poodle potty training

Question
My entire yard is pebbles. The 5 month puppy loves to eat them. So distracted he will not potty until back in crate.
Vet says pebbles are harmful, sometimes requires surgery. He eats them out on walks too! How to stop bad habit?

Answer
Hello There,
There are a couple things that you can try to help stop your puppy from eating the rocks.  

First, take a soda can and put a few small rocks in it and tape the lid shut.  When your puppy starts trying to eat the rocks, shake the can at him to distract him.  Praise him when he stops.  
If he hasn't gone potty within 5-10 minutes, bring him back inside then take him out in 5 minutes time (try to play with him or work with him while he is inside, if you put him in the crate he will just potty in it)
Keep doing this until he will potty outside.  

You might also make him a special fenced in area in the back yard just for him.  Clear the pebbles away and put down something else like sod or wood chips.  When you take him potty, bring him to his area and let him potty there.  
To help him use this area, when he potties on the floor, clean it up with paper towels and put the urine soaked paper towels out in his area.  When you take him to potty, he will see that he has pottied there before and will be more likely to go there again.  

When you are on walks with him, if you see him try to pick up a rock, tell him NO!, and give him a gentle but firm leash correction.  You might want to bring a toy from home and give that to him instead.  You are telling him that its not ok to go after the rocks, but he can have his chew toy instead.  

Give this a try and if you have other questions about this, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim