When you get a new puppy or kitten, you need to think about things from their perspective. Like little children, they test new items by tasting them. For the safety of your new companion, you should pet-proof your home. Here are a few of the things you should look out for:
- Antifreeze: because of its sweet flavor, antifreeze is tempting. It’s also extremely toxic and almost invariably fatal when ingested.
- Various cleaning supplies, bleach, pesticides, fertilizer can all be toxic. Be sure to store them safely out of reach.
- Electrical cords. Secure cords away from inquisitive puppy teeth or secure the puppy away from cords.
- Automatic garage door openers. Pets are often crushed by garage doors, so check to make sure that no animals are hiding nearby before you close the door.
- Sweets, especially chocolate can make pets seriously ill.
- Toys can be hazardous if they fall apart and big pieces are ingested. Carefully monitor your pets chewing habits and take away any problematic toys.
- Cigarette butts can cause nicotine poisioning if eaten.
- Indoor Plants. Certain house plants are poisonous, including: chrysanthemum, poinsettia, pot mums, spider mums, arrowhead vine, Boston ivy, colodium, drunk cane, philodendrum, neththytis, parlor ivy, amaryllis, azalea, creeping charlie, majesty, elephant ears, jeruselum cherry, umbrella plant, ripple ivy, mistletoe, English ivy, and narcissus.
- Outdoor plants (this is covered in another article called Pet Proofing revisited.)