Читать книгу Staffordshire Bull Terrier: An Owner’s Guide - Alison Smith - Страница 18

Life for a Stafford puppy is one big adventure. These inquisitive babies will view almost anything they encounter as either a potential toy or food! Therefore, it is recommended that before you go ahead and welcome your new arrival into your home, you carry out the following checks inside and outside.

Outside

Make sure that your garden is secure. Stafford puppies have an amazing ability to squeeze through very small gaps in hedges and fencing, so mend any holes. It is also a good idea to check any gates or doors that lead into the garden, particularly at the bottom, where the gap from floor to gate should be no more than 5cm (2in).

Also bear in mind that the name Terrier comes from the word ‘terrain’, which means of the ground – these dogs enjoy digging, so protect any valuable plants. Check that you don’t have any plants which are poisonous to dogs and be careful when using weed-killers and other chemicals. Cocoa mulch is also potentially dangerous if eaten.

Inside

You need to make the inside of your house puppy-proof, too. If you want to confine your puppy to certain rooms or the ground floor only, you could invest in a child-safety gate which can be placed in doorways or at the bottom of the stairs. Walk around your home, checking out the following:

Wires Puppies adore wires, so carefully check out any places where they may have access to loose wires, cables or electrical equipment and make sure that they are secure and out of harm’s way.

Harmful substances Most of us keep bleach in the downstairs toilet or floor cleaner under the sink in the kitchen. Your new puppy will be quite happy to use these products as his playthings, so it is very important to make sure that any household cleaning materials and chemicals are well out of his reach or shut away securely in cupboards. Child safety locks fitted to cupboard doors are always a good option.

This puppy has plenty of room to play, as well as fresh water and toys in a secure place.

Chewing Tell the whole family to start keeping things tidy and not to leave anything that they value lying around, especially on the floor. You can try telling your new puppy that the designer trainer he has just eaten cost a lot of money or that the shredded paper at his feet was, in fact, a particularly important document, but he will not understand. Puppies love chewing and there is hardly anything they will not consider, so put things away or place them out of reach.

Puppies are happy to play in their crates for a while. It also gives them time to relax and sleep in their own den if they want.