Dog obedience and training > Information > Puppy proofing your home

Puppy proofing your home

By Ty Brown

Puppies are wonderful creatures. There is nothing more adorable or precious than a puppy. There is also nothing more mischievous or crafty than a puppy. Proofing your home is important for your sanity and for your puppy’s training and well being.

The first thing to consider with puppy proofing is safety. Make sure that all cleaning materials and chemicals are locked away or well out of the reach of your puppy. Do this not only in the house but outside as well. Automobile anti-freeze is toxic to dogs but many animals want to drink it because it has a sweet taste. Also make sure to keep your food out of reach of your puppy. Many common foods such as grapes and chocolate will be readily consumed by a puppy, but may cause sickness or death. Puppy proofing could literally save your dog's life.

If you puppy is going to have indoor privileges you will probably have a crate. A crate is the best tool for puppy proofing. Make sure to keep that crate in a well ventilated area. Also, don’t leave the crate under a window where it will get direct sunlight for hours at a time or near a vent where heat will be blowing directly in the crate. Don’t put bedding in the crate. This is a tough one for most people as they want puppy to be as comfortable as possible. Puppy is plenty comfortable with the floor of the crate, don’t worry. If you put bedding in the crate in may encourage puppy to use the crate to relieve himself or he may chew on the bedding and possibly choke.

Use animal safe cleaners. You are going to be cleaning puppy’s crate and food and water dishes. Make sure that the cleaners that you use are safe to use around dogs. Many are toxic but have a nice smell to them, enticing puppy to lick at them. Rinse off all traces of cleaner. Residual cleaner that is licked can cause diarrhea or worse. Also keep in mind the cleaners that you were accustomed to use before puppy came for mopping, cleaning the bathroom, etc. Look for cleaners that are safe to use with animals.

Be careful of the dog collars that puppy wears. Collars that are too loose or choke collars can get caught on a variety of objects and trap or choke puppy. Use a well fitting flat collar around the home.

Invest in child proofing gates. If there are areas of the home where you don’t want puppy to be, use a gate. This will help train puppy to stay out of that room and soon you will be able to not use the gate at all.

Beware of unstable objects. If you keep things on stands on platforms such as plants, candles, electronics, etc. you may want to reinforce them or move them so puppy doesn’t knock them onto himself.

Watch out for electric cords. Puppy should be constantly supervised but as a precaution make sure cords are tucked safely away so puppy can’t chew on them. If you are still worried about the risk, spray some bitter apple spray on the cords to discourage chewing.

Keep food stored in airtight containers. Don’t leave dog food in the bag where it will go stale, lose nutrients, and be prone to bugs and moisture. Dog food left in the bag is also a target for puppy to steal (I am speaking from experience here). If puppy gorges himself on food it can be dangerous.

Most of all, use common sense with puppy proofing to protect your new puppy