When I went back to work after we got General Lee we left him in the kitchen with a baby gate. He put two holes in the wall, tore up three floor tiles and managed to rip off pieces of floor board.
We bought him an x-pen. He has a pillow, sheet, food and water and a couple of chew toys. Sometimes I even put his crate in there. No more torn up anything. He has not even chewed the tiles that the x-pen in on.
Part of the situation is that you mentioned the kids starting to play with the pup more. If they are playing tug-o-war the pup will want to do that and that will lead to chewing. We do play tug-o-war, but General Lee knows that he is only allowed to do that when we say so and with his toys. He loves to grab my shirt sleeve and I broke him of that.
This will take time. Nice things are nice to have around, but nothing compares to the love and joy a puppy brings.
Good Luck |