My puppy shreds pee pads when alone. Is this normal? How to stop it?

Question

My miniature schnauzer puppy is almost 4 months old. When we have to leave him home alone, we put him in the bathroom with a gate. We always put a puppy pad down, but recently he has started shredding the puppy pad up! Is this normal behavior or is he acting out? I don’t know how to keep him from doing it but if we’re gone all day I don’t want to leave him without one in there. Pet's info: Dog | Miniature Schnauzer | Male | 3 months and 17 days old | 8 lbs

Jessica Keay, DVM · Accepted Answer

I am sorry to hear about your frustation with Ozzy! Unfortunately this is not an unusual behavior. Ozzy is certainly not acting out or trying to make you frustrated, he is being a normal puppy. Puppies are curious/playful animals that often like to tear things up. If he is being left alone for extended periods of time, then this is why he is tearing his puppy pad up. He is likely bored and lonely. You could consider having a neighbor or pet sitter come over during the middle of the day to let him out while he is young. Also provide him with ample toys to play with as an alternative to tearing up his pads- food puzzles are great to keep puppies engaged, as are kongs- you can put wet food into a kong and put it into the freezer to provide longer entertainment.

My puppy shreds pee pads when alone. Is this normal? How to stop it?

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