Inside: Preventing A New & Lovely Puppy From Escaping Your Household. Collaborative post.
New puppies are very lovely little creatures, and can become wonderful additions to the family as they grow and your bond deepens. But it’s also true that they can be very mischievous. Even if they’re totally content in your household, their natural curiosity and lack of self-control will lead them to sprint for ‘freedom’ as soon as they can see it, unless being trained properly to the point where you can take them off-leash during walks in the local park.
While we can generally trust cats to return home after exploring outside, it’s true to say that we need to make sure our puppies and dogs have no way of escaping our home and getting themselves into trouble or harm’s way. In this post, then, we’ll discuss a few measures of achieving that properly, curating a few property installations and practices you can use to never have to worry.
Of course, a good social support net can be healthy, especially if you’re on good terms with your neighbors and they know what your dog looks like if they ever escape, but we don’t want to reach that point in the first place. So, let’s consider:
Properly Installed Fencing
There are many fence types out there, but even a small hole can be a great opportunity for a creative puppy to use. And don’t forget, this is around the time they begin to learn how to dig, so a small hole could become a large accessway given time, effort and their singular puppy purpose. This is why slat fencing can be so secure, as it not only gives you privacy, but prevents anywhere your puppy can escape from.
A Process For Opening Doors
It’s important to make sure that your family comes together and agree on how to open doors once the puppy is in the home. Looking around twice before opening, or making sure the inner porch door is closed and free of puppies before you open the outer door can help you ensure that an energetic little dog that has become accustomed to following you around everywhere won’t do so at the most opportune time. You can also keep leashes close to the doors to make sure you can apply it in an emergency.
Safety Gates
Safety gates can not only prevent a puppy from escaping your house as a last-ditch effort, but also prevent them from accessing certain areas of your household that are unsafe or could lead outside. For instance, the inside door that leads to your garage area can be a place that your puppy may not be suitable for, but their curiosity will not prevent them from trying to explore. A nice safety gate can help with that, as can having them at the top and bottom of your stairs so they can’t climb and potentially jump on beds and windowsills.
With this advice, we hope you can keep your puppy safe, cared for, and of course, home.