The most wonderful time for dog lovers is bringing home a cute, fuzzy puppy. However, as a new pet parent, here are a few things to keep in mind while you’re prepping your home to welcome a new arrival.
1. Puppy point of view
To start with, look at your house with the eyes (and nose) of a new dog. Wires, shoes, toys, and other expensive or harmful things that they may come into contact with, should be safely kept out of reach. Wires may be harmful to a dog if they think of them as a chew toy, and they can also be dangerous for you and your family to come in contact with. Keep an eye out for anything that they can ingest by mistake or on purpose. Dangerous areas, such as the kitchen or the stairway, should be barricaded or restricted from the puppy’s access. Keep your trash cans away from your dog as well. If your dog is a puppy or a toy breed, baby gates or barriers are extremely useful and necessary to prevent the puppy from falling down the steps and injuring itself.
2. Potential chew toys
To avoid your housewares from becoming chew toys, you should exercise caution. Wires, appliances, kids’ toys, and shoes should all be carefully stored away from the reach of the puppy. Check for exposed cables, dangling wires or sockets that the puppy might reach. Puppies can get caught in cables and become injured. Keep a watch on your dog to make sure he or she isn’t chewing or biting your furniture, rugs, or curtains. It’s a good idea to provide them durable teething toys, and to teach them to distinguish between their chew toys and household items. Just in case, or at least during the testing phase, chew proof your furniture, because prevention is better than cure. It will not only protect your dog from injury, but it will also save you a hefty chunk of change.
3. Heat and water hazards
Ensure that your puppy does not have access to potentially unsafe places. Places with things like cooking stoves, heaters, buckets of water, and other items fall under this category. Dogs are natural swimmers, but little puppies can find themselves in perilous situations that are difficult to fix, such as accidentally submerging half of their body in a deep bowl of water with the other half dangling out and being unable to lift themselves out.
4. Toxic cleaning substances
In general, any home cleaning substances and detergents may create a slew of problems for your dog if consumed, so be sure they are safe for animals. Please check to see whether your cleaning solutions are particularly hazardous to animals and, if so, replace them. Also, make sure your dog does not have access to items such as laundry detergents, drugs, or medicines. These substances should ideally be stored securely.
5. Dangerous plants
There are a number of plants that are poisonous or hazardous to dogs. Any pet should be kept safe from plants with thorns, pointy leaves, and/or branches. Since certain plants have poisonous leaves, fruits, blooms, or roots, please keep your pup away even from their soil. Some common Indian plant species to watch for are the peace lily, money plant, philodendron, corn plant, asparagus ferns, bleeding heart, and others. Also, make sure that your pup cannot access certain vegetables and fruits in your home, such as onion, garlic, grapes, raisins, coffee, sugar, and so on. To know more, check out our previous blog posts – Food you should never give a dog, Summer superfoods for your pets, and The right way to feed stray animals.
6. Clean floor
It’s important to keep the floors clean so that your puppy doesn’t consume anything it shouldn’t. Make sure you clean up after yourself every time you eat or snack, because your puppy will not hesitate to go for the crumbs. Small toys or tiny items are hazardous, as it can cause the pup to choke.
7. Covers and carpets
Your puppy is going to chew, drool, spit or even pee on a lot of things. Any surfaces that your dog can access during potty training should be easy to clean. Do not give your puppy access to your best carpets or expensive furniture and/or furnishings. Make sure that all of your carpets and furnishings are machine washable. Keep fragile decorations such as vases, urns, and glass items in your cupboards until your dog has figured out how to navigate your home.
8. Be patient
Even if you make all of the necessary preparations, your darling puppy is bound to get into mischief every day. Don’t get overwhelmed; take it one day at a time and train your puppy every day, addressing challenges as they arise. It’s essential to be patient and give them time. After all, they’re babies who need time to learn right from wrong.
