Puppy Safety Outdoors: Keeping Your Puppy Safe When Venturing Outdoors – Part 3

Before you can take your new puppy exploring the great outdoors with you, it’s best to remind yourself of potential dangerous situations that your young and helpless dog could get into. Many unfortunate accidents happen every day to young puppies who are outside, even though they are with their owners.

These accidents can be easily prevented by using caution and understanding that your puppy has no sense of what is safe and what is dangerous. It takes quite a while for young pups to gain a sense of what to do and what not to do when they are outside of the safety of home.

Watch Out For Water Areas

Two summers ago I met my friend at a local nature park to do a little exploring for the day.  He brought along his brand-new puppy to get better socialized with the outdoors.  This little guy, who was a German Shepherd by the way, was excited as can be and running around all over the place. There didn’t seem to be a single leaf or bush that this dog did not want to look into.

As we hiked along one of the park’s trails, about 20 yards ahead of us was a big lake. My friend’s puppy darted like a rocket towards the water. Unfortunately, this young dog had no idea what a large body of water like this was like. He literally jumped in with all four paws and ended up almost drowning before we got there.

Yes, just about every dog can swim, but young puppies do need some water training so that they can adjust. My friend’s dog panicked and because of this he was not able to keep himself afloat due to inhaling lots of water. Fortunately we both ran and jumped in the lake just in time to keep the dog from drowning.

Dangers From Bugs

Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and other bugs are all very common nuisances to both humans and dogs when exploring nature. But when it comes to our little puppies, these tiny bugs can be a real bother. Take the extra time to double up on your dog’s protection against these annoying bloodsuckers.

One way to keep your puppy safe is to take advantage of several pest control products that are available on the market. These lotions and powders will help, but in addition you can try to keep your puppy away from outside areas that may harbor ticks and other insects. For example, heavily wooded areas that are visited by dear tend to be infested with ticks. Keep your puppy or adult dog away from areas like that. Also avoid tall grass, especially dense underbrush.

Mosquito attacks can be prevented by keeping your puppy indoors early in the morning and towards the end of the daylight hours as the sun is going down.  Mosquitoes are more prevalent during these times. Also keep away from moist, marshy areas and heavy wooded locations.