Dog-Proofing

If you intend to keep your house in any semblance of order, you're going to need to dog-proof it. There are three ways to do this: block things off, make things unattractive, and move things you already own. We can give you advice about all of these, but we can only give shopping recommendations on the first two.

Dog-proofing and equipping your home is no good if the dogs aren't housebroken.

Block Off

Your dogs, especially puppies, will likely fall and slip into, onto, and off of anything they can get their little paws on. This includes: down stairs, out of windows, and into pools and tubs. How can you prevent this?

Gates  Used to block entrances, hallways, stairs, odd cubbie holes, or fireplaces, or divide off part of a room or yard. For home or car . Come in steel ,plastic , or wood . Installation: Pressure-Mounted : Adjustable feet keep the gate in place; built for doorframes and hallways. Hardware-Mounted : Bring out a power tool; built for precarious spots, like stairs.	Doors  Doggy doors, just like in the movies, are flaps your dog pushes through to pass from room to room or outside to inside without human assistance. Doors are sold with metal  or plastic frames ,flexible , or rigid flaps . Up for the manual labor? Read Install a Doggy Door. If you struggled with the Ikea furniture, you might want to budget for a handyman.

Make Unattractive

Given the chance, your dogs will chew on anything. If you spray the chewable surfaces (table edges, couches, rugs, etc) with bitter apple ,rubbing alcohol ,white vinegar , or other dog repellents  dogs will stay away. Get them toys of their own to keep away from yours.

Move What You Already Own

Dogs will chew and knock over everything they can. If you don't want them doing that, move it, buddy. Anything left on the floor will become a default dog toy, whether you like it or not.

• Especially bad: cords, choking hazards, trash cans, chemicals (especially antifreeze), plastic bags, toiletries, bones.
• PetPlace says, "coins, pins, needles, rubber bands, paper clips, staples, nails, screws, yarn, thread, dental floss, earrings and other small jewelry, bells and small balls."
• Don't forget your lawn. If your dog plays on it, make sure it's free of hazardous chemicals and chewable lawn ornaments as well.
• These rules don't change on special occasions. If there's a holiday, birthday, or party and you have loads of streamers, tinsel, or ribbons, make sure to keep them away from the dogs as well.