Puppy problems

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Our 6 month goldendoodle is really putting us to the test these days. He loves to grab shoes and clothes and just chew away. He has never ruined anything, but we usually don't give him the opportunity to. When he prances in with a shoe or a pair of pants in his mouth we firmly tell him NO and take it away from him. We have tried the apple bitter spray, but that only fends him off for a couple of minutes.
Our trainer has told us numerous times not to put him in his kennel when he is bad. How else are you supposed to "punish" them? Sometimes it's just too much and he ends up in his kennel (right now for instance). Any tips and tricks on how to stop this bevaior?

We are also still very much struggling with him mouthing our hands. Almost all his teeth have fallen out so I believe the "teething" stage is pretty close to being done. He has SO many toys and various bones, however our hands are the object of his affection. Once again we tried Apple spray without much luck. We also have tried the ouch which doesn't work for him. He looks at us like we're crazy haha. We also have tried the ignore or get up and walk away method with no such luck. Are we doing something wrong or shall we just hang in there?

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Sounds like Yeti is a chewer. I agree with Jane, Guiness and Murphy, put away in drawers, behind doors, inside bins anything you do not want chewed on. Basically you are not punishing a puppy, but trying to teach him to make good decisions.  Chew on this, not that.  It takes awhile with young dogs.  Yeti is still very young and should be in the same room with you all the time or in his crate.  You can teach most dogs not to chew on shoes, purses, or socks by leaving one them out in the room you and Yeti are in.  As soon as the mouth goes for the item (not the nose that is just identifying) - "NO" and give him a toy.  Always have toys right near you and hand Yeti a toy that you hold on to before or right as he starts on your hand.  Some dogs can be very difficult and take a lot of consistency and time to avoid chewing on anything in sight.  Other dogs learn quickly as they just don't seem to want to do it as much.

  Roo is a licker, which can be annoying, but is fairly easy to stop, never chewed anything except toys.  He still does shred any toy in about five minutes - he simply will not rest until the toy is well and truly dead.  Tigger on the other hand loved to chew on shoes, socks, toilet paper - if he could reach it he would chew it.  At eight he still occasionally brings me a shoe or a sock to trade for a toy. But Tigger rarely destroys his toys, he loves to have them tossed in the air for him and to mouth them.  Both dogs have antlers to chew on.  Yeti is old enough to have antlers too, they are great for chewers as they last a long time, are clean and not smelly and collected from animals that shed them every year.

  Crating him for chewing is not going to teach him to not chew shoes, too long between chew and crate. Crating him when you need relief is fines as Yeti still needs a lot of sleep and downtime.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you all so so much ☺️ I am so appreciative of all this amazing advice! I am going to start putting everything away and making sure it's away. We usually keep our shoes in the closet but it's kind of an adjustment having him and not being used to having to put everything away. He is starting to nab everything on the counters too now that he is tall enough to reach up. Another adjustment haha. But we are slowly learning. I just wanted to make sure we weren't doing something wrong with him. We will keep up with the NO's and make sure to start being more diligent about replacing toys with things he isn't supposed to have!

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Check out the "it's yer choice" exercise.  It's basically a training exercise to help dogs learn self control.  I stopped Ludo's BAD counter surfing that way as well as getting into the dish washer.  I think the same training could be applied to shoes/ other belongings.  My trainer said she has used the same technique for dogs who steal things (like shoes and bras, haha).  Ludo is a year old and I still keep shoes out of reach.  He doesn't usually destroy things, but he likes being a little thief! :)

[Lynda Kamrath]

I would also say don't punish them, and particularly by putting them in their crate.  You have to be retrained to have a puppy in the household.  That means doors closed and everything put up.  We have been through this many times and are going through it again with our sheepadoodle puppy.  She is a challenge and finds all kinds of things to chew on both in the house and outside.  It does pass, but it will take a while.  Don't think about punishing.  It only will hurt your relationship.  Our dog has pulled the table cloth off the table twice (and everything with it), chewed up books and magazines left on the coffee table, shoes and clothes where ever she can find them, and the sprinkler system outside. She loves the remote and can find it anywhere.  We want to get her accustomed to being in the house, but we have to get ourselves retrained to having a puppy in the house.  I think it is a little more difficult with dogs that you plan to share your home with, which are our doodles.  Hang in there.  It will pass.  Oh, yes, and hand out chews and toys liberally.  We have many all over our house and when she chews on anything she is not supposed to be chewing on, we hand her a toy or other chewable item.  Your house may look a mess, but that too passes.