How to stop a puppy from biting, chewing, and destructive behavior?

Question

Austin eats our bedsheets and messes up the bed, Tears down pillows, Comes and bites our legs, Snaps at us,and its unpredictable. We tried to lock him in a room Distracting his mind Giving him toys to chew and praised it with treat when he did right, We tried hitting him with newspaper Punish him What else can i do? I am at a point where my mother can’t handle it. Which method is best overtime? Please help. Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Male | unneutered | 3 months and 23 days old | 6 lbs

Jeffrey Milner · Accepted Answer

I would strongly recommend against any sort of punishment as they are notoriously ineffective for training long term goals. Hitting him with the newspaper or locking him away in a room is only going to confuse him and make him sad. Positive reinforcement training (rewarding behaviors / actions that are preferable) has time and time again been show to be the most effective method of training puppies and the majority of adult dogs. Golden Retrievers are very smart and usually eager to please their masters. You just must understand that Austin is very, very young and is behaving in a way that is totally normal for a dog of this age and breed. I would encourage you to begin crate training Austin if you haven't already. Once he views the crate as a positive place (sort of like his own personal den), you can ask him to go to it and stay in it without it actually appearing like a punishment / time out. Crate training videos can be seen all over the internet on YouTube. That would be my advise to get things moving in the right direction. I would also encourage you to exercise him as much as possible (assuming he is vaccinated) so that he is less inclined to be destructive or annoying when he is around you mother or you. Hope this makes sense!

How to stop a puppy from biting, chewing, and destructive behavior?

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