So, as Monday gets closer so does the home assessment. We haven't really thought much on it lately because the puppy lady (Michelle) told us that if home is good for a guide dog its good for a puppy. Well, what Michelle doesn't know is Egypt is kind of a freak of nature (No offense Darrell haha). She never gets into anything she isn't supposed to. Ever. I know this is supposed to be normal of most Guide dogs but I have heard some stories out there that defy that supposed norm. So anyways, point of the story, we feel the need to puppy proof the apartment at least a little. Most of our place is pretty much safe. We don't leave shoes everywhere, there are a couple by the front door but most go into the front closet. We have a small laundry room attached to the kitchen and thats where we keep the trash can so that is safe. We don't have any open storage so chemicals and cleaners are all put away. My main concern would be wires and stuff. Most are hidden but can still be accessible to a wiggly little puppy. So tomorrow we are going to go out and buy some wire covers just in case. Also the laundry basket might be an issue but I expect dirty laundry would be an issue with any puppy.
If anyone has any other suggestions about what we might need to do please feel free to comment.
Also, we don't have a fenced in area so the puppy won't be roaming free outside so no worries on issues out there.
Thanks a bunch!
5 comments:
They're not too terribly picky generally (I don't know about this specific organization of course but generally speaking) as long as there aren't nails and suck laying around, wires out in the open everywhere, poisonous stuff, holes in your floors/walls, garbage everywhere. They're not inspecting to make sure your house is clean, the pups must learn to leave stuff alone, they're checking to make sure it isn't going to harm the pup. To be a foster parent for a child they inspect your home, inside and out, with puppies they don't. They look, they make suggestions about things that can be changed to be better suited to a pup, but a few wires that can't be hidden, they happen, it won't disqualify you /grin/ Don't sweat it too much!
One thing that I'm rather neurotic about is not leaving stuff on my counters. 2 of my dogs don't 'counter surf' but my short dog, a corgi, loves to try (even though he's too short to reach the counter!). The fastest way to get a counter surfing dog is if they 'win' ie steal something and get to eat it only once. That's all it takes. So if you start getting in the habit of not leaving food such as loaves of bread or other stuff out on the counters you can avoid that learned behavior and the future blind owner won't have to deal with a dog potentially trying to steal food off the counters.
I'm generally pretty neat, but the best thing that's worked for me with pups is really just having lots of appropriate toys around the house to redirect inappropriate chewing actions to. So like nylabones and kongs and stuff like that. Most of my dogs as pups went through like a nylabone a week as I throw them out once the ends get chewed off, but really they never chewed my stuff, just their toys.
For my visit all they wanted to know was where the puppy would be sleeping. Once they saw the crate next to my bed it was all good to go! I do second the having lots of nylabones and kongs avaliable. And do watch out for the counter surfing: my last dog came with that behavior as a transfer at 6 months and it was VERY hard to break.
Good luck and have fun!!
Thanks guys, it really helps calm my nerves down a bit... I'm not nervous I just get kind of crazy/obsessive over stuff.. I'm probably slightly OCD.. ask my professors lol. Anyways, I don't really plan on letting the puppy in the kitchen (there isn't enough walk space, Egypt isn't even aloud in) plus we don't really leave food out on the counter, there isn't enough counter to do that lol. We do have plenty of toys for Egypt but once the puppy gets here I will definitely have to go out and buy tons of puppy appropriate toys. Thanks everyone for helping me out, I appreciate it :)
We don't have in home interviews - so no idea what to tell you to expect. Good luck though! Can't wait to hear how it goes! :D
Ellie is one who has perfect house manners - I'm glad I have her to help with Hosta. She's a good role model in that fact. So, I bet Egypt will be a great role model for the new one to have good house manners too!
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