This past year has certainly been one for the books in terms of dog adoptions. It seems like everyone and their mother brought a new four-legged family member into their homes. I say this with respect to the fact that my husband and I, my mother and father-in-law, and my brother-in-law all adopted three puppies from the same litter at the end of 2020. (So no, I didn’t survive quarantine without getting puppy fever…I also bought a bike and tried that weird whipped coffee trend.) All this to say, my family and I have become puppy-proofing experts. With all of our heads put together, we’ve saved many couches, power cords, and rugs from a lifted leg and the wrath of puppy teeth (seriously, why are they like tiny knives?). If you find yourself on this blog, I hope you survive the remainder of 2021 without getting the itch for a pup, but odds are you’re already in the hole. So here are my top 2 tried and true ways to get you through the next 12 months of puppy proofing your home:
Crate Training
When people say the cliche “it’s tough but it’s so rewarding,” I truly believe this applies to crate training and crate training alone. The reward here is that you don’t get your furniture ripped to shreds. Why is it so tough? Because it takes about three months. Yup, for three months your dog will scream and cry every time you put them in there. But by the time it’s all said and done, they will actually WANT to be in their crate.
Our puppy, Luka is coming up on being a year old and he will walk into his crate at bedtime and spend the entire night in there. We don’t tell him to go in and we don’t even latch the door anymore–he just goes in on his own terms because he loves it. HOWEVER, the first few months were very rough. Luka absolutely hated the crate and screamed the entire time he was in there. I thought it would never end and that I was scarring him for life. Turns out I actually wasn’t.
Here are the best practices and tips to follow when crate training your puppy:
- Use rewards to coax them into the crate. Throw some treats in, leave the door open, and give them a “good boy/girl” with a belly rub each time they wander in. Eventually they’ll see being in there as a positive if you reward the behavior.
- Turn on some soothing music. If you have an Alexa enabled device, say “Alexa, play calm my dog,” and an endless stream of classical music will follow. It’s amazing how well this worked for our pup.
- Never exceed 3 hours. I wouldn’t wanna be in a crate by myself for three hours either. There must be something scientific here, but I’m no scientist, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one.
No-Chew Spray
My husband and I just recently purchased some no-chew spray, and man do I wish we would’ve invested in it earlier. This stuff has really saved our butts. We purchased a white couch in May. Retrospectively, this was a horrible decision: We own two dogs (obviously, one being a puppy), so we have no business owning such an immaculate piece of furniture. Right out of the gates we were overly cautious of the thing getting completely WWE-style smacked down by eight hyper-active paws and (I’m not gonna count how many) shiv teeth. My husband saved the day with a quick $15 Amazon purchase and a quick spray down of our biggest adult purchase to date. Now, if there’s anything we don’t want the dogs to get a hold of we simply coat it with the disgusting taste of a very very bitter apple and viola, they want nothing to do with it.
Here are two ways you can utilize the cosmic power of a no-chew spray in puppy proofing your home:
- Buy one on Amazon. Here is the link to ours, although there are tons of great options.
- Make a DIY Spray. Mix together 1 cup of white vinegar and 2 cups of apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and go ham on your precious belongings.
I hope you’re strapped in and ready for the upcoming months of puppy proofing your home. Odds are, even though you’ll try your hardest to implement these things, you’re still gonna lose some pillows and get some teeth marks on your furniture. It sounds cheesy but it’s all gonna be worth it in the end, because you’ll have gained a best friend and a family member. You can always buy a new pillow and more no-chew spray, but your pup is gonna love you for their entire lifetime, and you just can’t replace that.
Want to learn more about life with your new dog? Check out these posts:
Working From Home With Your Dog
5 Pet-Friendly Plants for Your Home
The Dog Parent’s Guide to Keeping an Organized House
