Before your puppy comes to his new home, take care to go around checking what possible dangers lurk in your house.

The most obvious hazards are from electric cables which seem to prove a magnet to puppies. Get into the habit of unplugging everything left in an unattended room. That way, the wires might get chewed, but you'll still have a puppy left!

If you live on more than one storey, your puppy will be bound to want to explore upstairs. Allowing him to go up and down occasionally is fine, but don't encourage him to race up and down. Young bones and joints are not designed to take repeated hard work from the action this entails.

Make sure all your cupboards have close fitting doors, especially those which contain cleaning products or food. Puppies rarely bother about things they can't see or smell, so as long as the doors remain closed, everything inside should be safe!

Puppies find bathrooms fascinating (until their first bath when they soon learn that bathrooms are to be avoided like the plague, espcially when the taps are running!) You may find your puppy takes a liking to the taste of soap and/or toilet rolls - learn to keep these out of reach. Disposable razors also hold a fascination for puppies, so make sure you do dispose of them before the puppy attempts to.

Rubbish:

Not long after obtaining your puppy, you'll probably discover that the only good bins are those which have lids. Kitchen, bathroom and wastepaper bins will occupy a puppy quite happily for an hour or more. If you don't want to find your household rubbish spread out over the living room carpet, keep the bin out of reach or get into the habit of emptying before you out.

Crates:

One of the best ways of keeping a puppy safe while you are out, or at night. Is to invest in a crate or cage. These can be folded down when not in use but even after your puppy no longer needs one, can be used for car travel or when away from home with your dog. Cages should only be used for short periods of time, but can be a great aid to housetraining and very useful if you're busy doing something else and need to be sure that the puppy isn't getting into trouble.Most dogs soon learn to love their crates and will go into sleep there voluntarily.