How to Puppy Proof Your Home and Yard
Tips & TrainingCopy: Serena Faber Nelson Photography: Serena Faber Nelson & Sarah Dickerson
A new puppy explores the world mouth first, and for the first few months your home is that whole world. Charger cords, stray socks and the cabinet under the sink are all fair game, which is why learning how to puppy proof your home before arrival day matters so much. It keeps a small, fearless body safe, and it spares your favorite shoes along the way.
Happily, it is mostly a weekend of focused tidying, a few latches and gates, and one honest walk-through at knee height. Here is how to do it, room by room.
Puppy Proofing Your Home: Where to Start
To puppy proof your home, get down to your puppy's eye level and remove or secure anything they could chew, swallow, pull down or squeeze through. Deal first with the hazards that can kill: electrical cords, medications, cleaning products, toxic foods and poisonous plants. Then add baby gates, cabinet latches and lidded trash cans, set up a crate or playpen as a safe zone, and finish with a final walk-through before your puppy comes home.
Everything your puppy needs, from bowls to bedding, is covered in this new puppy checklist.
When you puppy proof your house, start with the few rooms your puppy will actually use, but put cords, medications and anything toxic out of reach everywhere. Puppies are gifted at slipping through a door left ajar.
Puppy Proofing Checklist, Room by Room
Puppy Proof the Kitchen and Pantry
Everything in a kitchen smells like dinner, so keep food off counters and low tables and store it in closed cabinets rather than fruit bowls. Chocolate, grapes, raisins, xylitol (in sugar-free gum and some peanut butters), macadamia nuts, cooked bones and the whole allium family are dangerous, and this guide to whether dogs can eat onions explains how little it takes.
Fit childproof latches to the lower cabinets, especially under the sink, and choose a trash can with a locking lid. If a chocolate bar ever goes missing, this dog chocolate toxicity calculator helps you gauge the risk while you phone your vet.
Bathroom Medications, Cleaners and Toilets
Human medications are one of the most common causes of poisoning in dogs, and a determined puppy can chew straight through a childproof bottle. Move every pill, vitamin and supplement into a high or latched cabinet, along with drain cleaner, bleach and toilet tablets. Keep the toilet lid down, since a small puppy can fall in, and use a lidded trash can for razors and floss.
Living Room Cords, Houseplants and Small Objects
Electrical cords are the most dangerous thing in most living rooms. A puppy who bites through a live cord can suffer mouth burns or a fatal shock, so unplug what you can and run the rest through cord protectors or behind heavy furniture. Phone chargers dangling from the sofa are the ones most often forgotten, and blind cords should be tied up high.
Next, the plants. Peace lily, sago palm, pothos, philodendron and aloe vera all need to move well out of reach, and these three toxic houseplants for dogs are especially easy to overlook.
If a favorite has to go, these indoor plants that are safe for dogs make lovely replacements. Then clear coffee tables of coins, batteries and remotes, and anchor tall bookcases a climbing puppy could pull over.
Bedroom Shoes, Socks and Closets
Anything that smells like you is irresistible, which is why shoes and socks are the classic casualties of puppyhood. Swallowed socks can also cause blockages that need surgery. Keep closet doors shut, use a hamper with a lid, and clear nightstands of hair ties and earrings.
Chewing peaks while adult teeth come through, so these steps to stop puppy jumping and biting are worth reading before those needle teeth arrive.
Kids' Rooms and Toy Boxes
Children's toys are exactly the right size and squishiness for a puppy, and they usually live on the floor. Building bricks, small figures, crayons and anything with a button battery belong in lidded boxes. Give kids one simple job, tidying the floor before the puppy comes in, and share these tips on dogs and kids getting along before the first playdate.
Laundry Room Pods, Washers and Dryers
Detergent pods, bleach and dryer sheets belong on a high shelf, since a bitten pod can do real harm. Keep washer and dryer doors closed and check inside the drum before every cycle. A warm pile of towels is a surprisingly tempting nap spot.
Baby Gates for Stairs, Balconies and Doors
Puppies have no sense of height and are clumsy on stairs, so gate off staircases and balconies until your puppy is steadier on their feet. Check that railings are too narrow to squeeze through, and make the front door a two-step routine: puppy behind a gate before anyone opens it.
Garage Chemicals, Antifreeze and Snail Bait
The garage often holds the most toxic products in a home. Antifreeze tastes sweet and is deadly in very small amounts, so store it high and wipe up drips immediately. Snail bait, rat bait, weed killer, fertilizer, paint and loose screws all belong on high shelves or in latched cabinets.
Backyard Fences, Gates and Pools
Walk the whole fence line looking for gaps, loose boards and soft soil a puppy could dig under. Gate latches should close on their own and sit too high for a nose to nudge open. Fence off pools and ponds, since puppies can fall in and struggle to climb out, and supervise every trip outside for now.
Toxic Garden Plants, Mulch and Compost
Azaleas, oleander, foxglove, lily of the valley and many spring bulbs are toxic to dogs, and puppies love digging up bulbs. Cocoa bean mulch carries the same risk as chocolate, and moldy compost can cause tremors and seizures, so use a sealed bin. After fertilizing or spraying, keep your puppy off the lawn for as long as the label advises.
Set Up a Safe Puppy Zone With a Crate or Playpen
The most effective puppy proofing tool is one small, completely safe space. A crate, playpen or gated room gives your puppy somewhere to be whenever you cannot watch them closely. Less space means less to proof, and it makes house training far easier.
Furnish the zone with a soft bed, fresh water and a few sturdy chew toys, and browse the dog toys directory for durable options. Rotate them every few days to keep things interesting, and never use the crate as a punishment. It should feel like the best seat in the house.
Puppy Proofing Supplies Worth Buying
Most homes need only a handful of things: baby gates, cord protectors, childproof cabinet latches, outlet covers, lidded trash cans, a crate or playpen, and plenty of chew toys. Buy them before your puppy arrives, since fitting latches with a puppy underfoot is nobody's idea of fun.
How to Dog Proof Your Home for an Adult or Rescue Dog
To dog proof your home for an older dog, use the same checklist, but expect the danger zone to move up, from the floor to countertops, tables and the trash.
Counter Surfing and Trash Can Raids
Push food to the back of the counter, keep trash behind locking lids, and never leave a plate unattended at nose height. Some clever dogs learn to open lever handles and sliding pantry doors, so a simple child lock helps there too.
Extra Security for a New Rescue Dog
A newly adopted dog may try to bolt from an unfamiliar home, so check fences and gates twice, use a leash in unfenced areas, and give them a quiet corner of their own. Destructive chewing in an adult dog is often boredom or loneliness rather than bad manners, and this guide to whether dogs get lonely explains the signs.
What to Do If Your Puppy Swallows Something Toxic
Call your vet or nearest emergency animal hospital straight away, even if your puppy seems perfectly well. Some poisons, rat bait in particular, take days to show symptoms, and early treatment makes a real difference. Never try to make your puppy vomit unless a vet tells you to.
In Australia, the Animal Poisons Helpline answers around the clock on 1300 869 738, or +1 917-722-5958 from Canada. In the US, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is available 24 hours a day on (888) 426-4435, though a consultation fee may apply. Save your local number now, and check new plants against the ASPCA's list of toxic and non-toxic plants before they come home.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
1When should you start puppy proofing your house?
Start about a week before your puppy comes home. That leaves time to work through each room without rushing, buy baby gates and cord protectors, and do a final check the day before pickup. Leaving it until the last evening almost guarantees something gets missed, usually the charger behind the sofa.
2What is the most important thing to puppy proof?
Electrical cords come first, because a puppy chewing a live cord can be badly burned or killed. Close behind are medications, cleaning products and toxic foods, which cause many poisoning emergencies in young dogs. Secure those everywhere in the house, then move on to choking hazards, falls and escape routes.
3How long do you need to puppy proof for?
Keep strict puppy proofing in place for at least six to twelve months, until teething ends and your puppy knows the house rules. Cord management, latched cleaning cabinets and a pet-safe garden are worth keeping for life. Heavy chewers often need close supervision well into their second year.
4Do you need a crate to puppy proof your home?
A crate is not essential, but it makes puppy proofing far easier, giving your puppy a secure den whenever you cannot supervise and speeding up house training. A playpen or single gated room works almost as well. What matters is a defined safe zone, not free run of the house.
5How do you puppy proof a home with a cat?
Move the litter box and cat food somewhere the puppy cannot reach, such as behind a gate fitted with a cat door. Most puppies will happily eat both, which can mean an upset stomach, parasites or a blockage from clumping litter. Give your cat high escape routes too, so the first weeks stay peaceful.
Your Final Puppy Proofing Walk-Through
The day before your puppy arrives, walk slowly through every room they will use, at their height, looking for anything that dangles, wobbles, smells interesting or fits in a small mouth. Something always turns up.
After that, let your puppy teach you. Every dog has a favorite forbidden object, and the first weeks will reveal theirs. Once the house is safe, the fun part begins, and these ways to bond with your puppy are the perfect place to start.
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i wish to adopt a puppy but i don’t live in U.S.A.!I live in the Philippines.
What kind of dog is this?
Thanks so much everyone! I learnt some of these tips the hard way – or should that be my shoes learnt the hard way! 🙂
xx
You’re*
Wonderful tips and advice, Rene! So many little things you can forget when your used to having an older dog. Thanks so much for including little Ronin too 🙂
indeed, great tips, Serena, for prospective owners 🙂
Great tips! Puppies have a way of getting into everything.