97. Puppy shreds papers and soiling herself

E-MAIL TO DR SING DATED JUN 11, 2010

Dear Judy,
I juz got a cockapoo for 1 wk. She is 2mths old now. Currently we
placed her in a big playpen w toys, hanging water bottle & a security
towel. There is also a corner in e pen where she pees n poops
successfully on everytime. I bring her out in short intervals abt 3
times a day, allowin her to play ard the living room. Her pen is in a
corner of the living room by the way. After playin, when I put her
back to the pen, she will pee on the papers. The problem is, she also
likes to lie on the papers, clean or soiled, when she is playin alone
w her toys, n when she starts to shred and eat the papers when bored.
I've given her toys n pushed her away when I c her on e papers. But
without supervision, she ends up on it again. When we wake up in e
morning, e soiled papers will be shredded, her toys on her urine, n
her body reeks of urine smell. What should we do? Why does she do
that? Should I expand her pen furthur? I await your kind advice. Thank
you!
Thanks & regards
Name of Owner

Sent from my iPhone

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING DATED JUN 12, 2010

I am Dr Sing for Toa Payoh Vets. Thank you for your e-mail.

From your description, the puppy pees on the papers at a corner of the playpen. But she also shreds the papers. Paper shredding is a common complaint of confined puppies. As to why they do it, it is likely to be fun.

Here are some suggestions:
1. Just do not make a fuss when you see the puppy shredding papers
2. Change the soiled papers without scolding the puppy or making any comments. Your reaction makes the puppy repeat her paper shredding to get you to pay more attention.
3. Tape the 4 sides of the newspapers onto the floor (the corner of the playpen). This may not be fool-proof.
4. I saw an invention by some people at a Singapore pet shop some time ago. It is a clip-on rectangle to hold the papers tightly so that the puppy cannot shred them (in theory). This invention was not marketed well and is hard to find. Maybe you can make one with 4 pieces of wood or metal rods (which holds newspapers in the library).
5. Some owners buy the "puppy diapers or pads" which have tapes to stick it onto the floor. The puppy may or may not shred it.
6. Paper training takes a lot of time. When the owner pays a lot of vocal attention to this misdeed, it is hard to stop the puppy shredding. The puppy just loves attention and the owner keeps scolding. This is attention to the puppy. Therefore be silent.
7. Soiling herself overnight. This puppy has no "clean" instinct. Check how she was housed in the previous place (seller). Was she housed in a grate + pee pan. If that is the case, don't expect her NOT to enjoy shredding papers as she had no previous paper experience.
8. Please e-mail me 3 pictures of top views and side views of the playpen and puppy (newspapers in the corner) as sometimes, I can provide advices better after seeing the housing floor plan.