Are They Safe?

[ColColt]

I was curious if everyone used the child proof locks for you under the sink cabinets in the kitchen/bathroom to keep your corgis safe from wondering noses and paws and how well they've worked to deter them from disaster? As I thought about the deadly potential in both these places it would seem this is the thing one should do in light of the many cleaning/disinfectant products we store there.

I have a room downstairs that was a bedroom I converted to a darkroom years ago that had many poisons including tray cleaners and acids I used like sulfuric acid and acidic acids for "fixing" film and paper. Lots of products for making developers, stop baths and fixers were in there and any/all of those products could prove fatal of ingested. I don't do darkroom work anymore but, I still have some of those chemicals stored in there and I think before I add another pet, all that stuff will have to go as not to take any chances. I don't believe you can be overly cautious.

I started to post this under Health issues but, maybe it's alright here as well.

[MVons]

Donate the film chemicals to a school that has photography class (if they still do) might be a quick way to get rid of them.

The inside door locks were more a pain for me than for my child! We used the loop that was similar to a zip tie with success because we had handles. My mother-in-law stores her hazardous household products above her washing machine. I only store Shaklee products under my sink and they don't have the desirable fragrance to dogs at least with Pepper she was never interested. I also keep my onions down there and maybe that smell kept her away too.

Our trick is our trash can. We have a loose lid on it as I like easy access when cooking. I'm brainstorming what to do when I'm not. I think we put it on a chair when we left the room just in case the puppy was fast or we were distracted. I'm reading the corgi-aid book and read the sad story of a corgi suffocating on a bag like a potato chip bag thought to have retrieved it from the trash.

Merrie

[Dillydoodle]

Here is my experience with child safety latches and such... it wasn't involving a corgi but my cat clinton... Clinton was a very smart boy, too smart...

At night , Clinton was getting into the cabinets (both upper and lower) and pulling out certain items and eating them ( ie: bread, potato chips, etc) so we emptied all the cabinets of those types of foods and put them either in 1) the microwave, 2) the oven or 3) the refridgerator.... ) Then he started getting into the trash. So i put it under the sink( in a cabinet) , he opened the door , and pulled down the trash. We went out and bought these special heavy duty magnets that made it harder to open...first night he opened the cabinet and pulled out the trash.....so we went out and bought these child saftey latches, you have to push down and pull the door at the same time, within about three nights, he had managed to figure it out, and I woke up to find trash all over the kitchen ...again. Ok so we went out and got a second one of the child latches... We put already had one on the top, so we put the second one on the bottom, a real pain in the butt for us humans everytime we needed to throw anything away in the trash. A week went by... and nothing, we thought we had him beat, until i got up to find trash in the kitchen again! well he had managed to figure out how to undo both latches... so i put the dining room chair and a can of paint ( we were remodeling) in front of that door until we could figure out what to do...next morning, paint can was moved, chair was moved, and trash can was pulled out! He was determined. Finally, we went out and bought a metal step lid can... heavy duty... he didnt weigh enough to be able to get the lid to pop up ( oh and he sure did try when he would watch us open it, he was taking notes !!!)

so to that i say, i have no faith in child saftey locks for determined pets!... in a corgi's case, you could put toxic chemicals in higher shelves to ensure they can't get at them. or keep them in the garage or somewhere they just have no access. Neither of my dogs have ever tried to open a cabinet door so , we do keep cleaners under the sink with no issues, we keep all super toxic stuff in the garage or basement, both are places the dogs are never allowed ( well, garage they walk through on leashes, so they do not get to sniff around ).
Hope this helps a little.

Emilie

[sutulu]

Emilie! I'm cracking up over your cat!!!! Did you ever try feeding her???? Hahaha!

Man, even I'm not that much of a "munchie hound" at night! What a devil, keep that cat away from my dogs, I don't want them getting any ideas!

My two have never expressed any interest in getting into cupboards. I bought safety proof gizmos for the cupboard when I got Tucker but don't even use them


Lulu will chew the occasional electric chord at the puppy sitters but has never touched one at home (probably too busy chewing my dining room table legs....).

Susan

[Dillydoodle]

susan,
this was my clinton cat ( passed to the bridge 1/29/05) who came into my life as a 6 month old feral kitty weighing only 1lb 2oz... he was skin and bones, had a HUGE head and a tiny little body (from such severe malnourishment) and so even after he was rescued and got to be a nice healthy size cat being free fed , he still always sought out food and was extremely food motivated and food focused. He was the corgiest cat i ever met!
Emilie

[Fluffypants]

I have the push down internal latches (which sound like what Emilie described) for the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Bought them and installed them the day before we brought Jackie home, just in case! She has never tried to get in there . . . or, at least, she has never SUCCEEDED in getting in there. That's the only cabinet that has corgi-proofing on it, since the kitchen is the only room she is ever left alone in (she's gated in there when we are out).

PS - Emilie - What a story! You should have taken him on Pet Star with that safe-cracking talent of his!!!! :SHOCKED:

[ColColt]

Ah, it's great to be home on Friday!! Merrie, those chemicals are woefully out of date and wouldn't do anyone any good I'm sure. I haven't done any darkroom work in over five years and they have expired. I need to dispose of them somewhere and guess I need to call around to see who will take them. Some are powder and others are liquid.

I read that story about the suffocation and as I recall, she recommended cutting the bag in two with scissors to eliminate ever having that problem again. It was a very sad story.

What a cat Clinton was, Emilie!! Talk about determination-second to none!! I'm really surprised more Corgis haven't attempted to open cupboards than what I've read about. They certainly weigh enough to open them with the child proof locks after a few tries and that was what I was wondering about. Cats are smart. I saw a video of a cat that kept flushing the commode to try and figure out where the water was going and how it was filling back up. Image the water bill if her owners had been gone a few days!!

Besides chemicals under the kitchen/bathroom sink, I suppose electrical cords would be another fear and the primary reason I'd be hesitant to leave one along to have free reign of the entire house while away. My Samoyed was left along all day in the house but, she never got into the cupboards or electrical cords but loved chewing papers and magazines.

Push down internal latches sound like a good idea.

[Fluffypants]

Besides chemicals under the kitchen/bathroom sink, I suppose electrical cords would be another fear and the primary reason I'd be hesitant to leave one along to have free reign of the entire house while away. My Samoyed was left along all day in the house but, she never got into the cupboards or electrical cords but loved chewing papers and magazines.


Her safety is the main reason why Jackie is gated into the kitchen when we are gone. I know that room is corgi-proofed - no poisins, choke hazards, electrical cords, etc., that she can get into or ingest. Otherwise I would have to do a full-house patrol every day looking for possible dangers!

[bunnybutts]

I thought we had it bad with our sneaky raccoons and the garbage binds but Clinton could have taught them a thing or two LOL :BIGGRIN"

It took Chloe three weeks to figure out how to open the utility door - it was not latched - just barely closed... every day she would trap herself in there 8/10 times... then {proud T-Mom moment} my "special" girl figured it out...

Queen Em does not open doors - that is what her humans are for :LAUGH: My Girls are door-challenged. The bottom cabinets have no food smells there and since having children I've never left anything poisonous in lower cabinets and have just kept the habit...

[CorgiMum]

My two must be really laid back. When they are alone in the house for long periods, or at night, they sleep in open kennels in the corgi/laundryroom. The only cupboard in there holds their food bins. They've never tried to open it.