod or charger cords.
LAUNDRY
- Close washer and dryer doors when not in use.
- Make sure the dog cannot get behind the washer or dryer and get stuck.
- Store bleach and other laundry chemicals in secure cabinets.
- Use a strong, sturdy laundry basket with a lock in lid.
GARAGE, SHED AND YARD
- When you look around your garage, shed and yard, you’ll see many obvious and not-so-obvious dangers to your puppy.
- Remove and store the following items inside a locked cabinet or store on high shelves: – paint,cleaners, insecticides, rat and rodent poison, snail poison, fertilizers,petrol, metho and other cleaner fluids. These represent a handful of poisons and chemicals that you may have in your garage or outdoor shed.
- Small DIY parts such as nails, screws, and washers. Whipper snipper lines. Matches for BBQ.
- If you have a pool, it should be completely fenced, however just watch that your new little puppy can’t squeeze under or through some pool fencing. Please note, not all dogs can and will swim and many dogs don’t even really like water. Puppies can and will drown in large areas of water without supervision. Keep pool chemicals locked away safely. Make sure your perimeter fencing is safe, strong and secure with no nails sticking out. If you have any questions about types of fencing, please don’t hesitate to talk to your breeder.
- Be wary of trees growing close to perimeter fencing. Your dog/pup may climb up easily and jump over.
- Overgrown areas should be cleared.If spraying your weeds with chemicals, please read and follow directions carefully on the label for the safety of yourself and your pup/dog. Natural alternatives are best here in puppy/dog areas.Educate yourself about the plants and weeds in your garden. As stated previously regarding indoor plants,there are a lot of outdoor plants and weeds that could be potentially harmful to your dog, causing varied reactions, ranging from a rash to vomiting, diarrhoea. Some plants, seeds, weeds when ingested can even lead to death.
- Be wary about snakes!! They do live in suburbia check with your local snake wrangler regarding any snake nests in the area. Tenties love to hunt and therefore it is always helpful to know, if your pup decides to go on a hunt, what sort of dangerous animal they are likely to find. Snakes love overgrown areas.
- Plastic drain covers can be easily removed by a puppy. Place something heavy over drain covers, to prevent your puppy from removing it and falling in.
