As many of you know, we adopted a “puppy” (she is about 10 months they think) in July. She has been a pretty good dog but rarely has had to be crated for any length of time. Mr. R started a new job about a week ago and so she has to be crated when we’re all out of the house (self, spouse, and roommate) which is generally no more than 4 hours at a time and only a few days a week.
She used to be totally fine with her crate, and still is when we’re in the room. But now she’s developed major separation anxiety. She poops in her crate when we’re gone (we control her food times so that she can go before we leave and try like heck to get her to go but she won’t) and whines most of the time. The crate isn’t too big and we’ll come home to her sitting in her poop.
It’s breaking our heart. We can’t leave her out because she’s still a puppy and is in a bit of a destructive stage. We give her bones, a chew toy, and a kong with treats in her crate. She won’t even touch her toys while we’re gone.
Do you give her an actual walk in the morning to get her to poop? Or just send her out in the yard? Like humans, it sometimes seems that physical activity helps those bowel movements to happen!
We had a really big crate when our dog was still pooping inside. I agree about going out with her – I took my lab on a “business walk” in the morning in all weather for many years.
My precious puppy duppy has major separation issues. He is a Vizsla, otherwise known as the Velcro dog. What we have found works for him is to use baby gates to safely keep him in one room, in our case the living room, with toys, water and a wee-wee pad just in case, but no accidents, thankfully. But what keeps him content and behaved is having a window to look out. Our guy likes to watch people walk by or birds fly or even just the leaves shake on the trees. He will sit happily and look out the window for hours and for some reason doesn’t appear to feel alone when he has window access. I don’t know if that would help your baby, but is there any possibility of a window?
I would want to rule out any health issues with the vet. Any worms?
Have you ever tried Rescue Remedy for pets (of course ask vet)? My girl, who is never crated, did well with it on a long flight this past summer (she’s small enough to sit under the seat in her carrier).
Also, I would try an extra long walk every morning before it’s crate time.
Oh, your poor puppy. I would suggest a consultation with a good behaviorist, but you might not have one near you. First off, while a thundershirt might help (for a lot of dogs it does, but not all), actual anxiety-reduced drugs (specifically, alprazolam) will help your dog relax enough to learn that your departure is not a big deal. Your vet can help you with that.
Your dog needs to learn that your departure predicts your return, which will allow him to relax and stop worrying that you’re never coming back. Yes, he needs to be crated, and yes, he may well need to be crated the rest of his life. A crate is a very safe place for most dogs. You can set up his crate, put him in it, walk out of the room, and walk right back in and give him a treat. Do that a bunch of times and he’ll start to look forward to you leaving. That’s when you extend your departure just a few moments. Just a bit at a time.
Do some tests. Is he less anxious if the crate is covered with a blanket? If soft jazz is playing? If he has a Kong filled with peanut butter or a Tricky Treat Ball to play with? If he can watch TV?
dmd- music didn’t make a difference but haven’t tried blankets or tv yet. I will definitely try some of those tips- thank you!
@zoosermom unfortunately my house is one of those open layout types. There is no way to just block off a room unless it’s one of the bathrooms or bedrooms. She is definitely a “velcro” dog (love that term!)
I’m going to try dmd’s suggestions and maybe the thundershirt. She, luckily, doesn’t have anxiety around anything else (totally cool with storms, fireworks, etc). I hate seeing her like this and will try anything.
On the same note, I have a dog, poodle that is overly attached to me, and barks too much. We have tried everything! Does the thundershirt help with barking for no good reason?
My little dogs freak out in the crate, but settle in nicely if it is covered with a light weight sheet. (make sure it is not so thick that your pup overheats) Petsmart sells a little pouch of some “calming” chews. These work well for us on the 4th of July.
I’ve been watching “It’s me or the dog” recently and the trainer on the show seems to approach separation anxiety with a few tactics.
First, she teaches the stay or wait command, getting the dog used to being at a distance from people. She also uses a food toy (e.g. kong) as a distraction. Then she’ll leave the dog alone for a few seconds at a time (walking out the door). She slowly works up to longer periods from there. Upon return, she has the owners almost ignore the dog initially, basically so that coming back is not a big event for the dog.
Oh, she also advises a lot of exercise, especially before long periods out of the house.
You can also email our AWESOME behavior specialist, Mailey McLaughlin, at mmclaughlin@atlantahumane.org . She will assist with specific questions via email. Tell her a volunteer referred you.
