How To Safely Puppy Proof Your Home

Puppy Ages 0-4 Months; Illustrating What We Imagine A Puppy To Behave Like

In the article Purchasing the Correct Supplies To Welcome Your New Puppy Home we touched on How to Safely Puppy Proof your Home.

Basically, you are going to want to think of this as doing the same thing to make your home safe for a human toddler.

Velociraptors- Puppies, at Ages 4-36 months can sometimes behave as though they were Velociraptors

Anything that could possibly harm or injure your ‘baby’ will need to either be put up high enough and or out of sight or just consider putting the items away until your pup is out of that what we refer to as the ‘Velociraptor’ phase. * you know, that phase where all they are doing is exploring with their mouths, sharp teeth, and potty training; only unlike human toddlers, baby animals like puppies have very sharp teeth and no diapers.

Put up any electrical, phone and computer/laptop cords, as obviously these could do serious damage if they are plugged in and your puppy gets electrocuted by biting into one that is plugged in; or you get electrocuted trying to get the cord away from the puppy. Safety first. You can always replace an inanimate object like a laptop or a lamp, but you cannot replace a life. Yours or that of your puppy.

Trash/garbage- It is called trash/garbage for a good reason, and there could be any number of nasty things in there that could seriously harm or make your puppy very sick if they got into it and or ingested it. So keep the trashcan in a place where a puppy cannot easily access it; like under your kitchen sink, and since dogs have very sensitive noses, keep the trashcan emptied on a regular basis. *Some new puppy parents keep only one central trashcan and put bathroom and bedroom trashcans away until puppies are fully house trained and finished with teething.

Foods, Chemicals, Medicines, and Household Items that are TOXIC to Dogs-

This is going to be an Extensive list. Most of it makes ‘Common sense’ to most people.

Chocolate, and anything related to the chocolate family such as cacao, cocoa, * the active phytonutrient ‘theobromine’ is what is TOXIC to dogs, as well as many other species of animals.

Onions and oftentimes vegetables from the same family; the Allium family, like chives and garlic that is grown in China can be toxic or very upsetting/damaging. * If you are going to use Garlic in your dog’s diet, please only buy ORGANIC and grown in your HOME Country, for example USA. Garlic is NOT ‘Toxic’ just please do NOT ever use Garlic grown in CHINA.

Anything from the ‘Grape, Raisin family’

Xylitol- this is the artificial ingredient in many gums and candies and can cause DEATH, liver and kidney damage in very minute/small amounts

Caffeine- coffee, coffee grounds, caffeinated beverages like Coca-Cola, many teas

Alcoholic beverages, ALL items containing alcohol. This includes ‘extracts’ like Vanilla extract, almond extract, and so on. NO ALCOHOL Period.

Macadamia nuts

Pits and Seeds from fruits like peaches, apples, etc.

Uncooked dough

Moldy or Rotten food

Thin bones from birds like chicken, pheasant, duck- they are very, very fine and will easily splinter and get caught in your dog’s throat and or puncture their intestines if ingested, and people commonly put these bones in their trash cans and think nothing of it, not realizing that dogs will dig these out of the trash in a New York Microsecond, and in many cases it will be too late for you to help them. * This is something one of our senior writers first heard about when her Aunt lost her beloved Collie dog many years ago when the dog quickly snagged a chicken bone from the trash. The chicken bone quickly splintered and lodged in the dog’s throat, ripping the lining of her throat, causing her to hemmorraghe and choke to death within seconds. These types of bones are no joke.

Pharmaceutical prescription drugs and over the counter OTC medicines: NOT prescribed specifically for your dog by their veterinarian can be harmful or deadly/toxic.

*We’ll include as complete of a list as possible including:

Acetaminophen(Tylenol)

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs/NSAIDS-(Motrin, Advil, Aleve)

Allergy/Decongestant medications like (Mucinex-D, Claritin-D, Allegra-D)

Aspirin

*There are some human OTC medications that are ‘considered’ to be safe to dogs at the dose recommended by veterinarians, but this is going to depend on YOUR Pet’s Veterinarian and if and what they prescribe for your dog. But the ones here on this list are NOT safe for dogs.

Anti-Depressants (Effexor, Lexapro, Prozac, Cymbalta)

ADD and ADHD medications including (Adderall, Ritalin)

Blood Pressure medications ( including Torpor, Lopressor)

Sleep Aids like (Ambient, Lunesta)

You need to treat ALL medications both prescription and OTC, with great caution around puppies/dogs/pets. Just like you would if you have a human baby/toddler in the house, you have to assume that since they explore and learn by putting pretty much any and everything they discover into their little mouths, you’re going to have to play it safe and keep all of these things up and safely locked away where they have no chance at getting them.

*Don’t do foolish, forgetful things like: leaving medications on the countertops, desk, nightstand, coffee table.

Don’t store these in plastic baggies they can chew thru; keep all pet and human medications in separate places and in their original containers with child-proof caps intact, but know that puppies /dogs can chew right through plastic bottles if they have the opportunity to do so.

Also pay attention to your dog when out in public like at retail shops as we all know humans throw things on the ground; anything from gum or a kleenex, or an accidentally dropped pill could endanger your pup if they were to snap it up and choke on or swallow it.

• In The Summer of (2022) there was a publicized incident where a woman’s dog snapped up a dropped fentanyl and had the pet parent not acted rationally and quickly the dog would have lost his life. https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/dog-goes-blind-after-eating-oxycodone-at-a-santa-monica-park/ * Copy/paste this link into your internet browser.

We always recommend that you keep your Primary Veterinarian’s contact information as well as your Emergency Veterinarians info and the ASPCA Poison Control Center Hotline Phone number handy/visible like on your Refrigerator door.

The ASPCA POISON CONTROL HOTLINE # is: 888-426-4435.

and we recommend to also put a sign or a Magnet in the Front and Back windows of your home: PET INSIDE- in case there were ever an Emergency like a Fire, the Firefighters will know they need to look for your pets and not just humans.

Household Plants- There are over 30 we can think of that are TOXIC including:

Aloe Vera- roots and stems. Its ok for them to ingest the gel. NOT the Roots and stems.

Amaryllis

American Holly

Azalea

Bay Laurel

Begonia

Calla Lily

Cherry Tree: All parts of it

Crocus

Daffodil

Daisy

Deffenbachia

Fleabane * these are wildflowers that grow all over the USA

Foxglove

Grapes, raisins, currants, dates * this whole family of fruits and their leaves, roots, stems

Hops

Hosta

Hydrangea

Iris

Jade

Juniper* Blue Star Juniper

Kalanchoe

Lillies

Locust

Marijuana- due to the tetrahydrocannabinol(THC)

Mistletoe

Morning Glory

Nicotiana ( Nicotine producing plant)

Oleander

Pacific Yew

Sago Palm * This is ONE Of THE MOST TOXIC plants to dogs and yet it is often seen as an inexpensive way to landscape a yard or public business and it is therefore seen all over the place in many countries.

Tomato- *only the leaves and stem are toxic to dogs as they are to humans. Eating tomato fruit or paste is fine in moderation.