As pet lovers and seasoned puppy parents, our Pet PR Team know how to settle your new fur baby into your home with success. Read our tips for puppy-proofing your home and how to make your home safe for your furry friend.
Puppy-Proof Your Home Before Your New Puppy Arrives
There are plenty of dangers for puppies lurking in your home. These range from electrical cords, human medications, poisonous foods, toxic plants, cleaning products and small objects which could create a choking hazard for small mouths. Before your puppy arrives home, do some basic checks – remove breakable items and put fragile items out of the way from curious noses and wagging tails. Move fruit food bowls out of reach and check your garden fencing to ensure they are secure, without any small escape gaps.
Invest Time In Puppy Training
Whether you are crate training, planning to leave your puppy for short periods or potty training, puppy training can start immediately! Teaching your dog basic commands, such as encouraging them to use your puppy pads or teaching them to ask to go out to go to the toilet or to ‘leave’ when displaying destructive behaviour, are all valuable training aids in those early days. Reward your puppy when they try to please or get something right and make your training fun and keep sessions short. Raising a puppy is hectic and fun, and a curious puppy is easy to train! Start training your puppy to keep your puppy safe and to avoid creating anxious puppies developing into adult dogs with behavioural issues.
Create Toilet Zone
Establish where you want your puppy to toilet and stick to that area. In those early days, your puppy will make mistakes, so keep your puppy confined to areas where toilet mistakes are easy to find and clean. Start teaching your puppy basic toilet training from day one. Create a private and safe environment for your dog to go to the toilet. Ensure you take your puppy out into the garden regularly throughout the day, especially after eating and drinking, to encourage them to use the garden. As a pet parent, you will need to spend many hours toilet training your dog, but eventually, your adorable puppy will learn what is expected of them.
Protect Your Home & Your Puppy
The average family home is full of dangerous items for your puppy. Common dangers include poisonous plants, staircases, open front doors, active young children, sharp objects, toxic food, recycling bins, rubber bands, trash cans, and cleaning supplies are all potential hazards to your young puppy. Puppy-proofing your home by keeping items that pose a threat to your puppy locked away or out of reach behind cabinet doors with childproof latches. Ensure that you only allow your children to interact with the puppy under your watchful eye. If you catch your puppy chewing something, they shouldn’t tell them no and give them a dog chew toy with praise and encourage them to chew on it. Favourite items that your puppy may chew include remote controls, skirting boards, furniture legs and shoes.
Installing No Puppy Zones
Baby gates and puppy gates can easily be installed to prevent your puppy from getting under your feet or chewing furniture or skirting boards when your back is turned! They help you create a happy environment and safe space for your family and your puppy with puppy-free zones. Preventing your puppy from ending up in hazardous situations, such as running around in the kitchen when you are cooking or serving hot drinks. We have crate trained our puppies, allowing us to leave them in the house with our other dogs as company but safe from rough and tumble play when we can’t observe. Puppy-proofing your home means keeping your bathroom doors closed, and the toilet lid down to stop your adventurous puppy from getting into mischief.
With the correct planning, you can look forward to keeping your new furry friend safe during this exciting time.
