[Furballs123]

Ok, sp i have a retriever/lab, roughly 5 months old.
She seems to have trouble holding her 'waste' in when we are gone.
She will do both jobs outside with our other dog, and gets plenty of praise when she does.
We tried crating her once (she was crated often with previous owner) and she pooped in the crate...it was MESSY!!!!
So instead, we started 'puppy proofing' a special room with a pee pad for when we were away instead of the crate.

For a while, this worked great! but after a few weeks, she started tearing up the pee pad all the time, as well as other things. and there fore, all of her pee/poops were on the floor.

When we are home, she rarely has accidents. It's only when we are not around. I am scared to try crating her again because it was SO messy, and she was covered in it!

Anyone have any suggestions? (our other dog never had potty training issues like this, and we have been using the same techniques)
I just really feel like we are not making progress, things are getting worse. Hopefully someone can help!

ps. she did unfortunately come from an abusive home, so we are careful in how we discipline her, i know this could play a big role in why she is so destructive when we are away

[French Ring]

Dogs only be destructive when they are very bored.

The old saying is that a tired dog is always a good dog.

What kind of food is your lab on? How often does he eat? Kibbles that are not digestible can make dogs poop often. I am not telling you that you should try raw diet unless you are comfortable with it. Dogs are on raw diet tend to poop less.

I would try give him something to chew on while you are not home. It sounds like he is bored at home and it is fun to chew the pee pad. It is something he is having so much fun with. I would try to find something better to keep him busy while your absence.

And.. One more thing I forgot to add. I would try to introduce him back to crate training and get one that doesn't have a room to stand up only lay down. When a dog gets too much movement, it triggers the bladder and bowel to come out quickly. If you are going out for jogging with your lab, all of sudden he needs to poop now.