I'm lost..and so depressed..don't know what to do HELP!!

[ARCHIE]

Originally Posted by viviansnickers

I am gonna try the DAP Comfort Zone plug in. Seems like it has good reviews and is safe for dogs. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE HEARD ANYTHING HORRIBLE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT OR ANYTHING GOOD ABOUT IT TOO!!!!!

You all are the best...will keep you posted...

Thankfully Snick only chews on this toys and of course socks.
I love him...and am so worried.

Sorry just seeing this.
It did not work for Buddy!
I purchased several items to help him with his
seperation anxiety and this was the my last resort.
Then I read about coins in a can so I tried it.
It scared him to death but it worked.
Three years later he's still afraid of the can with the coins in it
that sits on the closet floor. He will stick his nose in the closet and
when he sees the can backs away. LOL
He whines when I leave but does not bark anylonger.
It was a blessing for me since I live in a condo and didn't want
any neighbor to be upset with his barking.
Hope it works for you.


P.S.
I should have read threw this whole thread.
I thought you were having trouble with him barking
when you left due to anxiety but I see it's about
potty training.
My mistake

[My Tucker Boy]

I am a huge fan of the ex-pens. I know I constantly say it but it really did the trick for us. His pen is lined with the pads so no matter where he pee'd at in the pen he was on a pad. We would tell him lets go potty and put him in the pen. If we needed to walk away for anything we could close the door and he couldnt walk off from the pads. Eventually he learned this is the area I should pee in and now we just leave the door open all the time and he will jump in and do his business. He was also one that would pee and poop in his kennel. If I had to be gone for longer than I thought he could hold it then I would put him in the pen and leave him in there so I did not have to come home to a mess to clean up. Just dirty pads. Now we can just leave him out in the room his pen is in when we leave for long periods and he will use his pen when he needs to but does not have to be locked up. We still use the crate at night. It sits by our bed so that if he has to go during the night I will hear him whining and can take him. He also doesnt whine about being in the crate anymore because he is in the same room with me. I use the crate sometimes still when I am not going to be gone for very long just so he stays used to it and doesnt think I have to be right there with him all the time when he is in it.

[Sweetlips6]

I have always thought your avitar was the cutest!!!
How can something so sweet and lovable and adorable, cause such depression and sadness? I am at this point too.
I have been married for 28 years. My husband has been against having a dog in the house, and just now gave in to my getting Bonnie, to help me through my empty nest syndrome. And because I have cried for 4 years over my last (outside) dog that died.
Because of my husbands feelings on the subject, I don't dare let Bonnie have an accident in the house (that he knows of)
Bonnie is doing OK using her pad. But *please don't flame me* my pup lives in my bathtub. It is a huge garden tub. I laid down a plastic table cloth on the bottom with a towel over that. The pad is on the drain end. Her bed, small crate and food dishes are on the other. She has never had an accident while in the tub. When I am home, she can be with me, at my side or running loose in the bathroom by herself. (like when I am cooking supper or eating) I have spent countless hours sitting in the bathroom floor, training and playing with her. She now uses the potty pad on the bathroom floor also. We also go outside for play and walks (and she uses the potty outside also).
SO far I have kept her out of trouble and I think she is growing on DH. HOWEVER, a few weeks ago she chewed the closet door facing and scratched and licked a huge hole in the drywall in the bathroom (which I have hid behind her bed) Last night she ate the corner off the wall by the shower. There is no way to hide that I am just sitting here waiting for DH to notice Sigh.....

[viviansnickers]

Wow...I should have originally posted my thread on this page as it seems to be the place to be on quick response!! I will post here and also on my thread in the Training section.

Ok, I spoke to my connection, the behaviorist and boy was I glad I did. There are 5 things that need to happen all at the same time to help our babies get over Sep Anx. There are a few other things that go along with it and I am doing ALL OF THEM. It's hard but gotta do it!!

1. Desensitization- got through the motions of what you do when you leave (getting ready, makeup on, getting keys, jacket, shoes) the moment you see your dog react (follow you, cry, pace etc) stop and sit down, wait 3 min and start again. Do sets of 3, 3 min apart. Then wait 10 min and do again. Keep it up day after day until slowly your dog could care less about what you are doing. THIS TAKES WORK AND PATIENCE.
2. Positive association when you leave- give your dog something AMAZING when you leave. Something special, only given when you're leaving. We are trying something new-kong with cream cheese frozen. We tried it last night and it worked, he did not know we stepped out of door until he ate all the cheese. That's why we are freezing it, will take longer to get through. He has never had this treat and the newness is helping (not much yet).
3. Pharmaceutical support--all up to you. We are starting with DAP plug in and I also got some herbal supplements (neither have made a difference so far) and am THINKING about the prescription meds. She recommended Comicalm (sp?) and guaranteed me it would not hurt Snick. I believe her, just scared of the cost. They have seen a 65% recovery w/o meds, and a 30% (95% total) increase of recovery with meds.
4. Increase mental and physical exercise. Snick is now getting 2 walks a day as opposed to one. Mental exercise includes “Nothing is for free” training methods. Make your dog WORK for their food, no free feeding, no free treats, make him sit for everything. Etc. You can google this to learn more.
5. Clarify relation with your dog—BECOME PACK LEADER!! You decide when it’s play time, you decide when he eats, you decide when its time for him to come cuddle on couch, you decide when for everything. Don’t let your dog control you, you are the leader and your dog will respect you for it. I am guilty of this, I catered to Snickers and now I am paying for it.

A book that was recommended to me by the behaviorist was “I’ll Be Home Soon” by Patricia McConnell. I have ordered it off Amazon for 10 bucks.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

[nacke]

Originally Posted by viviansnickers

Hi Everyone..

Snickers the love of my life has got me so lost, depressed, and sad, I don't know what to do anymore. Really, he has been 100% potty trained for the last 1.5 months with 1 accident in the house since then (he pee's on duvet a few days ago--my fault!) Snickers is 8 months old and can't seem to hold himself while crated during the day. My husband comes home daily (for the past 3 days) with poop or pee in the crate. The crate is small and Snick is in there from 8:30am-11:30am. Only 3 HOURS!! Generally I come home to pee as well after his 2nd crating from 12:30pm-3:45pm again only 3 hours!! We don't know what to do anymore, Snick is small (3.4lbs) but shouldn't he be able to hold it?? Last month was good, this Mon and Tues were fine, but for the past 3 days he has daily had accidents in crate. He had a UTI in early Feb, and was treated and is fine, so no, it's not a UTI. Could the UTI be back?? Last week, we did try to let him be in the bathroom with babygate and he bombed...pee'd everyday on his bed or on the floor and NEVER on the pad we left. He does not get pads, he is outside trained. We think he has sep. anxiety but can't figure out why he will go in his crate and them have to sit in it. We DID get him from a pet store (prior to being educated.) What can we do?? Maybe the bathroom/babygate last week trail and now back in crate ths week was too much for him?? But he was fine this Mon/Tues!!

I hate the crate to begin with (guilty issues) and now I have more guilt that he might be rebelling that he is in there by peeing/pooping?? I don't think that can be. What about belly bands and keeping him in bathroom again? Or belly bands and crate? Another UTI? I don't think I can afford another vet visit and 300 dollar bill. He does not have UTI symptoms, holds it fine when we are home and ALL night (8+ hours)....I'm lost and almost had a panic attack when my husband told me he pooped again today and how is was all over the crate and even out of the crate!!

Any insight or advise is beyond appreciated....I'm so sad.

Here is what i learned from my vet, which was really helpful! Once they start going in their den, they wont stop. They no longer view it as a "den". You can either get a bigger crate, and put potty pads on one side, or give them free roam of one room with tons of potty pads.

Macy would NOT crate train after she pood her crate constantly!!! So we went the route with the bathroom full of potty pads, down to one in the end. I now have her potty pad next to her crate, which she uses religiously! It took about a month for it to click for her! Now when we are outside, she will actually go inside to her pad to do her business.

She rarely goes into her crate to sleep, and seems to be a much better, adjusted dog when allowed to roam. She now knows when she has done it in the wrong place... She sometimes squats, then looks at me and stops! (usually when her pad is dirty!)

Good luck!

[chestermama]

do you leave music on, the tv, something that smells like you. The dap, dog appeasing pheoromone sometimes helps it has the smell of a nursing mother so it calms down the animals, you just plug it into the well.

[jasmanea]

Originally Posted by phfgkl

Rules of thumb on dogs holding it is like 3 mos 3-4 hours 8 mos. should be able to hold it. I dont like crating myself. Never have never will. I am 100% sold on xpens, I think that's the only way to go. Are you training him to piddle pads or to go outside? I have my 4 inside dogs trained to pee pads, and love it. I would suggest leaving a radio or tv on for him. People have always said they won't use the bathroom in their crates, which I find is not always true either, as I had tried one pup in a crate a few years back, and they peed/pooped in it everytime. Please try the radio or tv and check in to the xpen. If you lived closer to SC, I would give you my xpen as I have no more use for it.

I love the ex pens too.. what about washable potty pads, maybe he would be more favorable to them.

[cj125]

Originally Posted by Sweetlips6

I have always thought your avitar was the cutest!!!
How can something so sweet and lovable and adorable, cause such depression and sadness? I am at this point too.
I have been married for 28 years. My husband has been against having a dog in the house, and just now gave in to my getting Bonnie, to help me through my empty nest syndrome. And because I have cried for 4 years over my last (outside) dog that died.
Because of my husbands feelings on the subject, I don't dare let Bonnie have an accident in the house (that he knows of)
Bonnie is doing OK using her pad. But *please don't flame me* my pup lives in my bathtub. It is a huge garden tub. I laid down a plastic table cloth on the bottom with a towel over that. The pad is on the drain end. Her bed, small crate and food dishes are on the other. She has never had an accident while in the tub. When I am home, she can be with me, at my side or running loose in the bathroom by herself. (like when I am cooking supper or eating) I have spent countless hours sitting in the bathroom floor, training and playing with her. She now uses the potty pad on the bathroom floor also. We also go outside for play and walks (and she uses the potty outside also).
SO far I have kept her out of trouble and I think she is growing on DH. HOWEVER, a few weeks ago she chewed the closet door facing and scratched and licked a huge hole in the drywall in the bathroom (which I have hid behind her bed) Last night she ate the corner off the wall by the shower. There is no way to hide that I am just sitting here waiting for DH to notice Sigh.....

OMG - I don't know what to say. I feel sorry for you that you are so afraid of your husband that you have to hide things from him and I feel sorry for your puppy that she has to live in a bathtub!

She's probably teething, bored and lonely.

Please get her some toys for teething. They also make toys that you can put tidbits of their dry food in and they play with it to get the food out. It will help with her being bored. Please put a tv or radio in your bathroom to help with her loneliness. Dogs are pack animals and are not meant to be alone. They "need" other animals or people. How much time is she alone?

It sounds like you love her and really are trying to take care of her but do you really thinks it's fair for her to live in a bathtub? This just breaks my heart.

[viviansnickers]

Hi Everyone...

Thanks for all the posts. Things over the weekend were busy with Snickers. We did all the things the behavorist suggested, and kept him in his gated area while we were home (alot) and practiced leaving with keys and then staying etc. We play music, have the DAP, and am gonna get Rescue Remedy today as well as an interactive toy to distract him along with his cream cheese filled Kong. I am also looking into a collar (calm collar) which has herbs in it and a money back guarantee. Instead of potty pads (which Snick does not understand and just tears up b/c he is outside trained) we are trying a belly band so we don't have a mess to clean up everyday and Snicks underbelly does not get raw from a daily bath. We will see, I am hopeful. He's a good boy and did alot of his "normal" Snickers behavior over the weekend. It will all work out.

To Sweetlips 6--I'm so sorry!! I could not do any of this w/o my husbands support, he loves Snick more than I do (if that's possible.) You REALLY should share with your hubby how you feel and see if he will help you. Your pup prob feels your hubby's tension towards him making your pup more anxious.

Hugs---

[SmokieW]

Originally Posted by phfgkl

Rules of thumb on dogs holding it is like 3 mos 3-4 hours 8 mos. should be able to hold it. I dont like crating myself. Never have never will. I am 100% sold on xpens, I think that's the only way to go. Are you training him to piddle pads or to go outside? I have my 4 inside dogs trained to pee pads, and love it. I would suggest leaving a radio or tv on for him. People have always said they won't use the bathroom in their crates, which I find is not always true either, as I had tried one pup in a crate a few years back, and they peed/pooped in it everytime. Please try the radio or tv and check in to the xpen. If you lived closer to SC, I would give you my xpen as I have no more use for it.

Whats is a xpen?

[Gigi485]

Originally Posted by SmokieW

Whats is a xpen?

Exercise Pen - made of either metal or plastic.

[SmokieW]

Originally Posted by Gigi485

Exercise Pen - made of either metal or plastic.

Thanks!

[dlross]

There is disease call I think Simulation Peeing or something like that; I would have to watch the video again, but would suggest you watch it and you may find out the problem here the website How Not to Buy a Puppy | CBC News: Marketplace

[BellaRose08]

An X pen has worked so far for us. In the month and a half we've had Bella, she's only had a handful of accidents. We lined our pen with the washable pads and also leave a pad right outside the pen for when she's out and also one in the bathroom.

[lingenieuse]

The Xpen becomes their house.Mine go there automatically when they know that I am going out.I think it makes them feel secure.