Puppy Proofing

Puppy Proof the Yard

An important part of puppy proofing occurs outside the home. If possible, the yard, or part of the yard should be fenced to provide a safe place for the new puppy to play outdoors. Chaining a dog is simply not a humane option. If fencing the yard isn’t in the plans, pet owners will want a leash on hand from day one to provide safe exercise and potty breaks.

Puppy Proof Carpets and Hardwood Floors

Learning there are appropriate and inappropriate places to relieve themselves is a process that can take several months. Puppy proofing is critical to protect nice carpets and hardwood floors.

It’s a good idea to restrict the puppy to areas of the home that have tile or linoleum. Setting up a puppy play pen in the rooms where pet owners spend most of their time will allow the new puppy to feel like part of the family but remain under close supervision. Pet owners can use baby gates to block off rooms with carpeting or hardwood. Crating the puppy at night or for one or two hours during the day while no one’s home will help avoid too many mistakes.

Puppy Proofing the Home

You should consider that a puppy has an absolute right to chew
whatever they can get at in your absence. You must put the puppy where
either it cannot do any damage, or you do not care about the possible
damage. Puppies can eat kitchen cabinets, destroy furniture, chew on
carpet, and damage a wide variety of other things. Besides the
destruction, the puppy may well injure itself, even seriously.

A good solution to this is a crate. A crate is any container, made of
wire mesh or plastic, that will hold the puppy comfortably, with
enough room to stand and curl up and sleep, but not too much that it
can eliminate in one corner. See the section on housetraining below.
Other solutions include fencing off part of the house, say the kitchen
or garage or building an outside run. Be sure the area is
puppy-proofed.

Please put your pup in an environment it can't destroy. Puppies are
too immature to handle temptations. Depending on the breed, most dogs
begin to gain the maturity to handle short stints with mild
temptations when they're about 6 months old. Consider the analogy with
a baby, where you keep it in a crib, stroller, or pen if you are not
holding it.

It is essential to puppy-proof your home. You should think of it in
the same way as child-proofing your house but be more thorough about
it. Puppies are smaller and more active than babies and have sharp
teeth and claws. Things of especial concern are electric wires. If you
can get through the puppy stages without having your pup get a shock
from chewing a wire you are doing a great job! When puppy proofing
your home, get down on your hands and knees (or lower if possible) and
consider things from this angle. What looks enticing, what is
breakable, what is sharp, etc. The most important things are watching
the puppy and, of course, crating it or otherwise restraining it when
you can't watch it.

Puppy Proof the Yard

An important part of puppy proofing occurs outside the home. If possible, the yard, or part of the yard should be fenced to provide a safe place for the new puppy to play outdoors. Chaining a dog is simply not a humane option. If fencing the yard isn’t in the plans, pet owners will want a leash on hand from day one to provide safe exercise and potty breaks.

Puppy Proof Carpets and Hardwood Floors

Learning there are appropriate and inappropriate places to relieve themselves is a process that can take several months. Puppy proofing is critical to protect nice carpets and hardwood floors.

It’s a good idea to restrict the puppy to areas of the home that have tile or linoleum. Setting up a puppy play pen in the rooms where pet owners spend most of their time will allow the new puppy to feel like part of the family but remain under close supervision. Pet owners can use baby gates to block off rooms with carpeting or hardwood. Crating the puppy at night or for one or two hours during the day while no one’s home will help avoid too many mistakes.

More Good Tips

Puppy proofing is mostly common sense, but you might not think of some details....

• Pick up trash containers that might contain anything harmful to the puppy.

• Put safety latches on cabinets that have poisonous items -- often under the kitchen and bathroom sinks. Ask for these latches at your hardware store.

• If the puppy will have access to a garage, be sure there is no anti-freeze within reach. It has an attractive smell and taste to dogs and cats.

• Check for electrical cords, such as a dangling one between the wall and a lamp on a table. What about the rats' nest of wires near your computer? You can puppy proof them with rubber bands so they mostly stay on the back of your desk. Duct tape can attach tapes to walls.

• Crawl everywhere in your home, on your hands and knees, and see what you notice! Don't crawl on that thumbtack that's been under the desk for years...

• If you have a fenced yard, terrific! Walk around your fencing and look for any place that your puppy might be able to squeeze through it. See if anything else in the yard needs puppy proofing.

• One way or another, you need to be able to confine your puppy to a more securely puppy-proofed part of the house when you are out. See my crate-training page for how (and whether) to crate train, and a section on alternatives to crate training.

• Plan your potty-training arrangements. Where do you want the puppy to do its stuff? How will you clean it up?