Puppy-Proofing Checklist: Every Room Before Your Puppy Arrives
Puppies explore with their mouths. This checklist walks through every room — living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, garage and yard — with what to move, lock away or set up before your puppy arrives. Every tip links to its source.
23 tips · 14 to do first · 22 renter-friendly
🏠 Whole home
Keep dryer sheets out of reach
Store new and used dryer sheets in a closed container or bin.
The ASPCA says chewing a dryer sheet can cause mouth ulcers, and swallowing enough sheets, new or used, can cause an intestinal blockage.
Source: ASPCA — Pet poisons: household products and cleaning agents
Keep flat-faced pets cool on hot days
On hot days, keep Pugs, Persians and other flat-faced pets in the coolest, air-conditioned room.
The ASPCA says animals with flat faces, like Pugs and Persian cats, are more susceptible to heat stroke and should be kept cool in air-conditioned rooms as much as possible.
Source: ASPCA — Hot weather safety tips
🛋️ Living room
Check every houseplant against the ASPCA list
Look up each plant you own by its exact name, and move or rehome any that are toxic to your pet. Our plant checker uses the ASPCA's list.
The ASPCA keeps a database of plants toxic and non-toxic to dogs and cats. It says the list is not all-inclusive and to check the plant's exact name. If your pet eats a plant, call your vet or the ASPCA's 24-hour poison hotline.
Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control — Toxic and non-toxic plants
Get electrical cords out of reach
Unplug cords you are not using, move the rest out of reach, or run them through cord covers.
AKC says puppies chew on anything in sight, and that chewed cords can cause electrocution.
Source: AKC — Puppy-proofing your home and yard; AKC — How to prepare your apartment for a new puppy
Set up one puppy-proofed room
Pick one room or area for your puppy to eat, drink, sleep and play in, and close it off with a dog gate. Until your puppy is trained, a room without carpet or furniture is best.
AKC suggests keeping a new puppy to one room at first, using dog gates to separate spaces, and avoiding rooms with carpet or furniture until the puppy is trained.
Get a crate that fits your dog
Choose a crate your dog can sit, stand and lie down in comfortably: measure height and length and add 3 to 4 inches. For a puppy, buy one with a divider and widen it as they grow. Put it where the family spends time.
AKC says a crate should give room to sit, stand and lie down but not be too large, recommends adding 3 to 4 inches to your dog's height and length, suggests a divider for puppies, and placing the crate where the family hangs out.
Tie up blind cords
Wrap or clip the cords that raise blinds high up, out of reach.
AKC's puppy-proofing list includes securing blind cords so they can't get caught around a puppy's neck.
🍳 Kitchen
Keep dangerous foods off counters
Keep chocolate, grapes and raisins, onions, garlic, macadamia nuts, alcohol, caffeine and raw bread dough out of reach, and never share them.
All of these are on the FDA list of foods that are dangerous for pets. If your pet eats something on it, the FDA advises calling your vet or a pet poison control center right away.
Keep sugar-free gum and xylitol products out of reach
Keep sugar-free gum and candy, and products that may contain xylitol, well out of reach and out of bags left on the floor. Check the labels of nut butters before sharing.
The FDA warns that xylitol is dangerous for dogs. It may be in gum, sugar-free candy, breath mints, baked goods, some peanut and nut butters, toothpaste, chewable vitamins and some medicines. If your dog eats it, call your vet or a pet poison control center at once.
Store cleaning products up high or latched
Move cleaning products into a high cupboard, or fit childproof latches on the low ones.
AKC advises keeping cleaning supplies in high cabinets or behind doors with childproof latches.
Use a trash can your dog cannot open
Use a trash can with a locking lid, or keep it inside a closed cupboard.
Securing trash cans is on AKC's puppy-proofing list.
🛏️ Bedroom
Pick up shoes and small objects
Keep shoes, glasses, coins, hair ties, jewelry and other small items in closed bins or drawers.
AKC says puppies chew because they're teething, and recommends putting away small items that are choking hazards and keeping shoes and glasses where the puppy can't get them.
Source: AKC — Puppy-proofing your home and yard; AKC — How to prepare your apartment for a new puppy
🛁 Bathroom
Put every medication away
Keep all medications, including pill bottles and pill organizers, in a closed cupboard, not on bathroom counters, nightstands or low tables.
AKC advises against keeping medications, even in bottles or dispensers, on low tables, bathroom counters or nightstands.
Keep pets out of the room while you clean
Close the door while you use strong cleaners in the bathroom or kitchen, and let floors and carpets dry before your pet comes back.
The ASPCA advises keeping pets out of the area when using any potentially toxic product and letting carpets dry first. Cats Protection suggests closing the door when you use strong cleaners in sinks or toilets.
Source: ASPCA — Pet poisons: household products and cleaning agents; Cats Protection — Keeping your cat safe in the home
Keep toilet lids closed
Make closing the toilet lid a household habit.
AKC says closed lids stop a puppy drinking from the toilet or falling in.
🚪 Hallway & entrance
Keep outside doors and windows closed
Make it a household rule to close outside doors, gates and low windows behind you.
AKC advises keeping doors and windows closed so a puppy can't escape or fall out.
Lock away antifreeze, rat bait and insect killers
Keep antifreeze, rat and mouse bait, insecticides, mothballs, paints and solvents in a closed cupboard, including in the garage or shed.
Cats Protection advises keeping antifreeze, rat or mouse poisons and insect killers in a cupboard away from your cat. All of these are on the FDA list of household items that are dangerous for pets.
Source: Cats Protection — Keeping your cat safe in the home; FDA — Potentially dangerous items for your pet
Store knives, razors and tools out of reach
Put knives, scissors, razors and tools away in drawers or high storage, including in the garage or shed.
AKC advises keeping all sharp objects, including knives, scissors, razors and tools, out of your dog's reach.
🌳 Yard or garden
Check the fence for gaps and height
Walk the fence line: it should be high enough that your dog cannot jump it, with no gaps to squeeze through. Fence off an in-ground pool.
AKC recommends a fence high enough to prevent jumping and a fence around in-ground pools so a puppy can't fall in.
Give your dog shade and fresh water outside
Make sure there is always a shady spot and a bowl of fresh water in the yard, and bring your dog in when it is very hot.
The ASPCA says pets can get dehydrated quickly in hot or humid weather, need plenty of fresh water and a shady place out of the sun, and should be kept indoors when it's extremely hot.
Source: ASPCA — Hot weather safety tips
Never leave your dog alone by a pool
Stay with your dog whenever they are near a pool, and fence or cover it when you are not there.
The ASPCA advises never leaving pets unsupervised around a pool, and AKC recommends a fence around in-ground pools so a puppy can't fall in.
Source: ASPCA — Hot weather safety tips; AKC — Puppy-proofing your home and yard
Keep your dog off freshly treated lawns and remove toxic plants
Keep your dog away from parts of the yard recently treated with fertilizer, pesticide or insecticide, and pull out toxic plants.
Both are on AKC's puppy-proofing list for the yard.
Skip cocoa mulch and store yard chemicals
Use a different mulch than cocoa mulch, and keep lawn fertilizer, weed killer, ice melt and pool chemicals locked away.
Cocoa mulch, lawn fertilizers and weed killers, ice-melting products and swimming pool chemicals are all on the FDA list of items that are dangerous for pets.
How we choose these tips
Every tip is written from published guidance — Cornell University, International Cat Care, the ASPCA, the FDA, the AKC, the House Rabbit Society and the Rabbit Welfare Association — and links to its source. Tips that need drilling or a permanent change are marked, so renters can check their lease first. This checklist is a starting point, not a safety inspection.