If you’re a recent dog owner and haven’t had much experience with pets then you might come to the realization that you have to make at least a few changes for the benefit for your new dog. A lot of things that are left out by non-pet owning households can be potentially hazardous for pets, especially dogs. Dogs, just like cats, are curious and will most likely sniff, chew, and/or eat random things that you leave out. Even if you catch yourself thinking, “there is no way my dog will try to eat this”, it’s better to be safe than sorry! Here are some changes you might have to make to your household to make sure your dog is safe and comfortable.

First of all, you must be proactive about putting stuff away. Things like Lego’s, socks, pens, etc., are all fair game to your dog. If you have a toddler in the house and he/she has small toys, make sure the dog doesn’t develop an interest in them. Dogs can swallow lots of things their not supposed to. It’s bad on their stomachs and could be potentially dangerous.

One of the things new dog owners don’t often think about are plants. Dogs will eat plants, grass, you name it. If you have a knack for growing plants, make sure none of them are poisonous to dogs. This can be done by simply researching the plant online and finding out. Even if your plants are not harmful, it still would be a good idea to put them in hard-to-reach places – this will save yourself potentially clean-up time.

Small dogs that mobile enough can develop the habit of jumping up on top of counter tops. If your counter tops aren’t clean and organized, and have lots of stuff sitting out, it would be in your best interest to put them all away; otherwise you could be picking up lots of objects off the floor. Since larger dogs, like medium-sized dogs, don’t really have that problem, you won’t have to worry about them knocking stuff off of counter tops. Instead, these dogs have the tendency to knock into things with their tail. Make sure you don’t have any fragile decorations that are within a tail’s reach.

While dogs may have the tendency to chew up things that aren’t food, you also have to watch the things he/she gobbles up that IS food. Of course, chocolate is the big no-no in the canine world, but other things you need to make sure stay out of your dog’s mouth is nuts. Macadamia nuts are extremely poisonous to dogs. Be very cautious as to what is left out!

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