How exciting... congratulations on welcoming your new puppy into your family... now its time to get prepared and 'Puppy Proof' your house. In this article, we will be sharing some tips for puppy-proofing your home.
Its important to ensure that anything that could be dangerous or harmful to your puppy is kept out of their reach and kept securely out of harms way.
Ideally if you can, it is recommended to puppy proof both your home and garden before you bring your puppy home as much as you can before they can get into mischief!... well that is the plan anyway... through we can't make any guarantees on no mischief!
Puppies absolutely love to find their way and explore their world through their mouths as it is a natural extinct. It is really important that they do not start chewing on the wrong things that could really harm your pup.
Chewing is very common especially for puppies when they are teething and still in training. It is worth looking into giving them some suitable chew toys but keep it fresh as pets tend to lose interest after a while. To keep them interested and to maintain interest get some new ones when needed.
Puppies have so much to learn so it is best to ensure your home is dog proof and robust enough to prevent any unecessary dangers.
If the answer is YES, then read on to find out more on how to puppy proof your home and garden....
If their are certain designated areas that you wish to restrict access for your puppy, we would recommend setting up a clear boundary from day one if possible.
If you decide to allow your puppy to access somewhere sometimes and get told off at other times, it can provide a confusing situation.
It means you can provide a safe place for your puppy to have in the fresh air outside.
Puppies have a lot of energy so keep their mind active and occupied by training your puppy and games to focus them rather than things they should not have like a shoe or slipper!
Make sure your puppy has access to enough toys that they can chew on.
Use of a suitability sized dog crate can be useful for short period of times knowing that they should not be getting into trouble when they are not supervised.
It is worth noting that when you get a new crate for your puppy that they are likely to grow quite a bit, quickly so it is probably best to get one that is slightly larger than necessary at this stage or if not be prepared to replace it when the outgrow it.
Any crate that you consider using for your puppy should have plenty of ventilation and visibility.
A crate for your puppy can be a great training tool for puppies and give them a quiet and safe haven secure place to relax as well as assisting in house training your dog.
We would recommend not placing it in direct sunlight nor somewhere that is a cold and draughty. Your puppy will most likely would like to be positioned close to where you are so that they do not feel isolated.
For further details on this and other articles and tips relating to a dog crate, please refer to our puppy corner for related articles.
Welcome your puppy home by designating an area in your house for them that can be used for your puppies' bed, crate and toys.
To help them settle into their new home, this space should be a place they can sleep, relax, and play with all the toys.
Hopefully now with these tips you will feel more prepared and having gone through the list you can ensure everything is in place and are confident that your puppy will grow and thrive in a loving pet friendly home. The key is to putting yourself through the process of imagining looking at things as they would be for your puppy when viewing your home and garden. It also means when you go to pick up your new pup, you can both have a relaxing journey home.
By preparing well for your new puppy arrival it can also help for them to settle in quicker and more enjoyable for you. It maybe challenging at times but you are sure to have much excitement and a rewarding time.