Puppy Proofing Your Home

Unless you live in a Tiny Home, it’s not usually realistic to puppy proof (and maintain) the entire home. And you really don’t have to!

Exercise pens are great for blocking Puppy’s access to non-puppy-proof areas of the home.

Instead, I prefer to use step-through baby gates to create a Puppy Area within your home. This is the space you’ll “puppy proof,” and where you’ll spend time with Puppy when she’s not in her kennel or in the yard to toilet. Pick an area in the heart of the home (like the kitchen or living space) so you can passively supervise while working on other things.

When it comes to puppy proofing that space, I recommend removing as many illegal things as possible. Things like:

• Area or accent rugs

• Hand towels

• Purses/bags/backpacks

• Decorative items such as baskets

• Plants

• Shoes

• Laundry

If puppy should not put her mouth on it, and you can physically remove it, do so. Trust me — it’s so much easier than the alternative!

Your puppy will want to put her mouth on stuff so make sure to provide plenty of legal options, of varying textures and materials, to satisfy that need. Setting her up for success means you make it incredibly easy to select the right item and incredibly difficult to select the wrong item.