Potential Hazard – Cleaners: Includes household cleaners, bleach, detergents, oven cleaners, soap and more. All of these have varying levels of toxicity and/or may harm your dog if touched or consumed.
What You Can Do: Keep all cleaners sealed in their bottles. Store the bottles out of reach or in a latched cabinet. Remember, some dogs can open normal cabinets.

Potential Hazard – Chemicals: Includes automotive fluids, ESPECIALLY antifreeze (which is highly toxic yet tastes sweet to dogs), fertilizers, weed killers, moth balls, and more. These are often extremely toxic.
What You Can Do: Keep all household and automotive chemicals locked away in cabinets or storage areas. If these chemicals are in the garage, don’t leave your dog in the garage unsupervised.  During the spring and summer when lawns are typically treated, care should be taken to understand if any fertilizers, herbicide, insecticide or other lawn-care products have any chemicals that could be toxic to your dog.  Dogs should be kept off the grass for at least 48 hours after lawn treatment is applied.

Potential Hazard - Foil & Plastic Wrap: Materials like these often have tempting food particles or grease on them, can be shredded quickly and are easily swallowed. If ingested by your dog, these materials can cause serious internal problems.
What You Can Do: Don’t leave foil, plastic wrap or similar materials lying around the house. If you use foil or plastic wrap in the kitchen, throw it away someplace your dog cannot reach.

Potential Hazard - Pest Control: Bug traps, rodent traps, foggers, insecticides – even your dog’s own flea medicine. All of these are designed to kill or trap and may cause harm to your dog. Insect traps may smell or taste sweet to dogs which can be an extra temptation.
What You Can Do: Store these items in a locked or latched cabinet. If you have to leave insect traps out, make sure they’re in places your dog can’t reach.

Potential Hazard – Drugs: Whether over the counter or prescription, or even your dog’s own prescriptions, drugs can cause serious problems in the case of an overdose. Don’t assume that ‘mild’ drugs are OK – even aspirin can cause serious problems for your dog. Tobacco products should also be kept out of your dog’s reach.
What You Can Do: Keep all medications in sealed containers out of your dog’s reach. NEVER self-prescribe medication for your dog. Only give drugs to your dog as instructed by a veterinarian.

Potential Hazard – Various Human Foods: Some human foods like chocolate and grapes can be dangerous to your dog.  Others, for example, those that contain a lot of fat, may cause digestive upsets.
What You Can Do: Don’t give your dog people food. Keep it out of reach. You should also take care to block access to trashcans in kitchens and bathrooms – or buy trashcans with difficult-to-remove lids.

Potential Hazard – Plants: Many household plants are bad for dogs and can cause problems ranging from stomach upsets to much more serious consequences. For a list, see our information on Poisonous Plants.
What You Can Do: Review the list of poisonous plants and make sure none of those plants are in places where your dog can reach them. Supervise your dog when you bring home a new plant to make sure your dog isn’t tempted to take a bite.

Potential Hazard – Wires: Wires that carry a current can electrocute a dog if chewed. Even non-connected wires are troublesome – if swallowed, they can cause internal damage.
What You Can Do: Keep cords for lamps and other devices as short as possible. If you have to use extension cords, secure them to the baseboards to help discourage chewing.

Potential Hazard - Sharp Objects: Knives, forks, paper clips and sharp bits of plastic are among the hazards often found in the house. These can be swallowed and cause unseen harm, and a romping dog could suffer cuts or punctures if he comes into contact with these objects.
What You Can Do: Keep these items away from you dog. If you see your dog chewing such an item, get it out of his mouth immediately.

Potential Hazard - Dryer Sheets and Insulation: Materials like these may be attractive to your dog, but can cause serious internal problems if ingested – especially insulation which is often made with fiberglass.
What You Can Do: Don’t leave dryer sheets, insulation or similar materials lying around the house. Dispose of these items someplace your dog cannot reach. If installing insulation or doing construction to your home, promptly clean up and dispose of all scraps.

Potential Hazard - Universal Dangers: There are, of course, many other dangers that apply to humans as well as dogs. Falls, carbon monoxide poisoning, lead paint – if it can harm a person, it most likely can harm a dog.
What You Can Do: Keep your house as safe as you would for a child. And remember – dogs won’t grow up and learn not to do certain things. Keeping a safe home is a lifelong commitment.