10 Methods to Puppy Proof Your Home

The day has finally arrived! Your new puppy is in their new home, your home! You walk in the door, your dog sprints in to explore and sniff and then, you see it. All the doggy dangers all around you! All these items your dog could eat, choke on, or have a poisonous reaction to! If you want to avoid panic and enjoy those first moments at home, make sure to puppy proof your home. At LuxeMutt, we have you covered. We don’t just provide a brand-new leather dog collar for your dog, we’re here to inform you of all the ways you can puppy proof your house for your new, furry family member!

 

 

10. Medications

Before the dog training can begin, dog owners have to put away the obvious dangers, like medications. We know you have a bottle of Advil in the kitchen, and maybe a prescription or two on your bathroom sink. If your pup gets a hold of that human medicine, they could be in a fatal situation. Now that you have a new family member, you also have to store their medications out of the way! Whether their monthly flea and tick pill or some pain medication for your older, adopted pup (yay, rescues!), we don’t want your puppy eating more than their dose.

Puppy Proof Method

It’s time to invest in a medicine cabinet or a specific area, high up, out of paw reach, to store your medication. If your bathroom cabinets are low to the ground and you don’t have much room elsewhere, invest in some toddler locks, so your dog’s snout can’t accidentally open those doors!

9. Cleaning Supplies

Most cleaning supplies you use in your home are toxic to animals, including your new puppy. If you have your cleaning supplies out on counters or stored in low cabinets, it’s easy for them to be knocked over, spilling out their toxic formula, or your dog could get in them on their own. Most cleaning products have strong smells, and those strong smells can attract your pup to poke around, eventually finding the cleaning supplies!

Puppy Proof Method

You want to make sure cleaning supplies are in a part of your house that your dog is never in unattended. You can store them in a laundry room, or better yet a garage. Put them up high on a shelf. If you need them close by for easy access, consider putting them in a locked top storage container in a closet, like a pantry with a door. As long as you can put a few obstacles between your pup and your cleaning supplies, you can puppy proof the poisonous stuff!

8. Trash Can

What is it about the trash that our dogs love? Why do they like to dig in and pull out old mail, and leave shreds of paper throughout the house? Or in the bathroom, where they try to choke on used cotton swabs. Hopefully, the exploration of the trash will only lead to some strewn about your home. Before adequate dog training can keep your dog from getting into the garbage, there are serious dangers with their accessibility to trash. Having an open-top trash can, where the contents are easily accessible to your dog can be a major danger. Food scraps that can be harmful to your dog in the kitchen trash, or used razors in the bathroom, can all lead to life-threatening situations.

Puppy Proof Method

There are a few ways to puppy proof your trash. The easiest is to invest in a trash can with a lid that has a step-to-open feature. Your pup would need some serious coordination to open the trash can and stick their head in at the same time! If you want to take it one step further, research how tall your breed of dog grows. Now add a few inches to that and find a trash can around that height. If the opening of your lidded trash can is taller than your dog, your pup will have a hard time craning their neck to get in there! Choosing a trash can that is also heavy-bottomed will help prevent your dog from knocking it over, spilling out the contents.

7. Electrical Cords

Dogs love to chew, especially as puppies. Puppies continue to teeth and chew until they are six months old when their adult teeth come in. For some unlucky owners, their puppies don’t stop teething until they are nine months old! During this time, puppies will chew on anything. But if they chew on the wrong things, the results can be dangerous. Computers, phones, lamps...they all bring dangers to your new pup because of their cords! If puppies chew on electrical cords, they could be shocked, burn their mouth, or worse.

Puppy Proof Method

To keep your pup from being electrocuted, invest in some puppy proof material designed for your electrical cords. Try to keep all plugs behind larger objects like television stands and office desks, making it more difficult for your dog to get to them. For those cords that are exposed no matter what, try cord covers. There are even covers that Velcro to your carpet, so it’s easy for you to maneuver, but not so easy for your thumb-less puppy friend! Still chewing? Try using a dog deterrent spray in your dog training, designed so when your dog chews, they’re left with a bad taste in their mouth. They won’t be looking to come back and chew on anything sour!

6. Furrr-niture

An important decision in dog training is whether you are going to allow your dog to be on the furniture. If you want your pup to snuggle up wherever they please, then you want to make sure you’re protecting your furniture from any dirt your dog tracks in through the door. Also, any potty accidents during dog training! Even if you choose to ban puppy paws from the couch, the early days of dog training will still include finding your pup on the couch! As you teach them No and Off the couch, you will need a temporary fix to keep the hair and dirt off.

Puppy Proof Method

For temporary fixes, while you are in the midst of dog training, simply get a few blankets and lay them all over your couch. That way, you can wash and replace them, without having to switch out any furniture while you wait for the dog training to finally catch on! Pup allowed on the couch? You need two qualities in your dog-friendly furniture: easy to remove and easier to clean. There are a lot of couches out there that are designed with dogs in mind, with fully removable covers that you can run through the wash and have the fabric look brand new each time!

5. Small Objects

Just like a baby, your puppy will seek out those small objects to put in their mouth, and try to chew and swallow them! No amount of dog training will stop a puppy from finding and chewing them! Before you bring a puppy home, learn the signs that your dog is choking, and follow the Heimlich maneuver for dogs. Not only can your dog possibly choke, but if they swallow a small object, there could be serious internal consequences. The main one being an intestinal blockage. If your dog shows any or all of the following signs after a small object goes missing, they most likely swallowed it:

• Vomiting
• Weakness
• Whining
• Bloating
• Painful abdomen when you touch them
• Loss of appetite

Earrings, socks, toys...if swallowed and the worst is narrowly avoided, you’re still looking at a bill ranging from $800 to $7,000!

Puppy Proof Method

To avoid a choking puppy or intestinal blockage surgery, you have to puppy proof your home. For this specific puppy problem, there’s only one method to use: discipline. Not for your dog, discipline for you and your family! Be consistent in tidying up small objects around your house, spend 15 minutes in the morning and night seeking out those small objects and putting them away or out of reach. The same goes for clothing like socks, make sure everything goes in a drawer or a hamper, and keep those hampers behind closed closet doors or in bathrooms. Your puppy will be safer, and your house will be tidier!

4. Backyard

The puppy proofing doesn’t stop with the inside of the house, your yard needs to become a dog-safe space as well! Your dog will become a member of your family that spends the most time in that yard. After all, it doubles as their bathroom! Every dog owner wants to get to the point in dog training where their dog can ask to go out to the backyard, and the owner simply opens the door, waiting for the dog to signal they want to come back in. In order to do that, you need to create a space where you feel confident your dog is safe, either doing their business or basking in the sun, without having to oversee every move they make in the yard.

Puppy Proof Method

The best way to puppy proof your yard is to fence it in. Choose a fence that is knocked into the ground, so your dog has a hard time digging a tunnel underneath! If you would rather go for an invisible fence, but don’t want the electric shock option, there are invisible fences that create a high-pitched noise to serve as dog training that they have reached the barrier of the yard. Even before you put in a fence, or let your puppy out, scan your backyard for any poisonous plants. If you’re not sure, the ASPCA has a whole list of plants poisonous to dogs. If your dog ever gets out, fence or not, you need to make sure they have a microchip and a well-made collar. Choosing a collar that will last, like our leather dog collar, means you can trust that your dog’s tags, with all their information, will not fall off. The chances of finding your dog and having them returned home safely will significantly increase if they can easily be identified!

3. Collar & Leash

This particular puppy proofing method tackles two things: safety and good old-fashioned peace and quiet! As we mentioned, puppies love to chew, and they love to swallow what they chewed. What’s an item right near their mouth they love to chew on? Their collar. If you choose a dog collar that is woven or made of cheap material, instead of a leather dog collar, the chances of your dog chewing it through are high. Not only could your dog choke or swallow their collar (or parts of it they chewed off), but your dog could be walking around collar-less, making them hard to identify if they get out. Leashes can also be a problem. Dogs love to chew on them, and if you store them where your dog can see them, you will hear incessant barking and crying as they beg you to go for a walk...even if you just returned from one!

Puppy Proof Method

The only way to ensure your dog won’t chew through their collar is by choosing a well-made, strong leather dog collar. We chose to create leather dog collars not just for the fashionable options we could design, but for the long-lasting features a leather dog collar provides. A high-quality leather dog collar can last a lifetime, even enduring long walks in the rain or romping around on the beach. Each leather dog collar is made of soft leather your dog can wear without feeling uncomfortable. Choose any leather dog collar, from our Martini bowtie to our Flower Child collection, the Minimalist look to the crystallized Rosalicious, to invest in a collar that will last. As for the leash, pick one up that matches the leather dog collar you chose. To avoid those cries and barks for a walk, we recommend hanging your leash somewhere your pup won’t be able to see it. That way, they only get excited about it when it is really time for a walk! Hang on a hook in the garage, or a secret spot, like your closet; choose a place where your dog doesn’t normally wander to on their own.

2. Food

Dog training can keep your dog from serious harm, but if your dog has access to foods that are poisonous to them, that could be the fastest path to a fatal situation. Here are some food items that are toxic to pups:

• Candy
• Gum
• Avocado
• Alcohol
• Onions
• Garlic
• Coffee
• Grapes
• Milk
• Macadamia nuts
• Chocolate
• And so many more

Puppy Proof Method

Store all of this food away, in high cabinets or a pantry with a closed door. That is the only way to avoid a serious situation! Puppies will do anything to get their paws on some food, especially if it has an inviting fragrance like onions, garlic, and candy. If you need to store your snacks down low, we suggest child safety locks. No thumbs, no way in!

1. A Space of Their Own

We saved this one for last because it is the most fun to do! You have a new family member. One that loves you, wants to cuddle you, lick your face, wear a leather dog collar with your family name on it, and be by your side for everything. Show your dog that they are truly in their furr-ever home by creating a space that completely belongs to them. A safe place, without anything that could put them in danger or an edge, a cozy place for some dog naps.

Puppy Proof Method

Think about the room your family spends the most time in, maybe it’s the living room. We suggest picking a corner of that room to dedicate to your new furry family member. They want to be around your whole family. In fact, certain breeding herds will walk around the house trying to round up the family if they are all scattered, so a room where most of your family spends their time will make your pup feel the calmest. Choose a bed, some blankets, and some chew toys. If this dog is not the first fluffy member of your family, then we recommend storing the bed somewhere the other pups won’t get to it until your new puppy arrives. You don’t want it to smell like another dog’s scent, it might deter your new puppy from using it in the beginning.

Your home is ready for your new best friend. The final thing to give your dog is a luxury leather dog collar with their name and new home address on it. Your dog will feel safe, welcome, and love you from day one