My 7-month-old puppy destroys plants & poops on lawn. How to stop?

Choose one area outside and use that for elimination. Do not leave Coco unsupervised indoors. He should be crated or on a leash attached to your hip. Monitor for his cues that he needs to go out. This may include circling, whining or sniffing about. Take him outside immediately to the chosen area and wait. No walks, no playing, just wait. Once he does his business, praise and reward him. You can also use attractant sprays to get hom to go in the chosen spot. Be consistent. At his age though, expect "accidents".

Raising a puppy can definitely be frustrating at times! Dogs don't understand "bad" behavior the way that we do - they just do what makes sense to them at the time. He may know that you're angry when you come home, so he runs and hides in his bed - but he doesn't understand that his behavior earlier in the day was the problem. So I would recommend not scolding him anymore when you come home - it won't help the problem, and just creates additional stress and anxiety which can actually make things worse. If he's still having some issues with destructive chewing and housetraining accidents when he's home alone, then he's not ready to be left loose in the house just yet. Many dogs need to be crated or confined to a puppy-proofed room when you're gone until they're 1.5 - 2 years old, or even longer - this is perfectly normal. So my recommendation would be to simply not give him this much freedom yet. Another possibility to consider, if he's only having accidents and destroying things when you're gone, is that he may have separation anxiety. If you're unsure, try videotaping him one day when you're away to see if he seems upset or just bored. If he does have separation anxiety, you will need to talk with your vet as well as a good reward-based trainer who can help you work through this.

Housebreaking puppies can be tough, especially the little guys. With Leo, what I recommend is that when you take him outsid, you go out with him, use a leash if he can’t stay focused and give him 5 minutes to go. Keep saying, Go Potty! or whatever command you want. If he goes, tell him, Yes! And give him treats outside immediately. It’s important to mark that behavior you want. Now, if Leo doesn’t go. Bring him back in and do one of the following- put him in the crate for a bit, carry him around, or leave him on his leash and hold onto him. The trick is to not let him out of your sight or have him in a crate. This is important! Then wait a 5-10 minutes and take him out again. Repeat until he goes. If he stays to go inside, clap your hands, say NO. and take him right out. Reward him profusely when he does go outside. The key is not to let him have an accident inside by watching him like a hawk!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Jax. Dogs do not gain physical control over urination and defecation until 4-5 months of age. So at 3 months of age, he should not be expected to be potty trained yet. Continue to be consistent with him and praise him when he goes outside. He will have more accidents, but you want him to learn the routine. This way when his body is physically able, he will know to go outside. Puppies can be destructive so he needs to be carefully supervised when out of his crate. Redirect him to something positive such as a toy if he goes near the couch. Then reward him for playing with his toys. I hope this information helps!

Labs get into things frequently, this is their nature. They will ingest just about anything. I would recommend monitoring him closely when she is out playing and discouraging him from putting things in her mouth that she shouldn't. Give her a Kong toy or similar chew toy to occupy her time. When you are not home it is best to keep her in a crate so that she does not get into things he shouldn't. You can also try spraying a product called Bitter Apple or Yuk gel on things that she likes to put in her mouth to try and deter him from doing so. Best of luck with your puppy Bella and getting her to stop putting things in her mouth that she shouldn't. We want to try and prevent a foreign body ingestion and possible obstruction as best we can. As she grows she should get better at not doing this. Take care!

Chewing is very normal behavior for a puppy. This will likely continue until she is 2 to 3 years old although some dogs will be chewers all their life. I recommend kennel training. This is the best way to keep your puppy safe and to keep your home safe as well. Puppies can ingest objects that can cause an intestinal obstruction and requires surgery. Don’t feel bad about not having a bed in the kennel as she will likely chew it up. Make sure to give her vigorous activity every day as this will help some of the chewing behavior. Hopefully she will outgrow this! I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Your puppy is young to be fully house broken, so be patient. If he is busy playing when outside they sometimes forget to poop until they come back in and relax. I recommend you bring him back in, out him in his crate for 5-10 minutes then take him out again to poop. Take him to the same area to pee and poop and reward him with a treat when he goes outside. Please leave him in his crate if you can't watch him so he doesn't learn to poop in the house. Most dogs are not fully housebroken until they are four months or older. Good luck and have fun with Wolfie.