I need to vent... ugh

[Chrisanne]

I am at my wits end.... I just don't know what to do anymore.

Chewy has taken to doing his business in his kennel everytime we leave. It doesn't matter if we're gone 5 min or 5 hours. We can put him outside for an hour or more before, watch him do his business outside and he'll STILL DO IT.

If we don't crate him he chews everything in sight up. I know it has to be seperation anxiety of some sort and he'll likely outgrow it. But what to do in the meantime.

We can't leave him in the fence because he can open the gate and/or go over it. Hubby is considering on a chain in the yard, which is just not acceptable to me.

Its difficult though to come home and fight the dog to get him outside without leaving trails of poo foot prints everywhere, clean the kennel, mop the floor it was on, and shampoo the carpets he walked across. EVERYTIME.

Ideas! Suggestions! Help!

It is always easier to give others the advice, and pretty difficult to decide how to handle it when its you.

[Formula86]

i'm really sorry. i had this problem with chaquita the first time i tried to crate her (a long time ago). now she's fine. how did you introduce chewy to the crate? was it very gradual or did you just start using it right away? i had to put toys and treats and all that stuff in there for a few days first before i could put chaquita in there overnight. it was a slow process.

so...
what process did you do to introduce him to the crate? do you have to force him in there? do you ever crate him when you are still home with him? is the crate too big or too small?

hope someone can help! i'll try...

[Chrisanne]

we've crated trained them slowly always. I think his deal with the crate may be related to the shipping. He's always had to be put in it.

Yep, I put him in it when i'm here and constantly reassure him. He howls and barks. He only poos when i'm not here.

He only just started doing this since we've moved.

[Jade]

How big is the crate? I know too large of a crate can cause them to not see it as a 'bed' except in one area, but I doubt you'd have one that big for him.

Deja's REALLY busy right now, but you might send her an email and ask her thoughts.

[Chrisanne]

I'll do that when i have a minute.

Nope, his kennel is the xtra large. Just big enough for him to turn around in and lay down. We have the giant but he hasn't graduated to it yet.

[jmb9101]

Max did this when he was a pup, all the way until he was four or five months old, and once in a while, he will have an accident in the crate, maybe like once every few months now. He is gradually getting better at it and finally learning that his crate isnt a potty...we had a hard time potty training him too...Max has been a difficult one with the poop and pee!! hahaa...Like Jade said, about the crate possibly being too big, was what I was going to ask...but if you said he only has room to turn around and lay down, than that should be small enough for him not to want to go...When Max was still going in his crate, we got a seperator thing to put in the middle and gave him the smallest amount of room possibly comfortable. I felt so mean for sticking him in the smallest spot ever, but in about a weeks time he finally stopped pooping in his crate, then I just got some puppy pads and put them in his crate for the pee accidents, everytime I thought he finally stopped having accidents, I would remove the seperator, and he would start peeing and pooping again, so I had to keep it in there until he finally grew into the crate. I felt like such a bad mom, but Im sure its not healthy to let him lay in it if I could stop it, ya know...he now finally doesnt ever poop in his crate and he has a crate that could fit two boxers in it, he is a year old now...he has pee accidents once in a great while when we have to leave him in there for a longer amount of time. Hopefully you get it figured out, I know how horrible it is to come home to poop everywhere...its no fun!