 |
| Puppy Proofing Your Home |
|
Making a Safe Home Environment The following is a list of suggestions to provide a safe home for your new puppy. Inside the House There is no way to prevent chewing. It is a natural part of a dog’s life, and while it was once considered to be a neurotic past time for stressed out and anxious dogs, it’s now known to be as much a natural part of a dog’s behaviour as walking: like every other muscle, the cheek muscle needs to be worked and stimulated. Plus, a Kong, filled with wet food and frozen, provides great entertainment for pups for those times when they have to be left in their crates for any amount of time, either because you had to leave, or because you can’t watch them and cook dinner at the same time. 1. Limit your pup’s access to ALL electrical cords. Put as many wires up high or tightly behind furniture as you can. For an area with lots of wires get a power strip and put it up high. One show weekend, Cybelle and I stayed overnight in a hotel. She slept in her crate in the evenings. The next day as we were getting ready to go to the show grounds, I noticed that the cord to the floor lamp had been pulled into her crate and chewed! She was 7 months old at the time. Although, she did have plenty of chew toys in her crate, she obviously decided that the cord was also fair game. Fortunately she didn’t suffer from any physical injuries but the damage to the cord was an expense I had to incur. For some dogs, the chewing stage can go on for at least a year - so be sure to inspect the area where you place the crate when staying in new environments! 2. Safely store all household chemicals 3. Keep remote controls on top of the TV or in a drawer when not in use. 4. Secure tablecloths, runners, or other hanging material. A quick pull on one of these can bring everything from the table down on your puppy. Tape or tack them down or remove them altogether. 5. Keep doors closed so puppy doesn't wander into bedrooms or bathrooms out of your sight. The key is to keep him in the room with you so you can watch him. Invest in a baby gate. You can get them at pet stores, Sears, or even Walmart. You can use it to help keep puppy near you without completely restricting his movement. 6. Get a "toy box" just for puppy's toys. Make sure it is low enough that he can reach in and pull out a toy. This helps him learn that his toys and chews only come from his toy box. Always remember to praise puppy when he's chewing on something he's supposed to. 7. Clear that coffee table! I remember a new book that arrived for Larry. I put it on the coffee table and ran downstairs to quickly put in some laundry. When I got back to the family room Macc had eaten the preface! Thank goodness it wasn’t chapter two! 8. Always limit your puppy’s access to the bathroom. Bathroom garbage is very tempting to chew on. If your dog were to swallow some dental floss or feminine products, this could be very harmful to them. Make sure to keep your bathroom door shut at all times, or install a baby gate at the entrance to your bathroom. The same can be said for the kitchen and kitchen garbage. 9. Keep the following house and garden plants out of reach: poinsettias, azaleas, rhododendrons, dumb cane, Japanese yew, oleander and English ivy. Many outdoor plants, flowers and shrubs are poisonous. 10. Keep loose articles off the floor. You may think it's cute to see your new puppy chewing on an old shoe, but it won't be funny when he grabs a new one. He doesn't know the difference, so don't establish bad habits. Remember you cannot puppy proof completely. Puppies will always find something to get into. But the more attention and toys your puppy gets, the less apt he is to wander off and start destroying things he shouldn't. You must keep your eye on him like you would a toddler. Play with him often and give him lots of good things to chew on like puppy teething toys or kong toys and always praise him for good behaviour. And when you can’t supervise him, keep him in his crate with his toys. Sufat Sheleg Canaan Dogs |
 |
| The best way to puppy proof your house is to “crate” train your puppy right away. You are providing him with a safe place to go whenever he wants to as well as a place to be safely contained when you are not able to directly supervise him. We provide lots of information for our new puppy owners on crate training in our puppy care manual. |
 |