Home Safety Check
Before you pick up your puppy, make sure your house and yard are “puppy-safe zones.” By checking your home thoroughly for potential dangers and then dealing with them promptly, you can prevent serious accidents later.
In many ways, you puppy is as vulnerable as a human infant — except that he is not only highly inquisitive, but he also moves with surprising speed and has sharp little teeth. For the first few weeks, whenever he is left unattended, it is best to confine the puppy to a pen or crate (see What to Buy) in one room. However, it won’t be too long before an alert, nosy little puppy will be poking into areas you thought were inaccessible. So it is a good idea to carry out a thorough safety inspection tour before your puppy arrives.
Check the yard
Start your tour of inspection in the yard. Your puppy is still too young to understand that he might be in danger if he runs into the road, so check that there are no gaps in walls and fencing that a puppy could escape through, and make sure that gates can be kept firmly shut. If you have a swimming pool or a deep pond, consider a covering or fencing, since it is only too possible for a pup or an adult dog to drown in a steep-sided pool or pond.
Make sure that all sharp implements are kept shut away. Keep dangerous chemicals, such as pesticides, out of puppy’s reach on a shelf, preferably in a lockable hut or garage. Also try to dispose of leftover paint and solvents safely and keep them out of the way, so that your dog will be able to avoid them. Remember, even slug pellets can poison a puppy. consider switching to safe organic alternatives. Check whether any of your plants may be poisonous. Teething puppies like to chew vegetation, and a surprising number of common plants contain natural toxins that may harm a small dog. They include the common outdoor plants foxglove, ivy, laburnum, lupine, and yew — as well as daffodil bulbs and mistletoe berries — and some indoor plants, such as dumb cane or monstera.
Check the house
There will be times when your puppy is running around freely and your attention is distracted when he may get himself into trouble. You should make thorough safety checks indoors, and encourage all members of the family to be safety-conscious at all times. In particular, make sure everyone understands the need to keep exterior doors shut so that the puppy cannot escape into the road and be injured. If the front door opens onto a busy main road, consider installing a “child gate” or other barrier in the hallway to prevent escape.
Safety Tip
Glass,particularly in patio doors and picture windows, poses a serious hazard as an excitable puppy may not be aware — or may have forgotten — it is there and run straight into it. On solution is to stick brightly stickers on the glass at puppy height, where your pooch can see to avoid it.
Installing a safety gate or barrier can be an effective way to keep your puppy from escaping and getting lost or wondering onto busy streets.
Keep household chemicals such as bleach and detergent securely out of reach in cupboards or cabinets. Ensure that you insulate electrical cords or cables with wire guards or covers that the puppy cannot chew through. Never leave small objects lying around that the puppy might swallow. Watch out for sharp objects such as knives or blade edges that the puppy could cut himself on. You should never leave a puppy in the kitchen unattended when food is cooking. As an extra safeguard to avoid scalding, turn the handles of skillets and cooking pots away from the edge of the stove in case the puppy jumps up and knocks one over. (Remember, you puppy may be small now, but large breeds grow quickly, so aim to be safety-conscious from the start.)
Back to "Bringing Your Puppy Home"Making Your Home Puppy-Safe
An exuberant puppy is a little ball of energy. When only a couple of months old, he is surprisingly fast and powerful but lacks the experience to know when his actions may lead him into danger. A few simple precautions can help reduce the risk of harm.
- Keep all pills, especially painkillers, out of reach. Even vitamins and contraceptive pills could be harmful to a puppy.
- Fit a guard over open fires and radiators and all free-standing heaters.
- Take care that hot drinks are placed where a puppy can’t knock them over.
- Fit door-slam protectors to keep doors from blowing shut and injuring the puppy.
- Keep all electrical cords and cables out of reach or protect them with chew-proof covers; disconnect electrical appliances when not in use.
- Make sure cords on electric coffee pots and other household appliances are as short as possible, and don’t let them hang down where a playful pup can tug at them.
- Don’t store left-over paints, solvents, and other chemicals that you have no immediate use for. (It’s better to dispose of any residues safely and buy supplies fresh each time, anyway.)
- Make sure children know to put their toys where the puppy can’t reach them. Puppies can swallow or choke on small toys and, for reasons of hygiene, infants shouldn’t play with toys that puppies have chewed.
- Fit corner pads on any sharp-cornered furniture.
- Low garbage cans can be a danger to your puppy. He’d love to have a curious snoop in the trash if given the chance, but, unfortunately for him, this can lead to a bad case of diarrhea.
- It will take a while for your puppy to get used to climbing and descending stairs, which should remain barricaded until he can use them safely, without tumbling down and possibly injuring himself.