Before you bring your new puppy home, you need to get your house ready. You need to make sure that your home provides a safe environment for you curious puppy and you also need to remove things that she might possibly ruin during this time.
Once you’ve decided to bring a new puppy into your family, you have to change a lot of the things you’ve been doing, including your schedule, but most importantly your own home. From your puppy’s first night onward you need to make sure you home is safe and comfortable for your puppy, before you even begin thinking about how to potty train a puppy.
Of course you want to remove anything that could hurt your young dog, but you also want to keep things out of her reach that she could ruin. A new puppy will likely chew on things left laying around the house. I once had my new leather wallet chewed apart including some of the card inside. Get down on the floor, at the level your puppy will be seeing the world, to get a good perspective on what she’ll see.
Puppies will also chew on things like books, electrical cords, purses and other items left laying around. It’s a good idea to take a thorough sweep of your house and remove any small item that might get chewed on and ruined or even possibly swallowed.
- Make sure your garbage is not accessible to prying little noses.
- Be sure that all toxic cleaning materials are safely locked away.
- Find out if any of your house plants are toxic to dogs, and if so, keep them out of reach or even give them to a friend.
- Tie up the cords to your curtains and drapes.
- Block off any rooms that you don’t want your puppy to have access to.
- Keep electrical cords out of reach, safely tucked behind furniture. Unplug anything that doesn’t have to be plugged in.
For the first couple days certainly, but perhaps even longer, your new puppy will need to be heavily supervised. Don’t leave your puppy alone in the house for any extended length of time. If you need to step away for a short bit, you can get an exercise pen, a crate or simply choose a small room where she can be safe. Don’t rely on this for any great period of time. Your puppy has a small bladder at this point and will likely not be able to hold it for long.