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The Complete Puppy-Proofing Checklist
The house the way a puppy experiences it: floor level, dangling, and delicious, audited room by room.
Puppies don't browse hazards: they audit them, with their mouths, at floor level, faster than you can react. This checklist covers the house the way a puppy actually experiences it: everything below knee height, everything that dangles, everything that smells like you.
Before the puppy comes home
- Floor sweep at puppy eye level, literally kneel down and look: cords, batteries, coins, hair ties, socks
- Move all medications, supplements and vitamins into a latched cabinet above counter height
- Audit houseplants against the plants list; rehome or elevate the toxic ones
- Trash cans: lidded or behind doors, kitchen AND bathrooms
- Chemical floor-level cabinets (under sinks): latches or relocation
- Garage: antifreeze, baits and fertilizer onto high shelves, or make the garage off-limits entirely
The puppy-specific hazards adults ignore
- Electrical cords: the #1 puppy-specific chew; use cord covers or bitter spray
- Shoes, socks and underwear: the classic obstruction surgeries
- Children's toys and squeakers: swallowed whole
- Rawhide and inappropriate chews: size and supervise
- Purses and backpacks of visitors: gum, meds, snacks at floor level the moment they're set down
Set up before you need it
- Save the poison-control numbers now: ASPCA (888) 426-4435 · Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661
- Know your nearest 24-hour emergency clinic and its drive time
- Get a weight on your puppy at every vet visit: every toxicity calculation needs it
- Bookmark the checker for the 2 a.m. 'he ate WHAT?' moments
The mindset
Puppy-proofing isn't a one-time project: re-audit every few months as your puppy gets taller, bolder and better at counters. The house that was safe for a 10-week-old is not safe for a 6-month-old with springs for legs.
More DogSafe guides
Sources: ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center; Pet Poison Helpline. This page is a general reference and not a substitute for veterinary advice. If your dog is in distress, contact your veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital immediately.