Preparations for a New Dog

The Chihuahua Chronicles
Preparation:
It's not just "Good Housekeeping"
It's for Health and Safety, too!

Once the Dourte's decided they wanted me to come live at their house, they had their work cut out for them. While I'm not a puppy, I am small, and there might have been hazards that needed to be dealt with before my arrival.

The best way Deb could figure to see what might be a potential danger to me was to get down on my eye level. I almost wish I'd been there to see that, it had to be pretty funny! What is NOT amusing are the potential dangers I might have encountered, or might find if I go visit someone who has not puppy or babyproofed their home. There are quite a few things that could befall a small-one, either canine or human in an unprepared household.

First of all Deb checked the floors. With two teenaged girls living in the house, she spotted all kinds of evil, dangerous things, like barrettes, rubber hair bands, curlers, and (doggie gasp) PUSHPINS -- (doggie gasp) the colorful plastic kind for bulletin boards. Imagine if a baby or myself got ahold of one of those? And while I have nothing personal against cats, Deb found more than one litter of dustkittens huddled under some of her furniture. That wouldn't do at all! If she had cats, she'd have made sure I couldn't get into their litter box. She also checked the heater vents in the floor to make sure I couldn't fall into them. One thing they missed was a green crayon, which I, personally, found quite tasty but you'd think I'd eaten the crown jewels the way they acted. They'll be more careful about THAT now!

Next Deb checked to see what I'd be able to get at from the floor. She looked for things on low tables, or end tables next to the sofa, like plants and table books, priceless vases and museum quality figurines and such as that. She didn't have any, (doggie grin) but she did notice and secure lamp cords and made sure that just in case I turned out to be one of THOSE kinds of dogs, the curtains and curtain rods wouldn't fall on me if I got a bright idea to play tug of war. (I'm not one of those kinds of dogs.) Deb remembered this because when Bambi adopted them, they kept their leather bound family Bible on a low shelf with the ribbon place marker flowing out the end. Leather is so tasty, there are still tiny teethmarks in it, and Bambi must have enjoyed the ribbon too... Fortunately Bambi just tasted, and wasn't big enough to pull the big heavy book down on herself. Deb learned her lesson!

She looked to see what I might get into if I jumped up on the sofa. Not much, because she had to have all that pretty much squared away because Ginger already lives here. Still, it didn't hurt to check any -- and she made sure all the chocolate candies were put away -- Ginger gets into them sometimes and they don't hurt her, but you never know about me. I'm special. They're not really good for Ginger anyway, so it's good they're put away. Deb made sure all the furniture was stable and wouldn't accidentally tip over on me (or Ginger.) Then she double-checked all the outlets, electrical cords and telephone cords. She also instructed everyone to be extremely careful about the space heater the family uses when it's really cold.

Deb likes sewing, so she has to watch and make sure no pins, needles, buttons or loose thread are laying around. Not to mention patterns... they call me "Shredder" sometimes because I just LOVE to tear up paper.

Other things that might have caused problems for me would be air-fresheners (plug in or not) and nightlights. She also had to make sure the girls had all their Beanie Babies picked up. How am I supposed to know the difference between those and my own soft chewy squeekies? The Dourte's don't have any babies or toddlers in their home, but teething rings, baby toys, bottles and pacifiers would have been tempting to me as well.

Deb checked, so there were no plastic bags laying down where I could get into them, and the trash is securely put away under the kitchen cabinet, with the cleaning supplies. I couldn't get into them if I wanted to. (Ginger sure wants to!)

Everyone knows Chis are NOT descended from rodents, so I'm not a packrat, but dogs have been known to retrieve and hide television and stereo remote controls, garage door openers, cell phones, jewelery, keys to the house and car, and other such items. Oh and ... er... retainers. You know, the orthodontic kind? (Glancing sideways at Ginger) Some dogs have been known to chew them up. And oh, yes... homework. (Delicately licking my lips) They don't call me "Shredder" for nothing!

Speaking of Ginger, she's a bigger dog. (She weighs over four times as much as me! Twenty Pounds!) She had a health checkup, and she is learning to accept me, just as I am learning to accept her. Bigger dogs can go outside in the winter snow and potty, but I can't. It's just way too cold for a little chihuahua dog to go out into the Alaskan weather, and the snow is higher than my head and then some. So I have my potty pen in the garage, with plenty of fresh newspapers every time I use it.

Deb made sure the garage had no drippy motor oil or antifreeze around for me to accidentally get into. Other things out there that could make me sick are paint, fertilizer, snow melt salt, water softener, and anything that would make a baby or small child sick. Then there are the garden tools, hand tools and power tools which needed to be secured so they wouldn't fall over on me if I decided to take a look around sometime. I'm really not interested, it's too cold, even in the garage, but come summertime, it might be fun to explore.

When springtime comes and I can go outdoors again, the family will need to consider fencing the yard, or having me on a leash at all times. I'd prefer they fence the yard there are a couple of big neighborhood dogs that could eat me up in two bites. They'll need to check for holes in the yard, rusty nails, spikes, car parts and wires, too.

There's a LOT of preparation needed before a new dog comes home, but it's worth it!

My Routine Care	My Training	My Canine Family Tree	My Gear
Chronicles Start Finding the Family	Chapter Two: My Family's Experience		Chapter Three: A Turn of Events