In an attempt to limit her destructive chewing and control her exploratory behavior, I have 2 crates, an indoor pen, 2 outdoor pens and 3 tie-down areas.

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Every countertop is covered with rolls of paper towels, timers, cleaners, bitter apple bottles, water spray bottles and all kinds of puppy training paraphernalia. The floor is a tripping hazard as there are toys and chewies everywhere. I keep an abundance of toys in her crates and pens and tie-down areas. In addition she has a basket full of toys so she knows exactly where to find them. She goes to her basket, takes out one toy; shakes it like she's going to give herself whiplash; pounces on and attacks it; then promptly leaves it behind and repeats the process with the next toy until the basket is empty.

So it's amazing to me that even with all her toys and supervision and confinement, she can still at the speed of light leave a trail of destruction in her path. We play fetch, we wrestle, we play tug, so I think maybe she's tired. Then all of the sudden she bursts into full gear and makes 10 mad dashes around the living room, on the bed, or in the yard. I don't know how she physically can get anything into her mouth at that speed, but she does. She leaves in her wake a trail of chewed papers, cushions, boxes, potting soil, leaves, magazines and things I haven't seen in years. I constantly ask myself, "Where did that come from?" I thought I had the house pretty well puppy proofed, but all it takes is a puppy to show you what you've forgotten.

It's often advised not to play tug of war or wrestle with dogs, but it can be an excellent training exercise when done properly; and it can also cause big problems if done improperly. I discuss this subject at length in the "Help! My Dog has an Attitude" book.

The bitter apple works great when she approaches an item or piece of furniture slowly and has time to taste it. But at full speed, it goes into her mouth and out of it just as fast. She loves to chew everything: the walls, the patio concrete, the stucco, the fencing. If it exists and she can reach it; it's in her mouth one way or another.

This of course is just puppy exploratory behavior and will subside as she learns about her environment. She eventually will distinguish between what is edible and what is not. She'll learn her toys and treats are far preferable to things like walls, tables, chairs, bricks, rocks, etc. So I usually don't make a fuss or even scold her for it. She gets bored pretty quickly and is onto something else anyway before I have time to say or do anything. Sometimes I will distract her and give her a bone to chew on instead, especially if she seems to be enjoying the forbidden item or staying with it too long. I don't want her developing bad habits. Most of the time she rejects the bone because she already knows about it. She wants something new and different. And that's my job to provide it.