Puppy Proofing your Home

Whoever coined the phrase, “Curiosity killed the cat”, forgot to consider dogs. Puppies are by nature very curious creatures. Many times, we as humans forget that seemingly harmless household items may actually injure a curious puppy.

Here are some important tips to keep in mind when puppy proofing your home:

- Keeping papers and magazines off your coffee tables and counters will help “chew train” your puppy,
- Don’t leave food, sweets, utensils or glasses on table surfaces. Helping a puppy realize that there’s nothing on the tables will prevent the puppy from searching in those places in future for food,
- Shut the bathroom door to prevent your puppy from eating toilet paper or bathroom rubbish
- Keep the kitchen garbage securely out of the puppy’s reach.
- Be sure to discard cigarette butts as opposed to leaving them in ashtrays. If ingested, the puppy can get nicotine poisoning
- Puppies find flames attractive, so never burn candle’s where they are easily accessible for the puppy.
- Dogs are attracted to the scent of anti-freeze. Make sure anti-freeze and any drippings are cleaned up completely as they are highly toxic.
- If you keep a garden, be sure to keep your puppy away from toxic plants such as Rhododendrons, Japanese yews, and fruit pits.