my naughty puppy...again

Question
hi jeff,
since you were so helpful last time, maybe you can help again.  i'm being continually flabbergasted with this puppy.  ok, now she is sleeping and not howling all night. she is outside most of the day with our other dog (a cocker spaniel).  i spend time during the day with her training and play games and when the kids come home they play with the dogs for ages, so she gets plenty of attention and exercise.  So WHY has she declared war on my pot plants. i've dried diversion with rewards, yelling "leave it" when a see her, she's had a smack & i've even growled at her then ignored her (the neighbours must truely think i'm crazy).  to make matters worse, our beautiful Cocker, who has never been naughty in her life, is copying the pup. our back yard looks like a war zone with the stuff she pulls around.  she has toys to play with for chewing and snuggling....have we just got a naughty pup or are we doing something wrong.  are boxer or collies breeds that are hard to train, or naturally destructive.....why didnt someone tell us.  we were looking for an active dog that would actually want to play with the kids, because our cocker would just rather be petted and groomed then play soccer or fetch with the kids. does bad behaviour go hand in hand with activeness.

please help again

marci

Answer
Hi Marci,
Glad I was helpful before.

This one is easy. She can't be left alone in the back yard. Period. If she is allowed to dig and have a good old time destroying your garden, that will turn into a habit that is harder to curb.

If you can't watch her and train her to leave the garden, she must be managed inside with you. Period.

Good luck,
Jeff