Crating for seperation anxiety?

853 Views 19 Replies 8 Participants Last post by mwv, Jul 22, 2009

mwv

Discussion Starter · Jul 13, 2009

First off, I am new to forums, but I have been lurking and reading for a while.

Hello, and my name is Matt.

Ok, so I just got my dog Zoe about 1.5 months ago or so. I adopted her from the pound and they estimate her age is in between 1.5-2 years old. I wasn't working when I originally got her, but now I have started up again. She has recently started eliminating on the floor. I take her out at least 5 times a day to go to the bathroom, and she gets plenty of exercise. The thing is that she will not go to the restroom if I leave her home with someone, but when people are all gone, she seems to always poop in my room. She if VERY attached to me, and I think it might be seperation anxiety. My roomate says that she paces between my bed and the door when I leave, and when I am around, she never leaves my heel. I have reprimanded her when she does poop, and I reward her when she goes outside.

Will crating help this? I work in 4 hours shifts, but she will go right after I take her out, and I will only be gone <2 hours. She knows she shouldn't because she tucks her tail and runs to her bed when I see it. She will also go sometimes when I am asleep.

I want to help her but I don't' know what else to do. I cant' help get mad at her, so I don't know how you guys let your dogs poop on the floor and not say anything to them.

Any and all help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

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sheltiemom

· #9 · Jul 13, 2009

First off, I don't think that you're dealing with separation anxiety, I think you have a dog that is not fully house trained, and I do think crating will help. I think anywhere you want to set up a crate is fine, it all depends on your personal preference. Some people crate in the room where they spend the most time, others like someplace away from all the activity. Just pick a spot and see how you like it. Do a search for crate training and housebreaking and you'll find alot of good info...I personally don't like to punish for a mess that I didn't catch the dog making.

True separation anxiety is severe and usually involves extreme destruction, barking, panic, and even the dog injuring itself in an attempt to get out of the crate/room/house and get to you.

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sheltiemom

· #14 · Jul 15, 2009

mwv said:
Question: Does crate trainging really teach "don't poop in the house"? or does it just eliminate the possibility of her doing it?

Basically just eliminates the possibility of her doing it, though it does prevent bad habits from developing when you're not there to catch it...you will still have to use other techniques to train her when she's out of the crate, and personally I like to phase out the crate after the dog is reliable in the house.

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