Keeping your puppy safe
KEEPING YOUR PUPPY SAFE
Puppies are naturally curious and will chew on anything, so the home needs to be “puppy-proofed” just as you would for a baby who is beginning to move around. The best bet is to get down to puppy level and look around your home for possible hazards both inside and outside. Here are some things to check for inside the house:
• Electrical cords
• Things on coffee tables
• Tablecloths that hang down
• Trash cans (chicken bones, used razors, dental floss, etc)
• Open toilets, water-filled bathtubs or sinks (drowning)
• Fire places, space heaters
• Cords for blinds and drapes (strangulation)
• Small items like coins and jewelry (choking)
• Close off stairwells
• Cat litter boxes
• Plants
For outside the house (always supervise a puppy when she is outside):
• Plants
• Air conditioner cord or parts
• Landscaping rocks and other materials
• Garage items (gasoline, oil, etc)
• Pools, ponds, and hot tubs
• Fire rings, outdoor grills
• Compost
FOODS THAT ARE HARMFUL TO DOGS
• Alcoholic beverages
• Apple seeds
• Apricot pits
• Avocados
• Cherry pits
• Candy (particularly chocolate and any candy containing the toxic sweetener Xylitol)
• Caffeine
• Coffee (grounds, beans, and chocolate-covered espresso beans)
• Garlic
• Grapes
• Gum (can cause blockages)
• Hops (used in home beer brewing)
• Macadamia nuts
• Moldy foods
• Mushroom plants
• Mustard seeds
• Onions and onion powder
• Peach pits
• Potato leaves and stems (green parts)
• Raisins
• Rhubarb leaves
• Salt
• Tea (because it contains caffeine)
• Tomato leaves and stems (green parts)
• Walnuts
• Xylitol (artificial sweetener)
• Yeast dough
POISONOUS HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
• Human medications, vitamins, etc.
• Alcohol
• Antifreeze, gasoline, etc.
• Glue
• Household cleaners
• Batteries
• Plants and flowers
• Toothpaste (fluoride)
• Dental floss
• Overdose on dog medications
• Fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides
• Rodent poisons
• Drugs: nicotine, marijuana, cocaine, etc.
