How do you teach puppy right from wrong

[CalamityJane10]

7 month old puppy. She is very chewy and virtually nothing in our house has escaped unscathed. If I catch her doing it, it’s a firm “no” and give her a bone or her toy. It stops on that occasion but doesn’t really work long term.

Today she tipped over a large planter and scooped out the contents. The mess was indescribable. I normally monitor her better but my DS is ill so she went out into garden unsupervised.

She knew she was being naughty, but did it anyway. I gave her the “no”, burst into tears and took her inside. Cleaned it up as best I could. When my back was turned putting ruined plants in brown bin, DS let her out and she did it again.

I’m not getting through to her. How would you have handled it?

[Wolfiefan]

Dogs don’t know naughty. You need to work to get the behaviour you want. So chewing? Give them something they can chew.
Digging. Provide a digging pit.
Planter? Keep pup on a lead near it or have a “safe” part of the garden sectioned off for pup to be in unsupervised.
Always praise the behaviour you want.
No is meaningless to a dog.
And helps.

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

With patience.

She’s not trying to be naughty, it’s just fun.

I dog proofed our house in the same way you’d toddler proof (different priorities obviously). It’s just a stage, but you will need to go through it. Distraction works well.

[ScreamingValenta]

I would say, don't think in terms of 'right' and 'wrong' because your pup won't have those concepts. He has no idea he is being naughty, he's just doing whatever comes into his head as interesting.

Reinforce the behaviour you want with treats and praise. Don't give your pup attention if he does something you don't want, because your attention is a reward, even if you think you are 'telling him off'. Just say a firm 'no' if you see him doing something you don't like, and calmly separate him from the object of his unwanted attentions.

[ScreamingValenta]

Sorry, I have referred to pup by the wrong sex there!

[CalamityJane10]

Thanks everyone, just wanted to check there isn’t a special method that I’m not aware of. I’ll keep going with the praise and swapping furniture for her chew toys. Hopefully we’ll get there in the end!

[almondsareforevermore]

No is not meaningless to a dog, said sharply or fiercely it means Stop it!
You can easily teach a puppy to stop whatever he’s doing by saying No! then praising him for stopping. That won’t stop him doing the same thing 5 minutes later but he will gradually learn what is not allowed.

[iwonderwhen]

I agree with the above and want to add another: if dogs do wrong within the pack the mother will ignore them and as we know, dogs hate not getting your attention. So, you are the pack leader you try to replicate this behaviour with a sharp NO, and then ignore them by looking away from them with no eye contact for a short time, 5/10 mins. It does work coupled with lots of praise and rewards when they do the right thing, also substitution like ppl have said.

[BiteyShark]

My dog as a puppy used to do 'naughty' things to get the attention of my DH because whereas I would just remove things quietly with no fuss he would reward that behaviour by giving him lots of 'attention'. He didn't know he was being naughty, he just knew DH would chase after him if he did those things.

Try and remove anything you don't want to be chewed. Put things away. What was like gold dust to my puppy he now completely ignores as an adult so sometimes it's just a matter of hiding things until they have matured.

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

Control and management is vital with puppies.

So if you do have a large plant pot on the floor chances are the puppy will knock it over so puppy proof your house as you would for a toddler. As the dog matures things can often go back to normal.

Have a safe area you can put the puppy if you need time out or are not able to supervise the dog. Give them a stuffed kong as distraction.

Ignore the pack leader stuff dogs dont understand it.

[Wolfiefan]

No may interrupt the behaviour but it won’t teach a dog not to do certain things and doesn’t promote the behaviour you do want.
I choose to use positive reinforcement and not be fierce or sharp to my dog. I want to build a good relationship where she wants to do what I ask her to.
And pack theory has been disproven @iwonderwhen. The dog knows you’re not a dog and you don’t need to be a pack leader.

[fivedogstofeed]

She has no concept of what naughty is, how could she? She's just doing puppy 'stuff'

Puppy proof your house - anything lying around is fair game and it enough to reduce you to tears. I've had a lot of foster pups here in the last few months, my house is looking very, very sparse....

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Oh one good tip I’ve temembered.

If all is crap and you’re cross with your pup and she’s frustrated and confused, do a couple of tricks that you know she can do and feel pleased about and and can get a treat even if its only ‘sit’. You and she can feel pleased.

[SilentShadows]

Oh dear, poor plants!

Another way to teach her not to go near the planter at all is to "block her". Go out in the garden with her, and if she goes near the planter calmly get between her and it, even if this means gently nudging her back slightly with your leg. Stand in front of the planter (in this way your are claiming the planter as yours and in your space), and every time she darts towards it calmly move your leg / body to block her. It's a body language thing. She should gradually get the message and wander off to something more interesting. Do this a few times and she will hopefully start learning.