One of the keys to successful house training (and not just potty training, but also no-chew training, or respect for property) is controlling a puppy's environment. We use a combination of baby gates, leashes, and the crate to make sure we always know where April is, what she is doing, and what she has access to. She is never out of our sight, and usually she is actually leashed to one of us. If we can't watch her carefully for a little bit she goes in her crate with a fun toy. With these precautions we can usually catch her before a mistake occurs, be that a potty mistake or a chewing mistake, and catching before they happen means we can avoid the rooting of bad habits, not to mention we can avoid cleaning up messes and replacing lost possessions. We followed these rules with Gimli to what seemed like great success, and it appears to be working a second time as well. No shoes chewed, no accidents, another successful day (even if she does look a little sad behind that gate).
