A simple way to keep your Chihuahua safe from chemicals stored in lower cabinet is to install door and drawer locks. These can be found inexpensively at any baby-supply store and are a good answer to those owning inquisitive, problem-solving Chihuahuas. These chemicals includes dishwashing liquids or detergents, wood polishers, floor cleansers or waxes, caustic cleaners for the counter and others for the oven and stovetop, and the list goes on.
All of these products are highly toxic; very few, if any, aren’t poisonous. The containers they are stored in, usually plastic bottles, are not dog-proof, either. If a dog is determined to have a taste, she will.
Lock It Up
Fortunately, most people stow these items behind a cabinet door or a lower drawer. Keep these areas shut and inaccessible to your Chi. Alternatively, you might consider moving these cleaning items to a high shelf in a room that your Chihuahua doesn’t have access to or storing them in a large, plastic container with a tight lid or a container that locks shut (such as a large craft box).
Another item that is kept in the kitchen is the garbage and trash. Don’t be lulled into feeling the false sense of security that just because your dog only weighs a few pounds, she won’t be able to get into the garbage. Depending on the height, weight, and position of the can in the kitchen, the garbage may or may not be accessible to your Chi. To be on the safe side, put the garbage can behind closed doors. If need be, use a cabinet lock.
Physical Dangers
Look for physical hazards in the kitchen and breakfast room, too. Often, refrigerators, dishwashers, and stoves are not entirely flush with kitchen cabinets. This could leave little open spaces that could be just big enough for a curious Chihuahua to wedge herself into. This is particularly likely to happen if food bits have fallen between the cracks or if the Chi is in hot pursuit of a lizard. It is quite possible that your Chi could crawl under your kitchen appliances.
Make sure there are no gaps in your kitchen or breakfast room that might offer your Chi an opportunity to become stuck. If you do have a Chi-size crevice and can’t block it off, do not leave your dog alone in this area unless she is crated or playing safely in a playpen.
Bathrooms and Laundry
As with kitchens, bathrooms and laundries are generally a treasure trove of dangers to a Chihuahua. Very many of these hazards arise from Chihuahuas ingesting items they shouldn’t, but others arise from potentially unsafe physical situations. The bathroom—a room commonly used by many owners to keep a Chihuahua safe and contained while they are out—has both varieties of dangers.
Bathroom Dangers
Common sources of poisons in the bathroom are cleansers and cleaning supplies. Virtually anything used to clean a bathroom is going to be highly toxic to a Chihuahua in even minute quantities. Even if your Chi doesn’t ingest these chemicals, an accidental spill can cause serious burns and even blindness if splashed in the eyes. Keep all cleansers behind locked doors.
A second source of poisons in the bathroom is what your Chi might find on the floor. Both prescription and over-the-counter medications are easily dropped and forgotten (or dropped and simply not found) on the bathroom floor. These medications are in highly concentrated forms and are virtually always lethal in a dog as small as the Chi.
They may not be poisonous, but for whatever reason some dogs are incredibly attracted to discarded paper drinking cups, used tissues, and feminine hygiene products. Avoid allowing your Chihuahua access to bathrooms in which these items can be found and dragged into other areas of the house to be shredded or hidden for later. Or dispose of these items in trashcans that are behind closed doors.
Other less-obvious sources of danger to the Chihuahua include items discarded in the bathroom trash. Toothpaste formulated for humans is very toxic to dogs, and there’s probably enough left in that old tube to make your Chihuahua ill. Additionally, if your Chi were to ingest a long strand of dental floss, it could become entangled in the dog’s gastrointestinal tract and also cause serious cuts.
Finally, though drinking out of the toilet itself isn’t particularly dangerous (the water isn’t profoundly filthy), being around an open toilet is extremely dangerous. The Chihuahua is so small that if she is able to get up to the toilet seat (remember: Chis can jump), she could very well fall in and drown. Keep the lid to the toilet closed, or keep the door to the bathroom shut at all times. And, it probably goes without saying, never leave a bathtub filled with water unattended. It, too, is quite dangerous should a Chihuahua jump or fall into the water with no way to climb out.
In the Laundry Room
Potential hazards in the laundry include toxic chemicals (such as bleach, laundry detergent, and spot removers), crawl spaces and crevices in which the Chi can become lodged, and various clothing articles that might present choking hazards, such as socks or knits that have a tendency to unravel. The easiest solution is to keep the door shut.
An equally good solution is to keep things off the floor and out of reach of the Chihuahua, as well as blocking off any potential Chi-size crawl areas.
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