5 Tips for Dog Safety Around the Home Keeping Your Puppy Out of Harm's Way

Dogs, and especially puppies, explore their world by mouthing and chewing. That means that dogs end up tasting a good portion of your home, and very little of this environment is edible. That can get even well behaved dogs into trouble.

It’s even more likely to happen when you first adopt a dog. New pets won’t know the rules of the house, and new owners may not be alert to all the ways dogs can get into trouble. These 5 tips will help you keep your dog safe around the house.

By the way, today is “change a pet’s life” day. Why not make room in your home and heart for a new dog or puppy from your local shelter—or give a donation so others can share the joy?

Latch cupboards

Kitchen and bathroom cabinets typically contain household cleaners. Those work great for cleaning floors but can poison dogs when they lap up toxic substances or walk through cleansers. Keep dangerous cleaners out of your dog’s reach because they won’t know any better. Child proof locks on cupboards may be necessary for some genius canines.

Guard the garage

Your garage also contains chemicals and substances to feed the yard, poison bugs, and keep cars running in top form. Toxic liquids like antifreeze, for instance, taste sweet to dogs but can kill them. If your dog spends time in the garage, make sure all such items are locked away out of reach, or pet-safe alternatives are used. Better yet, use pet barriers or baby gates to keep them in the dog-safe areas only.

Electric cords

Puppies tend to chew anything that doesn’t move faster than they do. Dogs might mistake swaying electric cords with tug toys, for example, and end up burned or worse from electrical shock. Dog proof your home by containing dangerous electric chords in less tempting bundles or cordon off the computer room to keep dogs out of harm’s way. Also, set out a Swizzles chew toy or a rawhide chew to keep your dog's chewing urges satiated.

Hang drapery ties high

Puppies leaping to grab at wooden blind ties or drapery pulls can get caught in the strings and strangle. Pull these temptations out of reach to keep your dog safe.

Nix the poisonous plants

Holiday plants like holly and Easter lily are poisonous to dogs and should not be in your home at all if you have pets. While some plants won’t be dangerous, they can still get your dog in trouble if your holy terrier digs them out of the planter. Set them out of reach or create barriers to keep dogs at bay.

The Home Hacks That Will Keep Your Pet Safe

With Christmas and New Year’s right around the corner, the safety of your pet should be prioritized above any celebrations and dinner parties that you’re planning. It’s such a busy time of the year and it’s easy for your pet to get lost. There’s just so much chaos, noise, lights, and children running around, that it won’t always be easy to spot a missing dog or cat. And imagine what they must be feeling if they do manage to get lost? It must be truly devastating for them.They are also at risk right at home! With the holiday season right around the corner, there’s more decorations and baking goods lying around. It is easy for your pets to get caught up in the Christmas lights or wander into the kitchen and chow down on some leftover baking chocolate. Here are some home hacks that you can use in order to keep your pet safe.

1. Always store the water bowls in a plastic tray or container.Dogs aren’t the most careful creatures. They might knock over a water bowl every now and then. This is not just bothersome to you, the owner, but the slippery floors could also cause injury to both you and your pets. If there’s a plastic container under the water bowl, it might catch whatever spills when he knocks down the water bowl.
2. Hang your purses on hooks.Bags and purses contain a lot of things that are useful to us. But most of these things can be harmful to dogs. Personal medications and sugar-free gum can be fatal for dogs. Keep them out of your curious pet’s reach by hanging them on hooks, where they can’t be reached.
3. Keep all electrical cords neatly out of the way.Especially with Christmas coming up, there must be a lot of electrical cords around the house to power all the lights and decorations. Take special care to keep them out of your pet’s way. Consider gathering all the lose cords together and placing them into a PVC pipe.
4. Childproof the cabinets.All animals are curious creatures. They might get into the cabinets if they smell something desirable, like chocolate in there. And chocolate doesn’t sit well with most animals. Cabinets are also containers of medicines, cleaning supplies, as well as garden equipment. All these things could be potentially dangerous to your pet. Consider getting a Child-proof lock to keep them out of potentially dangerous cabinets.
5. Use baby gates.Use them to keep your pets in. During the holiday season, it is important that you always have an eye on them. For the time you don’t, consider isolating them to one room of the house where you use baby gates to keep them in. Also, place these gates on top of the stairs to avoid injuries on the staircase.

There are many ways your pets can get injured in your own home. Make sure you take care of them during this especially busy season. Better safe than sorry.

Amy Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant, consultant to the pet care industry and the award winning author of 23 pet care books.