10 Ways to Dog Proof Your Home

Even after he has grown out of his mischievous puppy ways, your dog is still a curious animal by nature—wanting to stick his nose in unexplored territory, even if that territory poses a potential danger. Adult dogs need protection in the home just as much as puppies. To ensure your precious pooch is protected from harm, check out these 10 easy ways to dog proof your home.

Dog Proof Your Home: Inside

1. Keep all medications, vitamins, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and other chemicals out of your dog’s reach. Ingestion of these substances may cause serious illness and may even be fatal.

2. Use childproof latches on cabinets that contain potentially harmful substances, so that your dog is unable to get a hold of any of the substances. It is also a good idea to secure your toilet bowl with childproof latches to prevent—especially if you use sanitizing flush products that are dangerous to animals—as well as garbage cans.

3. Ensure that poisonous foods such as chocolate or avocados are out of range of your dog. 

4. Move all common household plants such as lilies, poinsettias, or chrysanthemums—to name a few—as they are poisonous to dogs if ingested. For a comprehensive list of common poisonous plants, read Petside’s article here.

5. Keep all sharp objects and small objects or children’s toys off of the floor or within your dog’s reach. Your dog’s paws and mouth can be cut if she gets a hold of a sharp object and small objects or toys can be easily ingested,

6. Make sure your dog has a few good chew toys to keep him occupied, so that he doesn’t resort to chewing electric wire, your brand new shoes, or other dangerous objects.

Dog Proof Your Home: Outside

7. Make sure your yard is gated either with a physical fence or a wireless fence to prevent your dog from running outside the yard into potential danger.

8. Keep your dog cool on those stifling summer days by placing a doghouse in a shady part of the yard. Make sure the doghouse is cleaned regularly.

9. Provide your dog with fresh water to keep her hydrated while she is playing in the backyard. You may want to consider installing a circulating water feature to best ensure your dog is hydrated and refueling with plenty of water.

10. Place a barrier in front of your garden or flower bed to protect your dog from getting into the garden and possibly ingesting poisonous plants. This barrier could be a small gate or even thorny or textured flowers like roses or lavender as dogs do not like such plants and will thus stay away from them and, consequentially, your garden.