Separation anxiety? advice needed

[pekie]

We have tyson for about 3 weeks and at the start he has taken to his crate ok. i wouldnt say he loves it but more ok with it. When we put him inside he would cry, whine and chews the bars for about 5/10 mins then he would settle down and sleep. Gradually the crying etc have decreased with time. we have left him in his crate while we are doing housework etc so he is used to seeing us up and about in the house so he knows we are nearby. we have popped out to the shops for an hour and come back to find him ok.

During the past week it went back to square one, we left him in his crate, wait till he settles down ok being in the crate then we would leave the house again for an hour to do some shopping. when we came back home we found him to be barking really loud and he pooped and eat his own poo in the crate. we have taken him out to do his business before we left and he peed at the time but didnt poop. This has happened twice now and we first thought it might be the crate being a little too big so we made it smaller and that never helped. we tried putting him again yesterday and all of a sudden he begin to pee/poop right in front of us even though he went to the toilet not long ago.

At bed time he usually falls asleep on the couch and we put him in the crate and hes fine with that. we take him out during the night to potty and put him back and he his fine. he seems to settle down easily during the night than the day.

so we just want some insight whether its separation anxiety when we leave him? is there anyway to combat that? im beginning to worry whether he is spending too much time with us. we will let him out of his crate when we are able to watch him so he will be playing on his own with his toys and we will interact with him.

thanks in advance!

 

[JLinz]

My boxer also suffers from some seperation anxiety...

Best thing i can say is you need to work in baby steps...Properly introducing the crate...making the dog ok with the crate...feeding in the crate...random treats in the crate...praise and high pitched reward talk when in the crate...and slowly extending time in the crate...

Type of crate...Dont ask me why, but my boxer will only sleep in his wire crate by my bed at night and hates it any other time...If i try to put him in there during the day when I am not asleep in the bed, he goes nuts...Ill come back to find him barking, and fairly sure he didnt stop for an hour or so...He chews at his bed and blanket and it just doesnt work for him for some reason...

His plastic crate offers very limited visibility, but he settles down in it and often will be sound asleep when I arrive home from a short errand run...Maybe he feels more secure in that crate...I dunno, but thats the one I continue to use for his crating during the day when I cant watch him or be with him....

I would maybe think trying a different type of crate to see if it calms the dog down any...

 

[pekie]

Thanks for the insight, we will go back to the start and re-introduce him to the crate. we have been avoiding to put him in it at the moment if we are busy as we dont want him to think its ok to pee/poop in the crate so we have sectioned off the kitchen area but it means he can have free runs of going to the toilet when he wants.

if that doesnt work we will get the plastic crate. how big should i get in the plastic crate? still the same idea of a wire one - one he can stand, turn comfortably?

he can sleep in his wire crate comfortably at night, no complaints.. just make himself comfy and sleep. he was ok with it at the start, chews his blanket etc but it got worse to him peeing in it.

 

[JLinz]

Mine stays in a medium crate and hes now 4 months old...Hes getting a little big for it, but we will soon move him into a large....

If your dog is pretty much potty trained, has just enough room to stand and turn and he is soiling in the crate, I would advise you let them hang out in there awhile with the accident...Will let them know if they do this again they are gonna have to live with it for awhile...Sounds kinda cruel, but i think when it gets to the point where the dog knows if he goes in the crate he will get removed, its an option...Ive already decided if my dog pees or poos in the crate he'll be hanging out in there a bit...

I really do feel terrible leaving my dog in the crate, however its necessary for his safety and development, it also allows them to become more independant with themselves and not need you at every second of the day....I think starting them at a young age is a much better plan as well.

You are in charge...not the dog...keep telling yourself that...