Keeping Indoor Dogs Safe At Home - By: Ron Ayalon

If you elect to keep your dog indoors most of the time, there are a few things you should do to keep him safe. Your Bruno must be treated like a child in this instance – after all, you would do the same thing for a child. You don't want him opening cabinets, or venturing into rooms where he's not wanted. You probably don't want him drinking out of the toilet and you definitely don't want him accidentally drinking something poisonous or knocking over something priceless to you.

"Baby Proofing" Your Home

To minimize visits to the vet's office, and to keep Bruno and you on good terms, be sure to follow these simple guidelines.

• Don't put breakable things on your coffee table or anywhere that's within tail-wagging distance

• Electric sockets not in use should have plastic inserts placed on them
- This is especially important if you have new puppies

• Cabinets should have baby-proof slide locks or at least secure magnets to keep them shut fast

• Use baby gates to keep your dog out of specific parts of your house you don't want him wandering into
- This will assist you in Bruno's house-training regimen

• Crate your dog when you're not home to avoid coming home to your favorite pair of shoes ending up tossed

• Offer your dog bones to avoid them chewing on your favorite shoes or phone
- Deer antlers are all natural and have bone marrow in them, which is better than brushing Bruno's teeth
- Deer shed them naturally and thus they are not removed in an inhumane fashion
- They can be found on eBay or by Googling "Deer Antler"

House Training Bruno

This is very simple. 95% of inappropriate elimination is the owner's fault. It is very possible to train Bruno to be house-trained, but this takes time and won't happen until he is at least six months of age. Even after training and reaching the age of six months, accidents can happen. To avoid this you should do the following:

• Use the aforementioned baby gates to keep Bruno confined to one area of the house, such as the kitchen (it's better not to use an isolated area such as the garage as there are a number of dangerous and potentially lethal things there)

• Install a "doggy door" to your back yard (provided it's adequately fenced in)

• Crate Bruno while you're at work or out of the house

• Take him out regularly and take notes when he eliminates
- For example some go like clockwork after eating
- Many dog owners report that they've never had inappropriate elimination in the house
- This is by no means by accident, even if they do go inside – proper training will keep this from happening. Dogs only eliminate inside when the owner doesn't do as they should.

• Many dog trainers suggest praising your dog when s/he eliminates outside. This can be done by simply saying, "good outside" or "good girl" or "good boy". They associate hearing good with eliminating appropriately. If you say bad when they eliminate indoors, they too make the association. Dogs don't want to be bad. Even so, it's far more efficient and useful to praise them when they do good. The result will stick better, and they won't inadvertently end up fearing you when they do something bad. Being mindful, as a dog, of when s/he does bad is not the same as the abject terror or bold aggression that comes from abuse.

About the Author

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