Need to Puppy-Proof Your Home for A German Shepherd? Here are 12 Essential Steps
German shepherd puppies are busy dogs. Curious and adventurous, there’s no shortage of things that will capture their chewing interest in and outside your home.
While you can’t control everything they can potentially get into daily, you do have control over the environment inside your house. The best way you can protect your active puppy is to puppy proof your house before you even bring them home.
Your puppy is sure to keep you on your toes and will take plenty of your time and attention. Between acclimating them to their new home, potty training, and getting them on a schedule, you’ll have your hands full.
This is another reason that puppy proofing should take place sooner rather than later. The last thing you want to be stressing about is trying to protect your home on the fly rather than enjoying your new dog.
Puppy proofing will not only help keep your puppy and your belongings safe, it will help set them up for success. Rather than constantly trying to correct them for getting into things they find lying around, you can focus on protecting the important things, like your furniture.
Here are 12 simple steps to puppy-proof your home.
- Hold a family meeting
Before you bring your puppy home, hold a family meeting. Establish some ground rules and be sure everyone is on board and knows what their role in the puppy’s care is. Some things to talk about include:
- Who will clean up after the puppy?
- Where will the puppy sleep?
- What are the plans for potty training?
- What is the feeding schedule?
- What are the training goals and expectations?
- Will the puppy be allowed on the furniture?
- Are any rooms off-limits?
- What is the role of everyone to keep their belongings safe from the new puppy?
While these things may not seem like puppy-proofing, they play an important role in the puppy’s health and well-being. It will help with puppy-proofing by managing the expectations and role of each person in the house and the sacrifices they will have to make to keep the puppy safe and cared for.
- Pick up all the stuff lying around
Before you bring your puppy home, pick up all of your belongings. Things like shoes, socks, books, human toys, electronic games, all items containing batteries, etc. should be put out of the puppy’s reach. Be sure all valuable rugs, decor items, throw pillows, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, trash, electrical cords, etc. are kept safe from your new puppy’s sharp teeth. Make sure everyone has a plan for where they’ll store their purse, backpacks, shoes, etc. as they come and go.
- Keep food, medications, and vitamins put away
Before you know it, your puppy will be able to steal from counters and tabletops. Keep all food away from the puppy and be sure everyone in the family is keeping food safe. If snacks are kept in the bedroom or other room, designate a place, such as a drawer or closet.
Don’t throw food trash where the puppy can find it. Be sure to keep all sugar-free food containing Xylitol (such as sugar-free gum and candy) and other toxic foods (such as dark chocolate), far away from the puppy. Or, even better, keep everything toxic out of the house.
Be sure tempting food trash such as chicken bones and bacon grease are disposed of outside where the puppy can’t get to it. Don’t leave food on the stove or other hot items within the puppy’s reach.
Make sure all medications, vitamins, essential oils, balms, and lotions are kept secure from your puppy.
- Invest in secure trash cans
Buy trash cans with lids for each room in the house, including bedrooms and bathrooms. Be sure that all personal hygiene and food trash makes it outside or into a designated, secure trash can. Teach the puppy to leave the trash cans alone.
- Verify houseplants are dog-safe
Be sure to get rid of all poisonous house plants (this goes for outside, too). Many common plants are very toxic for dogs, such as sego palms, tulips, oleander, lily of the valley, philodendrons, azaleas, succulents, dieffenbachia, cyclamen, crocus, aloe, mistletoe, poinsettia, just to name a few. Here is a more comprehensive list of poisonous plants.
- Hide electrical cords
Hide all electrical cords. If hiding the cords is impossible, purchase electrical cord wrapping and limit your puppy’s access to charging stations, electronics, lamps, phone chargers, computers, television, sound systems, and more.
- Secure curtains and blinds
Pulling on curtains and blinds can be great fun for puppies and are attractive because they soon learn it gives them a view of the outside world. Cords from curtains and blinds can also pose a strangulation risk.
- Secure cupboards
German shepherd puppies are super smart. They can easily learn to open cupboards and drawers. Investing in child-proof locks will help prevent them from accessing your belongings when you’re not home.
- Secure screens, doors, and gates
German shepherds are very curious and love to explore. Be sure that your new puppy can’t escape through a screen door, window screen, or gate that doesn’t close securely.
- Invest in an exercise pen
No matter how much you enjoy having your puppy by your side, there will be moments when it’s just not practical. For these times, an exercise pen is a perfect way to contain your puppy while providing them more room than a crate offers. It will also help teach your puppy to be comfortable entertaining themselves or resting in their special place.
- Buy a crate
This brings us to the next subject, crate training. While some people don’t feel comfortable with crate training, it can be a very useful life skill for your puppy to have. Not only will it provide a young puppy with a safe space, but it can also help with potty training.
But crate training is useful for much more. Such as, if your puppy ever has to be hospitalized, travel in a crate, or be confined in some sort of emergency, having them comfortable with while in a crate can greatly reduce their anxiety and yours.
- Be prepared with the right supplies
Before your puppy arrives, go shopping. Some things you’ll want to purchase may include:
- Enzymatic cleaner
- Pet stain remover
- Puppy shampoo and conditioner
- Grooming supplies
- Baby wipes
- Dog bed
- Washable rugs
- Large breed puppy food
- Food and water dishes
- Absorbent food mat
- Leash
- Collar
- Harness
- ID tags
- Crate
- Exercise pen
- Baby gate
- Training rewards
- Treats
- Toys
- Chews
We hope these steps help you prepare for your new puppy so that you can concentrate on having fun with them. As always, please feel free to share with your friends.
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