My Fire Hydrant

The chewing menace

(Yes, that terrifying face to the left is my sweet Tyler.) Puppies chew things, this is a fact of life. Once I knew Tyler would be coming home with me, I realized I needed to do some puppy proofing. Because of Bailey, I felt confident that we already had a dog-safe environment. But I knew I needed to look again because Bailey was an older dog and trained to what she could and could not touch. Tyler would be interested in everything, and would want to explore his new world using all his senses—especially his sense of taste.

Things I looked at:

• Shoe storage
• Exposed electrical cables and extension cords
• Stuffed animals on the floor
• Puppy-available boxes of tissues or rolls of toilet paper
• Baby gates
• Plants 

Tyler is lovin' da chew!

I focused a good deal of my attention in the area of my office and my bedroom—two places I knew Tyler would spend most of his unsupervised time.

I’ve grown sloppy about where I leave my shoes. Where ever I take them off, that’s where they sit. Bailey hadn’t bothered my shoes for many years, but I knew Tyler would be different. So I set a new habit for myself. I cleaned out the bottom drawer of my dresser, and the shoes I wear most often now live here when they’re not on my feet.

Shoes in the Drawer

As I looked around I also realized that we’ve got several places in our house where there are exposed electrical cords.

Before: Loose Cables

I purchased some clear plastic boxes that fit underneath furniture, and that don’t look too obtrusive. The cables can all be bundled into the plastic box, and if needed, a small hole can be cut in the lid to let the cable through, leaving the bulk of the wires and cable unavailable to puppy teeth.

After: Cables in a Box

We had taken down some of our baby gates after Bailey left us. I put them back in place.

Babygate

I think it’s really worth the money to buy good baby gates. They’re stronger, and they look nice. For me, it was definitely worth making the gates permanent by attaching them to the doorways. We have one on each of our three bedrooms.

What is it about tissues and toilet paper that drives dogs wild? I know Bailey was not alone in her habit of grabbing a tissue and eating it whenever the opportunity presented itself. And you could not let that dog near a roll of toilet paper—she would decorate the house and then eat it all! Tissues and TP were not going to be an issue where Tyler was concerned because we never got out of the habit of keeping both out of doggie/puppy reach.

I had to move some stuffed toys to a higher level in my bedroom. And all of our houseplants were up on tables—so Tyler would not be able to chew on them.

Lastly, I got down on my hands and knees for a puppy-eyed view of stuff that might interest an inquisitive and energetic little pooch. Seemed like I had everything covered.

Wrong! I forgot our patio and terrace. So I’ve spent my weekend puppy proofing the garden.  

It started with the gate. I was doing some yard work last Sunday and Tyler watched me open the garden gate and go through it. That was all it took—he wanted to follow me and tried to go right between the slats of the fence. So a quick trip to the hardware center and I had some plastic ornamental garden fence which I attached (upside down) to the gate.

Tyler at the Gate

But now he knew how easy it would be to slip through the fence slats. So I spent this weekend puppy-proofing the fence.

The wild jungle we thought would hold Tyler back

I needed to clean out the weeds along the bottom of the fence anyway.

Adding the plastic fencing

To fix the fence so Tyler can’t squeeze through, I purchased some plastic fencing and some zip cords (like electricians use to bundle cables).

Attaching the plastic fence

Plastic fence

Now, Tyler can’t slip through. I think he’s annoyed.

Tyler can't get out!