Sounds to me as if this little guy came from a puppymill and it is likely that your house is the first freedom he has ever had outside a cage/crate. Placing him in one again will only further traumatize the poor little guy so if it were me I'd put the crate away and try either an exercise pen or a child's playpen placed right beside the bed so you can put your hand in there with him.
You could also try playing a radio very softly so he doesn't feel as if nobody's there with him. Put a plush toy animal in there, preferrably one as big or bigger than he is so he has something to curl up with. An old fashioned clock that you can hear it ticking also helps as do hot water bottles.
I have had many rescued dogs over the years and the one thing I will not do under any circumstances is put them back in a crate/cage. Your little guy is the same age as our new little girl. I let her sleep with me and the minute she wakes up I take her outside, she pees and it is back to bed we go where she settles right back down again. If you are training him to pee pads you could put one in your bedroom and when he wakes up put him on it. I close my bedroom door at night just in case she gets off the bed so at least she can't get into anything dangerous.
Puppymill dogs are a challenge as they normally come with crate issues etc. Patience and lots of love are what's going to win this guy over. It will take months before he will be able to hold his bladder all night. It will likely take months for him to get over separation anxiety especially if you are about to return to school full time and he is going to be alone during the day. Is there anyone who could dog sit for you, perhaps a doggy daycare. He's not going to get over these issues in two weeks so you may want to consider if this is the breed for your lifestyle.
The other issue with puppymill dogs is that they learned at a very early age to pee and poop in the same place they sleep and eat if they were kept in cages/crates. Most dogs won't do that but puppymill dogs have no choice when they are crammed into cages all day. This makes them extremely difficult to train and requires almost constant supervision. Some doggy daycares will assist with the training process for a fee and that may be an option for you. |