HipChick
Cathlete
Hi all. I need some help. My DH & I adopted a doggie last Friday. His name is Skippy & his picture is my avatar. He's truly a precious little guy, very sweet, smart, & eager to please, & we already love him. He's about 1 1/2 years old & already house & crate trained. So far, we haven't had many problems or corrections to make but we have encountered a minor problem with his crate. He's portrayed most of the right signs for being housebroken but so far, whenever he has to be in his crate, he's had an accident. I know we've only had him for 4 days so maybe I'm expecting too much too soon but I thought I'd see what everyone here thinks.
We had to crate him for a couple of hours Saturday night & he urinated in a corner of it & when my DH went home to let him out for lunch today, he had a bowel movement in there. I know you may need more information before giving advice so here is more on his background. He was in a shelter at 6-8 months old when he was adopted into a foster home with at least 10 other dogs & at least as many cats. She immediately had him neutered & started with crate & house training. He's quite skittish & apprehensive about his new surroundings but he certainly didn't seem to be abused in any way. In fact, he really seemed to love his foster mom & always responded positively to her. He was always fed in the morning but we prefer to feed at night so he'll have several hours to do his business afterward, while we're home. To change his schedule, we gradually adjusted his schedule by feeding him half of his food at closer periods until tonight, when he'll get his whole meal at 7 p.m. I know we've totally messed up his system & schedule but I also didn't think he would go in his crate if he could avoid it.
We lost a very dear pet last year & never had to crate her, ever. So this is really disturbing for me anyway. When we got back from crating him Saturday night, I literally bawled my eyes out. It just seemed so pitiful to me for him to be stuck in there with urine on his pad. Poor little guy! Anyway, he's also been very freaked out in our yard & always on alert to new sights & sounds. The first few times we took him out was on a leash because we didn't want him to get spooked & hurt himself. But he wouldn't go to the bathroom at all. I finally got him to urinate late Friday night, after I sat & just waited until he finally went, although he still seemed to be more preoccupied with his new yard than doing his business. So we seemed to be over the "pee hurdle" until he had the accident in his crate. Right after we let him out, he immediately ran upstairs & went on the carpet too. That was Saturday & so far, we haven't had any further problems with urination.
His first bowel movement was late Saturday morning, while I was doing laundry. I keep our spare bedroom closed because the furniture is all antiques but I use the bed as a staging area for clean laundry. So he's freaked out about his new yard & plus, my MIL recently stayed with us & had her chihuahua in the spare bedroom with her. Anyway, he hopped up on that bed & unloaded right on the comforter while I was out of the room. Of course, we scolded him & immediately took him outside. Then, he had a bowel movement outside yesterday, so we thought we had cleared that hurdle too. We also praise him extensively & give him treats when he goes outside.
Okay, I know it's awfully early & this is only his fourth day with us & his first full day alone (it's breaking my heart knowing he's home in that crate... & now that I know he had another accident, I can hardly bear the thought of putting him back in there tomorrow) but I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice for helping him with his transition. He seems to be just fine when we're there with him. He sleeps on the bed with us & no accidents there, so it seems to have everything to do with his crate at this point. He didn't like going in the first time we told him to go but today, he went right in with no problem both times. He does cry, though.
So I'm wondering if this is a form of separation anxiety, perhaps both from his foster mom & from us leaving him? Or do you think he got used to going in his crate while being fostered? Wouldn't that be unusual? I didn't think they would go in their crates but like I said, I'm not familiar with crate-training at all. Do you think maybe she leaves the animals in their crates for a lot longer than we realize? Or does this have to do with his confunsion & anxiety about the new surroundings & environment? Is it because we've changed his eating schedule & habits? Do we just need to stay out with him until he goes, no matter how long it takes? Should we consider letting him stay in a bathroom with a gate? Or is it just too soon to tell at all?
Like I said, I just have no idea about crating an animal & would welcome any advice & hints anyone can offer. He's a very sweet doggie, very smart & eager to please so I just want to make this transition easier for him. It doesn't take much to make him understand what he is or is not supposed to do. A simple minor scolding seems to do the trick.
Maybe I'm just jumping the gun on all this & I just need to give it a more time but it just breaks my heart to think of him being confined & having accidents like that! Please help if you can. He's a really precious & sweet little guy.
I probably won't be back until tomorrow so sorry so long & TIA!!!
Kel
We had to crate him for a couple of hours Saturday night & he urinated in a corner of it & when my DH went home to let him out for lunch today, he had a bowel movement in there. I know you may need more information before giving advice so here is more on his background. He was in a shelter at 6-8 months old when he was adopted into a foster home with at least 10 other dogs & at least as many cats. She immediately had him neutered & started with crate & house training. He's quite skittish & apprehensive about his new surroundings but he certainly didn't seem to be abused in any way. In fact, he really seemed to love his foster mom & always responded positively to her. He was always fed in the morning but we prefer to feed at night so he'll have several hours to do his business afterward, while we're home. To change his schedule, we gradually adjusted his schedule by feeding him half of his food at closer periods until tonight, when he'll get his whole meal at 7 p.m. I know we've totally messed up his system & schedule but I also didn't think he would go in his crate if he could avoid it.
We lost a very dear pet last year & never had to crate her, ever. So this is really disturbing for me anyway. When we got back from crating him Saturday night, I literally bawled my eyes out. It just seemed so pitiful to me for him to be stuck in there with urine on his pad. Poor little guy! Anyway, he's also been very freaked out in our yard & always on alert to new sights & sounds. The first few times we took him out was on a leash because we didn't want him to get spooked & hurt himself. But he wouldn't go to the bathroom at all. I finally got him to urinate late Friday night, after I sat & just waited until he finally went, although he still seemed to be more preoccupied with his new yard than doing his business. So we seemed to be over the "pee hurdle" until he had the accident in his crate. Right after we let him out, he immediately ran upstairs & went on the carpet too. That was Saturday & so far, we haven't had any further problems with urination.
His first bowel movement was late Saturday morning, while I was doing laundry. I keep our spare bedroom closed because the furniture is all antiques but I use the bed as a staging area for clean laundry. So he's freaked out about his new yard & plus, my MIL recently stayed with us & had her chihuahua in the spare bedroom with her. Anyway, he hopped up on that bed & unloaded right on the comforter while I was out of the room. Of course, we scolded him & immediately took him outside. Then, he had a bowel movement outside yesterday, so we thought we had cleared that hurdle too. We also praise him extensively & give him treats when he goes outside.
Okay, I know it's awfully early & this is only his fourth day with us & his first full day alone (it's breaking my heart knowing he's home in that crate... & now that I know he had another accident, I can hardly bear the thought of putting him back in there tomorrow) but I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice for helping him with his transition. He seems to be just fine when we're there with him. He sleeps on the bed with us & no accidents there, so it seems to have everything to do with his crate at this point. He didn't like going in the first time we told him to go but today, he went right in with no problem both times. He does cry, though.
So I'm wondering if this is a form of separation anxiety, perhaps both from his foster mom & from us leaving him? Or do you think he got used to going in his crate while being fostered? Wouldn't that be unusual? I didn't think they would go in their crates but like I said, I'm not familiar with crate-training at all. Do you think maybe she leaves the animals in their crates for a lot longer than we realize? Or does this have to do with his confunsion & anxiety about the new surroundings & environment? Is it because we've changed his eating schedule & habits? Do we just need to stay out with him until he goes, no matter how long it takes? Should we consider letting him stay in a bathroom with a gate? Or is it just too soon to tell at all?
Like I said, I just have no idea about crating an animal & would welcome any advice & hints anyone can offer. He's a very sweet doggie, very smart & eager to please so I just want to make this transition easier for him. It doesn't take much to make him understand what he is or is not supposed to do. A simple minor scolding seems to do the trick.
Maybe I'm just jumping the gun on all this & I just need to give it a more time but it just breaks my heart to think of him being confined & having accidents like that! Please help if you can. He's a really precious & sweet little guy.
I probably won't be back until tomorrow so sorry so long & TIA!!!
Kel