Separation Anxiety

[Hawkeye222]

Help! I have a 2.5 year old male ... awesome dog... except for one thing.... when he is left alone in the house and not in a crate (normally in crate but would like to let him run free in the house) he will pee or poop. He has never once peed or pooped in his crate or peed or pooped when I am home and he is running around, which he does from the time I get home to the time I go to work the next morning. What do you think is wrong? What can I do?

Thank you.

 

[Grimmja]

I guess I would try the crate while you're gone, if there's only enough space for him to comfortably lie down, he shouldn't mess his den, if he still does and he is potty trained, i wonder about separation anxiety, an infection, or behavioral acting out...
You could also maybe try just a small area of your house instead of the whole house, like a small room. Maybe there's just too much space?
Take all that for what it's worth, it's just my very novice opinion, good luck!

 

[boxbud]

puppy trouble

My advice is to crate him when he is alone. Sounds like some separation anxiety. I can't leave my one year old alone very long. He will tear up the house big time. Is he a very dominant dog? That could be some of the problem too. Can't change that. My other boxer I lost last year loved his crate. He would sleep in it all the time with the door open or closed. So don't think they hate it and it's not cruel. It'll keep him safe and save you some grief. So there's my advice, it's free. Good luck and hope all goes well.

 

[Tyson&Me]

My 8 month old boxer has separation anxiety. When I would leave the house, I would always crate him b/c I thought he was too young to be left alone in the house. He would ALWAYS poop in his crate and I started finding marks in between his paws that would be bleeding. Then one day I came home and he was out of the crate, he actually broke the bars off it and got it. Sooo, next option was to leave him in my room. HUGE MISTAKE! He tore my rug and mattress up, pooped all over, stepped in it, and then ran all over my room. I called the vet and they said they might have medication to put him on. I didn't like the sound of that, so my last resort was to let him roam the whole house w/ my 3 year old lab (who is of course allowed to roam the house b/c of his age). Well, my boxer must feel more comfortable being around my lab when I am gone, because he has not touched ONE thing in the WHOLE entire house. So, you might want to call the vet and see what they suggest. To me, my only options were, medication or leaving him w/ my other dog!

 

[tigerpaw99]

here is my situation

My Jasmine doesn't so much urinate and deficate as she does pull things off the furniture. She isn't bad with blankets and beding and it isn't all the time either although it is most of the time. When I get home and she has gotten at stuff she runs out of the room or under some furniture so she knows that it is bad.....Can she just not contorl herself? At first I just thought it was because she was so young and just bored when I am gone, but I am not sure that's entirely it.