Puppies bring happiness and joy to your home. They also bring little mouths that like to chew on your slippers and bodies that leave messes on the floor. As such, it’s best to puppy-proof your home before bringing your new pup home. Here are four of the best ways you can prep your space for your new family member.
Food Storage
While this won’t be a major change to your house itself, you will want an airtight container to hold your puppy’s food. Dogs have incredibly strong senses and can smell their food right through the traditional packaging, and as they grow in size they’ll also grow in the ability to break into their food bags. This means you’ll want to clear space in your pantry for a large sealable container to keep that food out of sight as well as keep the smell in. An added benefit to this is that the dog food will stay fresh longer, making it more appetizing to your dog when it does come time to eat.
Yard Access
When you’re trying to house-train a puppy, you want to make sure they have easy access to the yard without just leaving them out there 24-7. However, puppies have small bladders, short attention spans, and will find it difficult to come running to the homeowner in time every time they feel the urge, and odds are you may not be available for every incidence as well.
Thankfully, there are better options than just leaving your door open all day. Adding a security door to your back door makes it easy for your new puppy to quickly identify the exit while keeping the bugs out. You can even keep that security door securely shut if you get one that includes a puppy door. This way, you’re keeping your house safe and protected from pests, while also giving your puppy the chance to dash for the yard immediately when the call of nature hits them.
Tile Flooring
While everyone loves natural wooden flooring, it may not feel so luxurious after your puppy’s nails have scrambled over it often enough. To fix this, you may want to opt for tile flooring for your hard floor surfaces instead of softer wood. If you extend this to your living room and other areas and use area rugs instead of traditional carpet, you’ll find those unexpected puppy messes to be a great deal easier to clean up, as well. Even the most house-trained dog will throw up unexpectedly or cause spills on their romps around the house, and tile flooring saves you a great deal of scrubbing to clean these up.
Chew Toys and Other Entertainment
Puppies will chew on things. It just comes with the territory. By supplying your dog with plenty of chew toys and other playthings, you allow him to develop his teeth. Chew toys also allow him to explore the world through his senses, something that all babies need to do. It’s important to remember, however, that puppies may go for vertical surfaces if they don’t find their toys engaging enough. Putting protection around the corners of your furniture will help remind them that teeth are for toys, not for home surfaces.
Just as you would prepare your home for a human baby, you also need to prepare your home for a baby dog. Puppies come with a unique set of needs, and the best way to deal with them is to prepare for them ahead of time. Make sure your home is equipped with everything a puppy needs in terms of bedding, yard access, and that your home is protected from the typical puppy perils before you go shelter shopping.
About the Author:
Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.
