Q: Hi! We have a new 10-week old black Lab who is tearing up the house! Some help, please!

A: A pup this age is too young to be loose in the house unless someone is in the same room watching the puppy. You can either use a crate when no one can watch the puppy, or a safe area such as a bathroom with a baby gate to keep him safely tucked out of trouble.

A Labrador can be expected to need this kind of supervision to around age 2 years. Housetraining is usually not complete until at least 4 months of age, and a few months later, the really serious chewing stage sets in. The chewing you see in a 10-week old pup is small potatoes compared to what comes later.

Unfortunately, if you don't crate-train your dog in puppyhood, it is sometimes impossible to crate-train the dog later on. Many dogs lose their homes by the time they are a year old, because the household destruction is just more than their owners can handle.

Crate-training saves dogs' lives because it gives you an option to take care of a dog through this stage. It also saves dogs' lives by protecting them from chewing things that will kill them. Labradors are one of the leading breeds for swallowing deadly things.

But this problem can be solved. Just get started on the supervision, spray Bitter Apple on any inappropriate item you see your pup chewing, and hand the pup its own toy instead. Praise the pup for settling to chew its own toy. You will need to do this many times, and you will need to keep up the supervision until the dog is mature enough and the teeth are settled enough -- probably around age 2 years. Punishment does not work for this problem, so be sure no one does that to your pup.