[mango]

I just got a yorkie he is 9 weeks. My husband and I leave him for 8 hours when we go to work.We have a space gated off for him with toys,bed,water and his pee pad. He just starting eating his pee pad. I come home it's all over his gated area. What should I do?

[labman]

I saw the other thread first, and guessed the puppy was young giving this answer. Leaving a young puppy in the house all day by itself isn't a good idea. Sometimes there are more problems than others. Until they are 4 months old, puppies need a mid day meal. All day is long even for an adult. If you can't give your puppy a mid day break, try to find somebody that can, a neighbor, a professional dog walker, etc. The solution is to crate the puppy, and give it a mid day break. If you can't do that, there may not be a good solution.

As he matures, he sleeps less and is more active. He may move from his pads to the waste paper basket and maybe the sofa cushions. Most houses have plenty of juicy cords on the floor.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity as crates do, extending the time the dog can go without relieving itself.

With such difficulties, I often suggest adopting an older dog rather than a puppy. Puppies have special needs and do not fit many lifestyles. I wish I had an easier answer. I guess you could try spraying the pad with Bitter Apple. It might leave the pad too bad tasting to chew, but still attractive to eliminate on.

[JClarke]

My puppies are eating their pee pads? Why