Bringing home a new puppy is very exciting, but puppies are a lot of work and they have a lot of needs. Are you ready?
You’ll not only need to puppy-proof your home or apartment, but also gather items for the puppy to play with, eat from, enjoy the outdoors with, and more. Check out these apartment essentials for puppies that you may not have even known you’ll need.
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4 Apartment Essentials for Puppies
Puppy-Proof Furniture
Puppies chew anything and everything they can get their little mouths around, especially during the teething process.
They may also have accidents before they’re fully trained—not to mention, many breeds are sure to shed. Take steps to protect your furniture by investing in pet covers for your couch and other important pieces of furniture.
You may also want to wrap the legs of your furniture in a protective layer for the first few months of your puppy’s life with you. This gives you time to train your new furry friend not to chew on furniture legs.
Baby gates
You may want to limit your dog’s access to parts of your home for a certain amount of time or at specific points in the day. Maybe you’d prefer the kitchen be off-limits to prevent the pup from eating things it shouldn’t, or perhaps the bedroom should be off-limits while the puppy is unsupervised. Therefore, make sure to invest in a baby gate that will be tall and sturdy enough as your pup grows.
We’ve been using this baby gate for a few years, and we really like it. It’s adjustable, so it’s sure to fit any space where you need it. We also painted ours to match our home’s interior so it works seamlessly into our decor.
Shoe rack
A new puppy will inevitably chew up at least one shoe, but an elevated shoe rack can be helpful for saving your favorite pairs from their demise. Storing your shoes this way will keep them out of reach and safe from chomping.
Living with puppies has been a great way of teaching my entire family to keep their shoes (and anything else of value) put away to prevent it becoming a chew toy.
Personal space
You don’t need to redo a bedroom to fit your dog’s needs (although we recently did this and it’s awesome!), but providing a safe space for your puppy can make her feel secure and at home.
Many pet parents find that a dog crate with a comfortable pad or bed inside it do the trick. Just make sure the pad or bed is washable because with a puppy, there are bound to be a few accidents.
I know there is a lot of negativity about using crates, so let me say a couple of things:
- First, a crate should never, ever be used as a punishment. Doing this will surely cause your dog to grow to hate the crate, and you don’t want that;
- Ideally, your dog shouldn’t be crated for more than 4 hours at a time.
We’ve used crates for our dogs since the day we brought them home, and our dogs have learned to love their crates. It’s a safe, comfy space that’s all theirs, and they don’t mind being in the crate for a few hours when we’re away from home.
For other helpful information about bringing a new dog into your family, check out this post!
What would you add to this list?
Are there other items are are must-haves when you bring a new puppy into your home or apartment? Let me know in a comment below! Or, stop by my private Facebook group for dog moms and join in the conversation there!
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