How to Keep Your Puppy From Destroying Your house

If you've just adopted a puppy or are planning on adopting, you have some work ahead. Potty training is not the only chore to accomplish. Puppies can eat your house right off of it's foundation. Plan to head this problem off before it gets started, and you'll be rewarded with a life-long companion and an intact house.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• crate
• chew toys
• leash and collar
• Kong

1. Buy a crate for your puppy. Whenever you can't give your puppy your complete attention, it should be in the crate. An unsupervised puppy is a destructive puppy.

2. Buy lots of chew toys for your puppy. Puppies need to chew. If they are not given appropriate things to chew on, they will chew on your shoes, furniture, carpet, or anything else they can get their teeth on.

3. Buy a Kong for your puppy. If you don't know what a Kong is, ask a sales associate at your local pet store. Pack it loosely with dry and wet puppy food. Some people put peanut butter in the Kong, but peanut butter is very hard to clean out of the Kong. Make sure to wash the Kong out thoroughly every day.

4. Exercise your puppy when it isn't napping. Play with it, take it for a walk, and to the dog park when old enough (four months). A tired puppy will sleep.

5. For a special treat, put a puppy biscuit, or a little kibble in the squares of an ice tray, freeze, and you've made some pup pops. Your puppy will have a treat that will keep it busy for a good amount of time.

Tips & Warnings

• Get a book on how to crate train your puppy if you're not sure how to do it.
• Take your puppy to a puppy training class.
• A puppy is a lot of work. Your children may promise to take care of it, but don't count on it. If you don't want the responsibility of taking care of a puppy, get an older dog that's already trained.