Puppy Proofing your house

[sammgirl]

Hey guys,

I did a search and then looked in the puppy forum but didn't find anything really recent on puppy proofing.

I'm just curious... How did you (as a puppy owner) puppy proof your home?

I get that probably you'd have to get those baby guards for cabinets. I know baby gates to close off certain rooms.

Probably socket plugs for babies...even though puppies don't have opposable thumbs, that doesn't seem to stop them from what I've heard.

What about wires on the floor? Do you tape them down with duct tape or is there some better way?

I know you keep all plants well above floor level.

Thanks for any input!!!!

 

[Dogs6]

here's something just to add keep all expensive borrowed shoes away from puppies even if they have never chewed your shoes or even cheap borrowed shoes as soon as you borrow expensive shoes they start chewing lol. It happened to us when my mum borrowed shoes for a party:rofl1:

 

[PoodleMommy]

I didnt really go through all that effort... I picked up things I didnt want chewed basically. When I was gone they were crated, when I was home they were watched carefully to re-direct when they chewed something I didnt want them to chew... this way they learned what was theirs and what was not. But I didnt buy any baby proofing materials.

 

[woofah]

I didnt really go through all that effort... I picked up things I didnt want chewed basically. When I was gone they were crated, when I was home they were watched carefully to re-direct when they chewed something I didnt want them to chew... this way they learned what was theirs and what was not. But I didnt buy any baby proofing materials.

And really, this is all you need to do. Puppies are mischief so you need to keep an eye on them when you are home. When you are away you need to keep them in a safe place, whether that is a crate (remember that a dog thinks a crate is a cave, not a jail), or an area set aside where damage is limited.

Puppies dig, puppies play with clothes, puppies try to escape, puppies chew - recognize that they are just being a dog and act accordingly.

 

[Gguevara]

I'm away from 8 am to 3pm but I'm home for about 30 mins at 11am. When I get my pup I planned to keep him in his crate for the first half of the morning and pen him up in the kitchen (only part of the house without carpet) for the other half so he gets to stretch his legs. Besides that I'll most likely be with him all the time.

 

[petbedsunlimited]

I kept an eye on my puppy, and since I was mostly home everyday, no big damge was done. If we went out, puppy stayed in the kitchen with his litter box. I got him toys to chew on as well, so he won't chew on the furniture or anything. not that I don't keep shoes and pillows out of his way. lol

 

[Doberluv]

I didnt really go through all that effort... I picked up things I didnt want chewed basically. When I was gone they were crated, when I was home they were watched carefully to re-direct when they chewed something I didnt want them to chew... this way they learned what was theirs and what was not. But I didnt buy any baby proofing materials.

This is basically what I did too. But as it turned out, later in Jose`'s life, when he was already an adult, he learned to open the cabinet door under the sink where the garbage can is and he'd get into the garbage if I wasn't home. So, I added one of those child proof lock things on that one cabinet.

 

[xpaeanx]

ooooOOOOOooooo..... does this mean you ARE getting a cardi puppy!

I didnt really go through all that effort... I picked up things I didnt want chewed basically. When I was gone they were crated, when I was home they were watched carefully to re-direct when they chewed something I didnt want them to chew... this way they learned what was theirs and what was not. But I didnt buy any baby proofing materials.

Same thing here.

one thing I do want to add though, make sure the crate has at least 2 ft of nothing destroyable around it (couch, wires, shoes, rug, etc...). as you said, thumbs does not deter them from getting into trouble... well, neither does the crate if it's within distance that they can reach it and drag it in!

Also, think about *splatter* distance(another reason to keep things about 2ft away on ALL sides)... they will sometimes get things out of their crates onto your stuff... at one point during house breaking Muffin realized he could poop and pee OUTSIDE the crate by going through the wires.... that was NOT a fun day!

 

[PINK]

here's something just to add keep all expensive borrowed shoes away from puppies even if they have never chewed your shoes or even cheap borrowed shoes as soon as you borrow expensive shoes they start chewing lol. It happened to us when my mum borrowed shoes for a party:rofl1:

That's funny. All my dogs never failed to undergo the phase of chewing slippers. It's always been the slippers! haha

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

Old thread ... but not around so much anymore. (We all know how life gets in the way sometimes ...lol)

Anyway, what I do is probably weird ... but it's always worked for me. I do watch a puppy like a hawk of course, but you know how they always have a talent for finding the ONE thing that you didn't see?

So what I do is while the puppy is off napping in a crate, I literally lay on the floor of any room that the puppy will have access to when awake. I then lift my head and have a really good look around ... because that is exactly the puppy's point of view.

From that angle it's amazing what you see that needs attention before puppy finds it ... and that would have been easy to miss from a standing position or even sitting on the floor. Also, two of the earliest commands I teach are "Leave it" and Drop it" ... can't tell you how many puppy-mouth-sweeps either of those have saved.

 

[bubbatd]

Don't forget unplugging paper shredders !!

 

[sammgirl]

I've been reading books and books on puppy rearing. I'm a bit puppy-manic ATM. I've read Dr. Ian Dunbar's puppy book again, and right now I'm on "Superpuppy."

The BF and I have quite a bit of proofing to do. We have many shelves in this house and we keep things on the bottom of the shelves, so those things will have to be moved. We have a basket of cords and guitar hero controllers and god-knows-what-else that we'll have to find something to do with.

We have baby gates to buy and a large wire crate to purchase (breeder has a specific way she has suggested we keep the puppy during the day), dog bowls to buy, puppy toys...OMG!

Craziness. Am I insane for getting a cardigan puppy? I keep hearing horror stories about how bad they are as puppies...



Guess maybe you have to be a little crazy to fall in love with a drivey, short legged cattle dog!

 

[smkie]

I always get bitter apple gel and go over any electrical cords that I cannot remove.

 

[KhayNette]

puppy proofing will be easy for us, our home is already baby proofed for our mischievious one lol, he gets into anything and everything we'll only have to worry about what the puppy can chew or pee on lol

 

[sammgirl]

I always get bitter apple gel and go over any electrical cords that I cannot remove.

Goooooood idea.

We pick Harper up today, and maybe we'll stop in to PetSmart and grab some of that. Good info.

 

[cJw314]

Goooooood idea.

We pick Harper up today, and maybe we'll stop in to PetSmart and grab some of that. Good info.

So how goes little Harper?

I read this thread, imagining the darkened underbelly of my computer desk with fear and trembling... how the heck am I going to contain THAT mess from lil' ole puppy mouth. I suppose that'll be further motivation to watch the pup constantly. ; )

 

[lizzybeth727]

I read this thread, imagining the darkened underbelly of my computer desk with fear and trembling... how the heck am I going to contain THAT mess from lil' ole puppy mouth. I suppose that'll be further motivation to watch the pup constantly. ; )

LOL.

Two words: baby gates.

 

[Kristen1980]

Everything that I didn't want chewed up got put up and we bought baby gates to keep the pooches out of certain area's till they were house trained. Instead of crates for beds we bought little dog beds and travel crates for trips in the car, I have a Lincoln Navigator and I'm not to fond of the leather being chewed, pawed, ripped, pee/pooped on, hence the travel crates. Both girls were fast learners and soon the baby gates were put away and they learned to only chew on their toys etc. Now they hang out with us in every room in the house

 

[drdamian]

I kept all the things which i thought was the type of things puppies can get choked from, shoes,etc.. away from the puppy's reach...i taped the wires to the floor as well.