I have an 11 week old shihtzu/maltese. He sleeps in his crate, will go all night without making a mess in there and will bark if he has to go so that I can take him outside.
He will be in in his kennel while we are in the room and be completely fine. We can bring him to a friends house and have him in his kennel and will stay there for hours without complaining.
But when he is in his kennel and we leave the house - he will poop in there. He will poop in there even if we just leave for 10min to shower or go outside. And will even go if he just went outside?!
Will he outgrow this? I am thinking he is nervous/anxious or something being alone and so goes poop. Will he get used to knowing that he has to be alone sometimes and will stop? Sometimes our other dog is in its kennel right by him and he will still poop while we are gone. Not pee just poop.
2007-02-26 06:08:22 · 3 answers · asked by love777 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Actually we have a divider. MAybe I need to make it even smaller. The thing is that he is a very small dog to begin with so his poop is so very tiny. So he can poop and still be in there and avoid it. It's like 1/2 my pinky finger!
2007-02-26 07:19:10 · update #1
oh and when I come home and take him out do I just ignore him a while to not make a big deal about getting home? or should I put him back in his kennel for a few minutes?
2007-02-26 07:20:39 · update #2
You need to put something inside the crate to make it smaller. Many crates you can buy with adjustable dividers so that as the dog gets bigger, you can make the crate bigger. Crate training is of no use if they have enough room to poop in one end and sleep in the other. The whole point of the crate is that they won't poop where they sleep.
In their crate, they should only have enough room to stand up and turn around. If you can't find a crate divider, make one out of sturdy cardboard.
In response to the above answer, if you make a big deal of it every time you come and go, your dog will develop separation anxiety. You should be coming and going without acknowledging your dog. Read up on it.
2007-02-26 07:08:58 · answer #1 · answered by jframeisu 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just scared. Make sure you walk him right before you leave and give him plenty of attention when you come back.
Also, walk out of the house and walk back in. Do this a bunch of times increasing the amount of time he is alone. Reward him everytime he does not poop.
2007-02-26 14:50:08 · answer #2 · answered by puggylover 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He is probably just scared that you will leave hime forever. my 19 month old, purebreed maltese ranaway the other day for three days, and now he will do the same thing! I just think that if they think that you are leaving forever they will do that, and he/she will most likely grow out of it!
2007-02-26 14:36:50 · answer #3 · answered by aerika09 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋