New Puppy Owner Guide - Puppy Proof Your Home

One good step to take towards puppy proofing your home is to look at it from a dog's level. Get down on your hands and knees and look around. It might surprise you to see what is available for a puppy to chew on or get into. Remember your puppy will want to check out all the stuff in his new home that he has never seen before. These are the kind of things that just might be dangerous to him.

Be very aware of electrical cords that your puppy can get to and chew on. Can you just imagine what might happen if a puppy chews on an electrical cord both to him and to your home? Place the cords where the puppy can't reach them. Place them behind furniture or up high. Try laying them under something like a rubber mat. (Be careful about this last tip in a place where there is a lot of traffic.)

Stairs can provide as much danger to a puppy as to a toddler. They can have trouble getting up and down them. In their boisterousness, they can even fall down a flight of stairs. Just block off the stairway until the puppy has grown and is more capable of getting up and down them. Stairs might also lead to a place you do not want your puppy to be such as the basement. If you have a door, then you must be sure the door is always closed.

Be sure there are no hazardous household chemicals where your puppy or dog can get into them. Such things are usually stored under the kitchen sink or even the bathroom sink. Can your puppy easily get into these places? You may even have to go so far as to use those plastic cabinet locks that are used for toddlers.