Paper potty during the day: Will it stop??

[Champ's Papa]

Hello,
Our boxer Champ, whom we've had since he was 8 weeks old, is now 4 months old. When we are home Champ is great, he goes to the door when he has to relieve himself and almost never has an accident in the house. However, he always goes in the house multiple times when we are at work during the day (one of us always comes home at noon to feed him, let him out, play, etc).

We attempted to properly crate train him early, but had no success. He would poop and pee in his crate when we were not home. Coming home to a poopy dog (he must step or roll in it) and a poopy crate must be one of the most unpleasant things ever!! I'm talking poo all over the walls, ceiling, etc; it looked like Woodstock in the mud took place in the crate (sorry for the graphic). Therefore, we abandoned leaving him in the crate during the day.

Our next idea was to leave him in the kitchen with 2 baby gates (one on top of the other) blocking the doorway, but still allowing him to see more of the house. This too failed, as Super Champ would end up on the other side of the kitchen when we arrived home. The gates totaled 4 feet high and were still standing, so I assume he must of climbed them. I think he freaks out so much when we leave that he gets some kind of super puppy strength!

We have now resorted to letting Champ roam the house when we cannot be home. This works out for the most part, except that we are greeted by poop and pee in the house Every Time we come home, whether it be at lunch or in the evening. We put newspaper down in his favorite spots, and he always pees on the paper and poops on it 75% of the time. So, it's not too difficult to clean up, especially compared to the crate.

I know that Champ can hold it b/c he does so throughout the nite when he sleeps in our room and he goes to the door when he has to go when we are home and is rewarded everytime.

So, I have come to the conclusion that Champ is suffering from seperation anxiety, and that he probably freaks out when we leave and poops and pees in the house (mostly on newspaper).

I don't mind him going on the paper in the house now, but it needs to stop before he makes too great an association between going potty and the inside of the house. I think that in order to be successful in this he needs to be comfortable being at home alone? I leave things to keep him preoccupied when we leave for the day such as, bone, pig ear, or toy, but obviously it does not occupy him enough. I have been thinking about getting another dog to keep him company during the day, but am not sure if I can afford to do so; therefore I NEED HELP!!!

I WOULD GREATY APPRECIATE ANY SUGGESTIONS, COMMENTS, ADVICE, ETC.

Thanks so much,
Jason

 

[Zoey's Mom]

Sounds like you have tried just about everything! How long did you try to crate train him for? Maybe you should look into a doggie day care.
I know what you mean about him being lonely and maybe you want to get another dog. Zoey barks and whines the whole time I am gone. I am a stay at home mom, which means if I go anywhere its only for a few hours at a time. However if you aren't sure if you can afford another dog, then perhaps you shouldn't get another. Having one dog is so costly (but so worth it) with everday things...food, toys and vet visits. Then their are unforseen costs that can be very pricey such as health problems and/or emaergency vet visits.
If I were you I would wait until I was sure I could afford another dog. However having two dogs could double your troubles as well. They could get into twice the mischief.
Good luck to you.

 

[gmacleod]

I don't think you have a separation anxiety problem. You do have an expectation/reality deficit though At four months old, the longest you can expect your puppy to be able to hold it is 5 hours. Sure, he can hold it longer overnight when he's sleeping - can't we all? LOL. But that's because the bodily functions (including urine production) of mammals slow down during sleep. You probably don't hold it all day either, but may have no problem sleeping 8 hours without having to get up and go to the bathroom... Well, its the same for your puppy

Trying again with the crate is the best solution if you can get someone (possibly a pet sitter/walker if neither you nor a family member can do it) to come round and give your puppy a potty/play break once or twice during the day. If that's not possible, then I would steer well clear of the crate. There is no way he's going to be able to hold it all day (and IMHO it isn't fair to ask him to try) so the only possible outcome is your aforementioned "Woodstock in the mud".

If you're going to paper train him though, it is probably still best to limit his run of the house to just one or two rooms - preferably without carpet. You have a slightly better chance of keeping his toilet training on-track if he isn't able to potty in too many places. The bathroom could also be a good option, if it's not possible to keep him in the kitchen. If you do a search on housetraining, you'll probably find several threads from people with similar experiences to yours. Good luck

PS: The pig's ears aren't a great thing to leave your puppy unattended with. They are a major choking hazard. If you do a search on raw hide (which is essentially the same thing as a pigs ear) you'll find literally hundreds of threads where people have had to pull parts of raw hides or pigs ears from their dog's throats when they have become stuck and the dog choked. Sadly, there are also a number of occassions when the dog has died. A nice stuffed kong is a much better choice

 

[Champ's Papa]

I should make it more clear that Champ is not alone for more than 4 hrs at a time. I always come home at lunch to hang out with him for at least an hour.

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

Try the crate again. But this time reduce the size of the inside of the crate (using a divider or boxes) so that the dog doesn't have room to potty in the corners or back of the crate and still sleep, lie down, etc.

 

[MonaC]

Do you have bedding or a crate pad in the crate? If so, then remove it and try again. Delilah never pooped in the crate but she peed in there. The vet suggested taking the bedding out of the crate. As long as she had something in there that would absorb the pee then she wasn't uncomfortable. I took the crate pad out for two weeks and age combined with not wanting to sleep in a damp crate cured her of the problem. I agree with the statement above that your pup isn't truely ready to make it more than 4 or 5 hours during the day. Try the crate again and good luck.

;-) Mo

 

[Calli's Dad]

Cardboard

My wife and I keep our girl locked in the kitchen when we are gone. We came home the first few times and found her on the other side. We found out she was climbing the gates (we doubled them up also). Our best solution was wiring a piece of cardboard to each section of the gate with some bread ties and duct tape. Putting a piece of cardboard on each section takes more time, but it still allows you to open and shut the gates as normal. It works great now. She has yet to get out. Although keeping him locked in the kitchen after having the whole house to play in may fustrate him and he could get into other trouble.