Puppy's First Steps

On the forty-second page of “Puppy's First Steps: A Whole-Dog Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Puppy” the faculty of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University wrote (some emphasis added):

Remember, a crate is a place where your pup should feel that he never has to watch his back, even if he is watching others. It should become his haven, his retreat, like a teenager's bedroom. For the most part, the door should be kept open, but you can nonchalantly close it for a few minutes here and there so your pup becomes acclimated to staying inside in preparation for housetraining sessions.

Things Not to Have on Hand

At the same time you want to buy for the puppy everything that will make him comfortable and secure, you also want to puppy-proof the house. That means, first of all, not leaving electric wires festooned around the rooms; make sure they are taugt and out of the pup's reach, if possible, so he cannot chew through them and get a serious electric jolt. Throw drapes and tablecloths over railings or the back of a chair so the puppy won't tousle them. Keep cords, including phone cords, well out of harm's way. Secure closet doors and cupboards near the ground. Puppies love getting into things that should be off-limits. (Adult dogs don't have so much of that babyish curiosity that leads them to places and things verboten.) By the same token, elevate above puppy height items that you don't want chewed or broken. (Many people start the new puppy in the kitchen. Get the Ming vase out of there.)

You may want to put up kiddie gates in certain places, for instance at the bottom of the stairs, if you don't want your new pup wandering around upstairs by himself. And if you don't want him sniffing around the rand piano or the good furniture, create a barrier to the formal living room. Where you do let him wander, make sure the floor is easy to clean in the event of an accident. (Expect accidents at first.)

Of course, keep items toxic to dogs well out of reach. These include the following:

All household cleaners. These do not taste good to dogs, so poisoning from soaps, detergents, and so on is uncommon.

All medicines. Many are coated, which makes them palatable. A dog can eat an entire bottle of ibuprofen in a single sitting. Even one or two pills are potentially dangerous. Many drugs that are okay for humans are toxic to dogs. Don't ever assume, "It works for me, so it's okay for my pup."

More information about “Puppy's First Steps: A Whole-Dog Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Puppy” (and the book itself) is available from:

• Amazon.com
• Barnes & Noble
• Powell's Books

(Houghton Mifflin Company, July 2008. Paperback, 286 pages. ISBN: 0547053614; EAN: 9780547053615.)