©iStockphoto.com/Eriklam
PUPPY-PROOF YOUR HOME
Remember baby proofing your house before
bringing home your newborn? You’ll need
to do the same for your puppy. Store cables
and wires out of reach, keep small objects
and other items you don’t want your pup
to chew off the floor, and keep plants away
unless you’re sure they’re not toxic to dogs.

You’ll also need to create a safe, non-car-
peted space for your puppy to stay in the
beginning. “When you first bring a puppy home it
should not have full access to your house, or
you’ll be finding pee and poop in weird places
for months,” says Jones.

The puppy’s space could be a gated off
kitchen, a den or any other high traffic area of
the home. Make sure there are plenty of toys,
food and water there. Once the puppy starts
learning the house rules and getting the hang
of house training, you can give it access to
larger portions of your home.

PREPARE YOUR CHILDREN
You’ll need to teach your kids how to appro-
priately interact with the new pup. For
toddlers, that includes the basics like not hit-
ting or pushing the dog. Older kids should be
taught not to kiss or hug the puppy and not to
bother it when it’s eating or sleeping.

“Any animal, when it’s in a vulnerable posi-
tion, can get scared when someone sneaks up
on it or invades its space,” warns Jones.

GET HELP WITH TRAINING
Though in-person puppy training classes
are canceled for the time being, you don’t
need to go it alone. The place from which
you adopt your puppy will give you advice
and materials on how to train using positive
reinforcement and rewards. Your veteri-
narian will also have resources available.

And many places, including the AWLA, are
now offering online classes via Zoom and
other apps.

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
Don’t forget that you and your kids will
eventually return to work and school, so
you’ll need to have a plan for when that
happens. Find and hire a dog walker now,
and start getting your dog used to being
away from you so he won’t experience
separation anxiety. Put the puppy in its
safe space and leave for 15 minutes. Raise
the time limit incrementally until the dog
can be left alone for a few hours without
barking or destroying things.

“Puppies need to learn to be independent
and to self soothe,” says Jones.

If you do get a new puppy during the
coronavirus pandemic, we’d love to see him
or her. Share a photo on Instagram using
#washingtonfamilymag and we may feature it
on our page! n
By Jennifer Marino Walters
WashingtonFAMILY.com 13