Controlling the Environment
If your housekeeping style is more obsessive-compulsive than freestyle, you have it made when it comes to controlling your environment.
Pick It Up!
Just picking up all of the bits and pieces that you might usually leave lying around during your dog's early exploration will go a long way to preventing both destruction and the habit of destruction. Personal items like kids' toys, shoes, and dirty laundry are especially attractive targets of destruction, as are items your dog can shred, like newspaper and toilet paper.
Unless your idea of the perfect full-time job is picking up tiny bits of shredded tissues or sewing the eyes back on your kid's stuffed animals (if you're lucky, and not soothing your child because the puppy chewed the head off her favorite doll), you'll be well served to control your dog's environment.
Is your puppy teaching you tricks? If she's stealing household items, and you're running around waving your arms and screaming after her, she's just taught you to play “Look at what I can make my owner do!” Dogs think this chase game is great and will repeat it as long as you keep “playing.” Avoid the game altogether and keep attractive but forbidden items out of reach.
Puppyproofing
If you have a puppy or adolescent dog in your house, it's time to puppyproof and put the priceless family heirlooms away for a while, or at least out of your puppy's reach. Candy dish on the coffee table? Not now. Scavengers that they are, untrained dogs will naturally explore trashcans, tables, and countertops for food. They don't know that these activities aren't acceptable in a human household until you teach them.
As far as they're concerned, unguarded food is free for the taking, and who can resist a free meal? Even one successful counter-surfing venture is enough for some dogs to never forget without some serious intervention. Avoiding the problem by making sure food and trash are securely stored is imperative for your dog's behavior and health.
