Five ways to puppy-proof your home!
If you are thinking about adopting a puppy, there are a bunch of steps you can take to ensure your house is safe for your pup, and your belongings are safe from your pup.
- Put away anything that could be bitten or chewed. I mean everything. Cords, clothes, shoes, rubbish and anything else you can think of. Puppies explore with their mouths, so do a sweep of your house and put everything out of reach.
- Consider if your house plants are toxic. If you have indoor plants, check if they are safe to be ingested. It takes nothing more than a simple Google search to put your pup out of harms way. Some examples of toxic house plants include Aloe Vera, Ivy, Elephant Ear and Devil’s Ivy. On a similar note, certain essential oils are toxic for dogs, there are quite a few but some common examples are tea tree, cinnamon, pine and peppermint.
- Make sure all medication is stored out of reach. Medication is a common source of poisoning for pets, make sure that any medicine that you may have on your bed side table or within reach of a puppy is put away.
- Ensure your toilet lid is down. You don’t want your puppy jumping or accidentally falling into the toilet bowl.
- Secure your garden. Make sure your fences are stable and there are no nooks or crannies that your puppy could squeeze through, or nowhere they could possibly jump over. Also, make sure the chemicals you use on your garden are out of the puppy’s reach. Make sure all bodies of water are fenced off completely.
- Forewarn the neighbours, this will help keep everyone happy and they will also be aware to keep an eye out for little heads poking under fences and possible escape routes.
Remember that you only have to be this cautious whilst your puppy is still a puppy, when they grow older and learn obedience, you will be able to stress less and relax with your new best friend!