Walk the house at dog height
Start on your hands and knees, because the hazards that matter sit at the height your new dog will actually travel. From down there you will see the trailing phone chargers, the open bag of compost by the back door, the low shelf of cleaning sprays, and the gap behind the sofa where small treasures disappear. Move medicines, cleaning products, and laundry capsules into cupboards that close properly, raise houseplants until you have confirmed each one is safe for dogs, and clear the floor of shoes, children's small toys, hair ties, socks, and anything else a curious mouth can carry off and swallow.
Secure the chewable, the spillable, and the edible
Assume a new dog will chew what he can reach while he learns what is his, so route cables through covers or behind furniture, lift the kitchen bin or fit it with a locking lid, and store food, including pet food, behind closed doors rather than on worktops a large dog can surf. Check that cupboard doors actually latch, since many dogs learn to nose open a weak catch within days. In the bathroom, keep the toilet lid down, especially for puppies and small breeds, and move razors and bath products off the tub edge. A stair gate fitted before arrival, not after the first dash upstairs, sets the boundary calmly from day one.
Close the escape routes owners forget
Dog-proofing is as much about keeping him in as keeping him safe inside. Test every exterior door latch with a firm push, look for daylight under the garden gate, walk the fence line for digging gaps and loose boards, and check that windows he can reach cannot be pushed open. If your new dog is a rescue or a breed known for bolting when startled, plan a double barrier for the first weeks, such as a gate behind the front door, so an open door never leads straight to the street. Confirm his sleeping area sits away from these exits, in a quiet corner he can retreat to.
Set up his corner, then share the standard
Before he arrives, finish the welcome setup: bed, water bowl, a few chew toys of his own, and a clear route from his corner to the garden door for toilet trips. Having legal things to chew already in place makes the protected objects far less interesting. Do a final evening walk-through with fresh eyes, ideally by someone who did not do the proofing, since a second person spots the charger cable and the open cupboard you have gone blind to. Save the completed checklist, gate locations, and off-limit rooms in KinsLe through Family Sharing, so everyone the dog lives with maintains the same proofed standard after arrival day.