Elementor #12249
Review Your Safety Plan
Provide a puppy-proof environment.
Review your safety plan with your veterinarian, and ask them what else you should know and do to prevent and recognize illness and injury.
- Human medications are a common source of poisoning. Keep them inaccessible to puppy at all times.
- Follow your veterinarian’s guidelines for deworming, flea, tick, and other medications (including OTC and alternative products). Check labels and ask your vet first if you have any questions.
- Use caution when storing and using chemicals, cleaners, pest control products, solvents, anti-freeze, and lawn and garden products.
- Electrical cords and poisonous plants are chewing hazards. Restrict puppy’s access to unsafe cords and appliances. Check plants on the ASPCA site.
- Some common food items such as chocolate, xylitol (sweetener), and macadamia nuts can be dangerous for dogs. If in doubt about any food, do not feed it until you have verified that it is safe.
- Keep your veterinarian’s number handy. Ask your veterinarian what you should do in the case of an after-hours emergency. Keep the number for ASPCA poison control handy (888.426.4435) and contact information for any family members or neighbors who will be able to help you if you are held up and cannot get back to your puppy.
- Puppies do not typically come with door manners. Use a baby gate to block your front hallway or otherwise prevent puppy from escaping your home. This is even more critical if you do not have a fenced yard around your house, and if you live near a road.
- Keep identification tags on a well fitted buckle collar. Collar should be just snug enough that it will not pull off over puppy’s head. Regularly check fit as puppy grows. Consider micro-chipping your pet.
- Keep your puppy up to date with all recommended vaccinations. Avoid exposing your puppy to environments that might have been visited by un-vaccinated dogs.
- Ask your veterinarian about the safest options for car travel with your pet. Some options include seat belt harnesses and crates.
- Always maintain control of your puppy. Fences, leashes, long lines, crates, tethers – and above all – supervision will help keep puppy safe.
- EXTRA CREDIT: Consider taking a pet first aid class. Consider purchasing a health insurance policy for your puppy.
Preventing mistakes is an essential element of your housetraining plan. The way to do this is to supervise or confine puppy 100% of the time. Take puppy out often, particularly after eating, playing, napping, or chewing. Learn the signs that puppy needs out, and react calmly and quickly. say “outside” in a pleasant tone and gently and immediately take puppy outside.
SUPERVISION is necessary any time that puppy is not confined. When supervising puppy make sure that your eyes are on her all the time, and that you are taking her out whenever she changes activities, seems like she might need to go, and when it has been a while since she was last out.
- STICK TO A SCHEDULE: What goes in, must come out. Feeding puppy regular meals makes it easier to predict when he’ll need out. You can relax the schedule once you have mastered housetraining. Always have fresh water available.
- TAKE PUPPY OUT OFTEN: Take puppy out after eating, playing, napping, chewing, greetings, excitement, and after any confinement.
- KEEP A JOURNAL: Track when puppy goes so that you can learn her routine. This will help you learn her signs and also to predict when she may need to be taken out.
- MEASURE PROGRESS: Count your accidents, and see them be fewer each week. That’s how you’ll know whether your plan is working or if you need help. Two weeks without an accident means you can begin to relax.
CLEAN UP MESSES PROMPTLY
While many products will cover up odor to our satisfaction, only an enzymatic cleaner will properly break down the odors that make soiled areas so attractive to puppy as a potty spot. Don’t skimp on cleaner, and if you are not sure you have found all soiled areas consider using a black-light to illuminate them.
Always be aware of where puppy is, how long she must be there, and who is the person responsible for preventing (and therefore cleaning up) mistakes.