Creating a Safe Haven for Your New Puppy

Bringing a new puppy home is hopefully the beginning of a long and rewarding friendship where the pup grows up as one of the family. But puppies don’t know what’s safe for them, what they can eat or play with and where they can go. The whole world is their playground and sometimes they get into trouble for it.

It’s up to us to find ways to kindly set their boundaries as well as doing what we can to keep them safe as they grow.

Remove Toxic Substances

Just as you would with a toddler, make sure your pup can’t get hold of potentially dangerous substances. Do things like storing cleaning supplies, chemicals, medicines, some plants and even some foods, such as chocolate which can be toxic to dogs, where puppies can’t get at them. It’s also a good idea to have secure lids on bins, as pups can be expert scavengers.

Prevent Electric Shocks

Heaven forbid an innocent nibble from a teething puppy leads to electric shock. You can use cable and wire protectors to cover up the cables you can’t hide or try relocating wires or taping them to the walls so they’re not as tempting to chew. A lot of the safety items designed to protect little children will also be useful when there’s a playful pup in the house, such as plug blanks to seal off electric sockets.

Hide Small, Dangerous Items

Puppies have a knack for getting into everything. Keep potentially dangerous items, such as sharp objects, small toys, sewing supplies, and plastic bags, locked away in closed cabinets or drawers, just as you would for hazardous chemicals. You can even use childproof locks if your pup is especially good at going where he shouldn’t.

Look Out for Choking Hazards

Everybody knows puppies love to chew stuff. Like babies, they explore with their mouths and also go through a teething phase. To an innocent pup, everything that will fit in their mouth is fair game. So, keep a wary eye out for anything your pup might hurt themselves with, such as stray buttons or coins on the floor, jewellery items or small toys. Small toys can be especially problematic if you also have children, so try and get them involved with keeping the house puppy-safe if they’re old enough to understand.

Safeguard Your Furniture

Chair legs and table legs look just like sticks to a puppy. And what pup doesn’t love a good chew on a stick. Puppyhood doesn’t last forever, so you could consider placing your most valuable items into a storage room near you for a while or cover up those tempting ‘sticks’ to disguise them. Pet-friendly deterrent sprays might help, but they’re not as reliable as removing the object of desire completely.

Encourage your puppy to chew on their own toys and make sure these are always available.

Limit Access to Certain Areas

You might just want to keep your pup where you can see her, or maybe you want to start some early training about where they can and can’t go. You might not want your puppy upstairs, for instance. You can use baby gates to seal off certain areas, although you might need to modify them if your puppy is very small. You could also use something like this top selling pet pen if you need to keep them confined for short periods, or make this large pen their safe space with comforting features and furniture. 

Manage Houseplants

Some common plants can be quite harmful to dogs. You’d need to do your own research to find out if yours pose any danger, but a few to watch out for include Peace Lilies, Devil’s Ivy, Swiss Cheese plants and Begonias. If you love your houseplants and have a good collection, you might want to consider making sure your puppy can’t reach them while researching how safe they are around dogs. There’s a good list of both safe and dangerous plants here.

Eliminate Escape Routes from the House and Garden

Make sure your puppy can’t get outside without you, such as through windows or doors left ajar. It’s not so bad if your garden is secure, so at the same time make sure there aren’t gaps in the fence or gate they can squeeze through. It would be a good idea to cover ponds too, just in case.

Pups are hard work, there’s no doubt. But they’re also cute and loveable, fun and entertaining, cuddly and devoted to their human carers. They wouldn’t dream of doing anything to upset you on purpose. Whether you choose to put valuables into self storage while your pup grows up, or you just puppy-proof everything in sight, creating a safe haven means you can maximise the fun and games while minimising the urge to scold.