[curlflooffan]

Hi, I am doing some reorganising of my apartment. In particular I am trying to get more closed storage space and high places to keep things like shoes, cosmetics and houseplants out of reach of a curious puppy.

I have been looking around for used furniture and there are a lot of really beautiful but affordable antiques around me that are really tempting me. However, one of the space which I want to put the piece of furniture is also where I will make the safe area for the puppy. I am not going to get a playpen because with the layout of my apartment it makes more sense to create a safe space by putting up babygates to fence of what is kind of a room/corridor, it connects the three main rooms of the apartment so I will be able to see the pup whether I am working or cooking.

I have never had a dog who chewed furniture. BUT I have also never been the one financially liable for any furniture destroyed by my pet!

I have had dogs destroy soft furnishings, one who licked through the paint of a wall (I still don't understand why he did that, he did not have SA), socks, underwear, my pacifier (I was two years old and my mum had to go through our St Bernard's poo to make sure he had passed it...)

What do you think? have you ever had a dog chew on wood furniture?

Should I just buy the furniture that I like and worry about the potential puppy-destruction later?

Do you have any advice for puppyproofing things like wood baseboards and wood dresser?

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Do you have any advice for puppyproofing things like wood baseboards and wood dresser?

Yep. Don't leave them near them unsupervised. Lol.

I honestly wouldn't make it any more complicated than that. Wherever puppy is going to be left alone should be devoid of all things precious.

It also helps to give ample safe chewing and shredding opportunities to satisfy those natural urges, and to confine those opportunities to a very specific spot such as an exercise pen. That clarity ensures puppy quickly and easily learns the right thing to do, rather than being overwhelmed by the gazillion possible wrong things.

 

[lily cd re]

When Javelin was a somewhat older pup and I had to start the fall semester I kept him gated in the kitchen. I don't love my cabinets (inherited, not chosen) so I didn't care about the idea of him chewing them, which he never did. One day I accidentally left one gate open and my neighbor who would let him out a couple of times during my long class days noticed but thought I had left it open on purpose. The result was a lot of chewing on one corner of my very carefully chosen and very well loved Ethan Allen cherry dresser. Five years later I am still mad (at myself) about it as it is one of the first things I see when I get out of bed.

Advise: gates and crates!

 

[curlflooffan]

thanks, but isn't there something I can do? some adhesive or tape that I can put over some the things? especially the baseboards. Maybe something that makes it less tempting to chew on? Or if I tape bubblewrap around the legs then at least I will be able to see if the puppy has chewed on the furniture before its able to reach the wood.

I think that when I was looking into getting rabbits (decided against it) I saw that rabbit owners do things like that for their free range bunnies.

The thing is that a playpen is really impractical for us. The only space where it would fit is in heavy traffic areas and we wouldn't be able to walk around it. We take turns working from home so the puppy will not be alone for hours but it only takes 5 or 10 min of unsupervised chewing time for there to be teethmarks.

 

[cowpony]

There are various bitter apple and bitter cherry flavored sprays you can apply to baseboards. You can also use folding xpen panels or a folding screen to fence off specific items. I currently have a set of panels around my house plants and another around my fireplace. The panels aren't as intrusive as you would expect. I don't normally step over my houseplants or put chairs on my hearth, so the panels don't change the way I use my floor space.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

That's definitely challenging. I would probably tether my puppy to me then, and use a collapsible crate when I absolutely couldn't supervise.

Peggy liked the taste of bitter apple, and tape or bubble wrap would likely have been extremely tempting to her. Even moreso than whatever they were protecting.

 

[For Want of Poodle]

We have had several dogs who like wood furniture. I kept my living room and my antique furniture baby gated or x penned off from Annie for the first few months - i didnt sit on my couch for months because of the ex pen! . My apartment had mid 1800s wood trim that Annie WANTED desperately to chew. I hot sauced favourite corners, and brought her sticks from outside to satisfy that chewing urge inside.

 

[Basil_the_Spoo]

I would just get the furniture that you like and worry about the puppy destruction later. It sounds like you'll be supervising the pup, so you can catch and address it before it gets out of hand...

Basil's only chewed on the corner of a wooden clothes drying rack which was enough damage for me to start to buy her a variety of chewie animal parts.