Bringing a puppy home is a momentous occasion, brimming with joy and excitement. The decision to welcome a new four-legged friend into your life is a step towards a world of love and companionship. As you prepare your home for their arrival, remember that puppies, like babies, require constant care and attention to thrive in their new environment. Unlike babies, however, puppies are full of energy and curiosity, which can be both a challenge and a delight as they explore their new world.
Ensuring your home is a safe and secure environment for your new puppy is a crucial step before their arrival. By taking proactive measures, you can create a space where your puppy can grow, learn, and play without unnecessary risks.
Identify Risks
Puppies, despite their small size, are incredibly curious and can get into anything and everything. It’s crucial to walk around your home and identify potential risks for your new pup. Are there plants that could be harmful if ingested? Wires and cables they could chew through? Broken furniture they could injure themselves on or escape routes that could lead them out of the house? By taking a thorough look around your home and addressing any issues or setting up barriers, you’re ensuring a safe environment for your puppy.
Good tips can include
- Using a playpen or a rate helps you limit your puppy’s movements
- Use cable concealers to hide wires and unplug items not in use
- Use corner protectors so your puppy doesn’t hurt themselves on sharp corners
- Block off stairs or steps and entrances to your home to avoid your puppy escaping
- Secure trash cans to the wall, move them out of the dog, or put locks on them so they can be emptied
Lock Away Medicines and Cleaning Products
In the first few months, your new puppy will be exploring everything, including items that aren’t toys. This means that anything within their reach could potentially be chewed on. To prevent any accidents, it’s essential to lock away all medicines and cleaning products. This simple step can significantly contribute to your puppy’s health and safety.
Secure Loose Furniture Or Move It
It is second nature to keep your dining chairs next to your dining table, right? Of course, it is. However, for a puppy, the chair can be an excellent adventure leading to the table and unlocking a new level for your pup. Look where your puppy can jump up and gain access to parts of the home not designed for furry animals to access and block them off. It could be you are moving different pieces of furniture away from each other to discourage makeshift obstacle courses, you keep your chairs pushed under the table to dissuade jumping up on them, or you block off window areas so your dog can’t jump up to the window and hurt itself.
Train Family Members
This is especially important if you have children in the home or you have a busy lifestyle with plenty of visitors. Ensure everyone knows how to care for a new puppy and what it means for your life to have a pet living with you now. From how puppies can hurt themselves if you aren’t careful, discuss foods they can and can’t eat, how to interact with the puppy, ie no tail pulling, no forcing attention and affection and crowding the puppy or using them as a toy, and no feeding them human foods. Discus household items that are dangerous for dogs, foods dogs can’t eat, appropriate play styles, toileting, and sleeping habits can be helpful so everyone knows what to expect when your new pup comes home.
Be Aware Of Breed Traits
Each dog breed has its unique traits, which can influence how they interact with your home. It’s crucial to learn about the breed you’re bringing home, such as a chocolate labrador puppy, a French Bulldog, a Border Collie, or a pug, for example. This knowledge can guide you in making your home safe. For instance, border Collies are working breeds, and you might need to manage their herding behavior by separating them from family members. French Bulldogs are often allergic to many things, so you can look for potential allergens in your home. The more you know about your puppy’s breed, the better you can puppy-proof your home.
Don’t Forget The Garden
Your garden can be a wonderland for a new puppy. So many things to see, sniff, and explore, and lash lots of opportunities to get into things they shouldn’t. In the first instance, you need to make sure you have identified many escape routes. Can they dig under fences, run through a hole in a gate, or even jump a low fence into a neighbor’s garden? Do you have plants or shrubbery they can eat? Loose stones can be a good chew or treat for a new pup or even composting food that can be extremely harmful if you allow your dog to access an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Buy Supplies
Lastly, buying puppy supplies can allow you to puppy-proof your home for our new edition’s first few days and weeks. You can buy floor covers to protect carpets from toileting accidents, invest in safety gates to block off access to certain parts of the home, use puppy pads, blankets, and even deterrent sprays to spray on areas your pup might be tempted to chew on to reduce the desire to gnaw on things they shouldn’t. And indoor leashes can be effective in teaching your puppy where they can and cant go or ensuring they don’t get into trouble when outside.
Bringing a new puppy should be a fun and exciting time. However, there are many things that can go wrong as your new furry friend learns more about your world and your old life and settles into their new life. Puppy-proofing your home can give you peace of mind that your new pet is always safe and can withstand the added stress and pressure that adding a pet can bring. Suppose you want to limit the risk of anything going wrong, using these tips and ongoing puppy training from day one. In that case, you can ensure that your puppy is happy, healthy, and well-adjusted and that your home remains relatively unscathed.