Puppy Proof Your Home
Many new puppies are injured or harmed because their owners are not
aware of their habits or how curious they are. But if you imagine your
home through the eyes of the puppy, you may notice many seemingly harmless
household items that can cause unfortunate problems.
Here some suggestions to help you puppy proof your home:
1. Don't leave cigarette butts in ash trays where the puppy can get to
them. If eaten, cigarette butts can lead to nicotine poisoning.
2. Secure electric cords to the baseboards or make them inaccessible. They
make perfect chew toys but can cause harmful electric shock burns and even
death.
3. Keep Christmas decorations above the dog's reach level. Crushed glass
Christmas balls can result in nasty cuts.
4. Never allow burning candles to be accessible to pups. The brightness
of the flame will attract them.
5. Keep medication bottles out of the puppy's way. Childproof containers
are not enough where puppies are concerned.
6. Always keep the toilet lid down if you use toilet bowl cleaners. They
are often strongly alkaline and tempting for a puppy to drink.
7. Keep cellar doors and upper story windows closed. A curious puppy is
as vulnerable as a young child.
8. Don't invite other pets to your house until your puppy is fully vaccinated.
A puppy's resistance to infection is lower than an adult dogs until about
16 weeks of age.
9. Dispose of chicken or turkey bones in a puppy proof manner. Puppies
like these bones and will search through the trash to get them.
10. Don't leave needles, pins, fish hooks or other fishing gear out where
the puppy can get to them. They often swallow them or get hooked. Fishing
gear smells great to a dog.
11. Be certain anti-freeze is out of reach and any drippings are cleaned
up completely. For some reason puppies are attracted to its scent. Antifreeze
is highly toxic.
12. Use pesticides with caution. Hanging strips, fly paper and other exposed
toxins must be kept out of reach.
13. Avoid using flea collars, flea dips and certain other preparations
until your puppy is at least 15 weeks old. Find out the limitations of these
products before applying them.
14. Keep your puppy away from toxic plants. The rhododendron, Japanese
yew, lily of the valley as well as peach and cherry pits can all cause problems
if eaten.
15. When cooking outdoors, keep the hot grill well out of reach of the
exploring pup and the adult dog as well.
16. Always keep a watchful eye on any young dog as they love to taste everything.
They eat rocks, weeds, grass, most things in the garden, small balls, kids
toys, crayons, pencils, basically anything they can get their mouths on...and
if it is your favorite shoe, glove, sock, etc., it tastes even better.
