I am SO pissed!!

[Fantastic49]

so i get home from a night out and i find lil miss thing out of her ex-pen ... the NEW one!!! she's right at the door going absolutely crazy when i come in!! thank GOD i closed the door to my bedroom before i left, just in case....

i had been having trouble getting the cheap zipper to zip all the way up to the top and somehow she unzipped it from the bottom enough to get out. then she proceeded to SCRATCH UP ALL THE CARPET BY THE FRONT DOOR it looks a hot mess, i know i'm going to have to pay for it....

then i take her outside for a pee and she won't go.... i'd been gone for about 6 hours and i fed her before i left ... i had taken her for a long walk and she went multiple times before i left, but it doesn't make sense to me that she hasn't gone in the house ... i looked around carefully and i don't see anything. her spots to go would be pretty limited since she couldn't get in my bedroom....

so i stood her outside and told her to hurry up for about 5 minutes, but she just stood there like what? why am i standing here?

between the frantic obsessive way she was acting when i arrived and the fact that she completely RUINED my carpet, along with the fact that she refused to go to the bathroom outside (though she went on my neighbor's PERSIAN RUG yesterday), i am totally at my wit's end....

do i have to crate her every time i go out? since i got the new pen and leave the door open, she won't even go IN her crate, only halfway to get the treats i put in there ... still wants none of it....

UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

sorry for so much wingeing....

[LDandPasquale]

Pasquale is 2 yrs old this week and he goes in his crate EVERYTIME i go out. It's the only way i know he's safe when i'm out. In the beginning he wasnt thrilled with it...he did alot of crying...but he settled down. Now he doesnt mind at all...its his sleep time which he loves. He knows when i grab that cookie to run immediately to his crate. As much as I'd love to give him the freedom of the house, I know his safety is my main concern first.

[FL Tink]

I am not sure if you mean she was really just excited to see you when you say she was "going crazy" and her "frantic obsessive way"?

Is it different than a normal..."hi mommy i am glad you are home, i really missed you" way?

If it were not a normal way, could she be suffering form some sort of separation anxiety? If you think so, maybe Ld is right and she may need the constant security of a crate?

Do you offer her supervised chew time? Oh and long walks to expel some of that energy maybe before you leave the house?

Just a couple of suggestions. Sure hope you can find a simple resolution to this because I can really feel your frustration. Good luck ..she is really cute

[tjdmom]

Awww, I know how frustrating it can be but just remember... this too shall pass.
Enjoy this puppy stage as much as you can and remember that she only wants to please you but just doesn't understand what you want yet. And it's up to you to think of different ways to get your point across. Good luck! We all sympathize and feel your pain!

[Chevy2]

[QUOTE=LDandPasquale;3146470]Pasquale is 2 yrs old this week and he goes in his crate EVERYTIME i go out. It's the only way i know he's safe when i'm out. In the beginning he wasnt thrilled with it...he did alot of crying...but he settled down. Now he doesnt mind at all...its his sleep time which he loves. He knows when i grab that cookie to run immediately to his crate. As much as I'd love to give him the freedom of the house, I know his safety is my main concern first.[/QUOTE

[manolos mom]

I would put her in the crate for only a short time. 6 hours would be too long for a puppy. The reason she scratched the carpet by the door she was trying to find you. She saw you leave. Remember patients and consistency. She has to learn that going outside means to hurry up. Just as soon as she goes, pick her up and bring her in. I wouldn't let her play until she gets it. Repeat this every 20 to 30 min. Remember, she's a baby and it takes time. Good Luck and keep us posted. Lissette

[Rhetts_mama]

Could you put the crate in a more confined area such as a bathroom or the kitchen with a gate? That way, if she does get out, she will still be safe and have less opportunity to get in to mischief.

I crate Rhett for his own safety & potty training. My 2 bigger dogs get confined in the laundry room for the same reasons. I've only had one dog in my life that I felt comfortable giving the run of the house when I left- my golden retriever. But that took a long time to build up the trust -and if I made the mistake of leaving bread on the counter, well then it was my own fault when it wasn't there when I returned home

[kalina82]

i completely understand your frustration. who would want to come home to that?

I've read a couple of your other posts and i see that she is not a puppy but a few years old. I'm not sure which type of ex-pen you have but if its the standard wire one you can buy a top for it. Midwest Exercise Pen Top - Kennels - Crates & Kennels - PetSmart you have to make the pen into a square and you can get a wire or mesh type top.

I have an ex-pen and a crate for Morgan. I used to put her in the pen every time i left the house and at night until she was 2 or 3 years old (can't really remember when i stopped doing it). She is 4 now and stays in my studio like room when i'm gone with access to her crate, my bed, her beds, and the couch. she pretty much can do whatever she wants while i'm gone, but i think she mostly sleeps. anyway, currently i only have the crate out and she'll go in there on her own to sleep if she wants. I now only make her go in it when i need to leave, and she won't poop outside even though i know she has to. i don't want to come home to poop on the floor so i tell her "kennel" and she goes in on her own then i shut the door. its for her own good and safety and my peace of mind.

I have seen a picture of the crate you are using and saw that she won't go in there voluntarily but will go in her ex-pen on her own. If the pen is wire and she likes it maybe you should get a wire crate. maybe she likes being able to see out at every angle. then you can get a crate with a divider and make it smaller if you have to for potty training purposes.

Since she's a houdini the only solutions are to put her in the bathroom with nothing she can destroy, get a wire ex-pen with a secure top, or just put her in the crate (wire or plastic) willingly or unwillingly before you leave.

[SophieKatesMom]

I know your frustration, trust me.

Sophie Kate will be two on Wednesday and has just earned the priviledge or being out of her crate with limited roaming area when I am gone and only if it for no longer than 2 hours.

Potty training takes time, that is the one thing I learned. You have to teach your dog a schedule and make a huge deal when they follow the schedule.

Good luck and know we have all gone through it and here to offer support. As someone suggested long walks work wonders.

[DaisyMom]

Originally Posted by Rhetts_mama

I've only had one dog in my life that I felt comfortable giving the run of the house when I left- my golden retriever. But that took a long time to build up the trust -and if I made the mistake of leaving bread on the counter, well then it was my own fault when it wasn't there when I returned home

LOL! I once had a golden retriever that ate all of our hard boiled/colored Easter Eggs! It was scary at the time, funny now, but you are right....it was totally my fault that she was able to get into them.

To the Op, it sounds like you need a container within a container....the ex-pen locked in the bathroom, etc. Now that you know she is an escape artist, this all requires more planning, huh? Sounds like yes, you will have to crate her every time you go out. She has been destructive once, so anything from here on in is your responsibility.

Best wishes.............

[tammy8833]

i think they should always be confined when you arent there to supervise no matter the age..anything could happen

mine are crated if i leave and crated at bed time (actually just got a new pet tent with the top and now thats where they stay at those times)

see if you can fixed the carpet..if its pee or poo..clean it with a good cleaner it will come up..the torn carpet see if you can repair just that section

be happy that she gets excited to see you..that means she missed you and loves you..

good luck

[lovmyyorkie]

check this soft like play pen it has lining to cover your floor, I do not know if this one has a zip on cover but I have seen this model with one and the price on this one is not bad.

Amazon.com: Pet Travel, Indoor or Outdoor Dog Cat...
Also from what I remember you posting before you just got her not too long ago, and from what I read from others that have had their dog 100% potty trained they had to start all over again when they moved to a new home, so to her she is in a new home.

It took me almost 5 yrs for my Buffy girl to be 100% potty trained, and now I have about 2 more years to go with my 2 little pee pee boys .

Also even if my furkids are going outside to pee it takes them more then 5 minutes to fine the perfect spot to first pee second to poo then pee again.

Do not take it personal when she makes mistakes because the last thing she wants is to make you mad at her she made a "mistake", better yet think of how can you prevent it from happening again. I do not trust any of my boys at someone else house so I do not put them down unless we are outside.

Usually all they want is to be next to you and ask for some attention from you and that makes them soooo happy. Now how many people do you know that can truly be happy to just sit next to you?.... I don't know any they all want a whole lot more to be happy.

It's going to take time because remember you got a dog that was already train (right or wrong) by someone else, now you need to change her ways to yours.

I wish you lots of luck and if you need to talk to let out frustration well you know were to find me, just pm me

[Roccosmommy]

When I leave Rocco crated, I put up a gate to the rooms that I wouldn't want him to have access to while I'm not home. I also do a "puppy check" to be sure there's nothing within his reach that he shouldn't have, etc... Bottom line, I prepare the house 'just in case' he should escape (and he has somehow greeted me at the door 3 times after I left him securely locked into his wire crate )!! Then, when you are home, be sure to work with her using her crate so she will eventually feel comfy and safe in there...it will take time, but I'm sure she will come around. Hang in there

[Fantastic49]

i started with the metal ex-pen, but she could escape and i think she was climbing up and jumping out, so i started putting her in her kennel....

just bought this b/c it has a top:

Amazon.com: Pet Travel, Indoor or Outdoor Dog Cat...
she unzipped the zipper from a place where she could reach it, so i could plausibly put it out of reach for her.... i haven't decided whether it's worth the risk of her tearing up more carpet....

i feel like she's safe just in the living room area, but her destroying the carpet is not cool ...

kalina is right, she's about 4 years old, so it's not puppy behavior...

i can't find any pee or poop, so there was no cleanup, just destroyed carpet....

i've never had a dog before, so maybe it's me, but when i got home, she was at the door where she had torn up the carpet, zig zagging back and forth, tail going crazy, jumping up and down and panting really hard, which she doesn't normally do.... i'm not sure about actual anxiety, but her energy seemed not excited but frantic, like she had been trying to dig out under the door to get to me.

what do you all think?

[kalina82]

i think you should go back to the metal ex-pen and get the metal top that goes to it. problem solved no climbing out and no zippers to undo. And if she finds a way to get the door open you can by clips to lock the door.

I think you said that when you come home and she happens to still be in the crate/pen she is not frantic right? So perhaps being out in the wide open all by herself freaks her out.