I, Mark Roemer, know it is an exciting time when you get the chance to bring a new puppy home to your apartment. After all, you’re going to be getting a new best friend! Keeping your apartment secure for your new puppy does take quite a bit of planning, however. Failure to plan could cause your rental to be destroyed, which could mean losing your security deposit. In reality, only a small percentage of renters said they lost their deposit due to damage done by a pet.

Prior to your newest addition to the family comes home, make sure your puppy adoption is a totally happy experience by puppy-proofing the apartment ahead of time. Below, you will find numerous ways that you can have your home comfortable, safe, and healthy for your new puppy friend.

Latch Those Doors

While you may be aware that kitchen cleaner is poisonous, your new puppy does not know how to read bottles. Therefore, they will not know that it can break and leak into their mouth when they are chewing on it. Instead, make sure that the bottles are kept away from places they can access. Since you possibly store cleaners and other chemicals in your entire apartment on the lower shelves, you must prevent your dog from invading! When it comes to getting into stuff they shouldn’t, dogs can be pretty darn smart. You are going to have to outthink your tiny new addition.

Something that you can do is act as if you have a child. At the end of the day, that is essentially what you are getting. Both children and puppies can be quite curious. These devices are designed for someone that can use critical thinking skills. For example, when it comes to working these locks, you have two perks that your dog doesn’t: opposable thumbs.

Cover Your Trash

The saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure couldn’t be more accurate for a puppy. As such, puppies prefer to search through trash, among other items, to find the food you dumped after dinner. Make sure all the trash cans in your apartment have been adequately secured. If I had one suggestion, I would say to make sure your trashcans come with a locking ability.

When purchasing a can, don’t skimp. Some versions are effortless to open, even for dogs that have no idea what a trashcan is. To decide how easy it is to open, play around with the garbage can in the shop. If you find it too easy to open, opt for another trashcan. The trashcan should be challenging to open rather than taking several trips to the vet to look after a sick dog. Garbage cans in the bathroom, dining room, and bedroom should be just as challenging to manage as the ones you get for your kitchen. Dogs tend to roam around the house, and you can’t have eyes on them at all times.

Conceal all Cords

The main reason for puppy-proofing your apartment is that anything might be a chewing toy in the eyes of your new pet. Though your slippers are not capable of harming him, a power cord could do it. Go through your house and make sure all of your assorted cables are off the floor, out of reach, or hidden away. This includes the cords you have plugged into phones and other mobile devices. Consider positioning furniture in front of sockets, pulling power strips through a cable-managing tube on top of tables, or running cords under the carpet.

Use Your Closet

Just as much as you are going to get addicted to your new puppy, they are going to get addicted to you. While one of the advantages of this attachment is being able to cuddle with your four-legged friend, his affection can be frustrating at times, mainly when he chews on your favorite things.

Dogs are attracted to stuff that smells like their owner. In their world, your shoes, hats, and clothing are all fair game. Fortunately, apartments now come with a storage unit for extra items. It would be smart if you not only freed up some space in your apartment but also kept things away from your pet!

Door-mounted shoe racks and other accessories can be purchased that will keep your belongings protected behind closed closet doors. Just make sure that you put them away when you are finished using them to keep them away from the puppy.

Form a Blockade

In your dog’s eyes, the space under your bed or behind the sofa looks super-fun. Those places, however, may contain fallen debris that you don’t want him to eat. If there are items that have rolled under your bed (e.g., bobby pins, needles, or socks), they may succumb to the antics of your new pup.

Blocking access to these narrow spaces is your first line of defense. By using boards, you can create blockades or simply position other furniture in front of access points. Your puppy will eventually grow too large to be able to fit into those areas anyway.

Get Down to His Level

Now that you have equipped your apartment with childproof cabinet locks, enclosed garbage bins, secret cables, cabinet contraptions, and blockades, you are now ready to step into the paws of your new pet.

Get down and snoop around your apartment on the ground as if you were a puppy. Do you see crumbs that you didn’t find before under the desk? Does it seem doable to crawl under the bed? What about a toilet seat for you? Is that up? (Puppies enjoy drinking from the bowl of an open toilet).

Make changes when you scour your apartment so that when you bring home your dog for the first time, all is in order.

Conclusion

I, Mark Roemer, know that getting a pet can be something quite special. I also know that they are a lot of work. If you take the time to prepare before your pet arrives, you will save yourself a lot of headaches in the future. I wish you the best of luck with your new friend.