thoughts about leaving a dog home alone

[Stacy]

Training gurus, I could use your help brainstorming for Miss Maggie. She's been here two weeks and she's doing really well. It sounds like she had a less than ideal living situation before DRC rescued her, so I've been going really slow.

We're working through some potty issues, and as long as she's leashed to me and we go outside frequently we haven't been having any accidents. But sometimes I have to leave.

I thought I could baby gate her into the kitchen, but it wasn't 20 minutes before she pushed the gate down and let herself into the rest of the house. She's not destructive, she mostly lays on the couch. And she's welcome to the whole house if I can help her understand that we don't potty inside.

Yesterday I had to leave for less than an hour and so I thought I would try crating her, but she was not a happy camper. I do have a gate that is hardware installed coming from Amazon, but even if I can keep her in the kitchen I would ideally like her to not potty inside. 

I've always had dogs that were crate trained, but somehow I don't think I ever really crate trained them. I just put them in their crates and they were fine. 

So I guess it's a two part question. If I can't keep her in the kitchen, how do I convince her that she shouldn't relieve herself on the carpet when I'm not home to remind her? And do you think it's possible to crate train her at 18 months old, when she may have some negative associations with the crate? There are times when it would be convenient for her to be crated. The family is thinking about going on vacation this summer and she would go with us, but she can't just be left loose in a cabin. 

She's a lovely girl, and I know we will get through this just fine. It's just a different situation than I've encountered before and I'm not quite sure where to begin. 

Thanks! Stacy

[Cindy Breeland]

From rescuing a doodle from another family who was quite abusive it took chole 2 years before she felt safe and at home. I guess you need to be a whisperer and see why she is so anxious, for chole it was a trust thing , my words were always " mommy be back" and after a while she knew I would

good luck

[Stacy]

Ok, help me speak dog here. The new gate that I spent 2 hours today installing was a bust. She couldn't push it down but she went over it. Good news, 2 hours and no accidents! But I don't understand why she wants to be on this side of the gate so badly. Size wise the rooms are about the same. And when I went out on Sunday she laid in the kitchen most of the time. So if I gate her out of the kitchen will she climb the gate to get in? I'm really not sure why she's so unhappy in there. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Think about windows with a view of the street or the driveway; where would she have the best view of activity in the neighborhood, and especially of you coming home? That's typically where they want to be when you aren't home. Either there or on your bed. 

[Stacy]

The family room does face the front of the house. The kitchen has windows to the back yard. And I have noticed that she likes to lay on the couch. Katie is crated next to the couch. I wonder if she wants to be near her too. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

If you really want her to stay in the kitchen with the gate you'll probably have to teach her.  I would put her in there when you're home and tell her to "lie down" and stay (it helps if there's a bed in there so she has a "place").  Then leave.  If she jumps the gate, I would calmly take her back into the kitchen and start the process over again.  I would watch her closely and reward her for short periods of staying....with a treat, some praise, and then let her out. I would continue to put her back and close the gate until you actually get her to settle even for just a few minutes.  Wait a couple hours and do it again.  I believe that in a short time she'll learn what the expectation is.  At this point I'm sure she just doesn't understand what it is that you want her to do.

[Stacy]

What I really want is for her not to pee on the carpet! But I can't be upset with her when I'm not here to remind her that she's not supposed to do that. Especially since no matter how much Nature's Miracle I pour on there I can't get the smell out! She did well for 2 hours, but when she was alone for 4 hours she had an accident. But the good news is we seem to be doing our poops outside! 

I could put her in the garage, but I'm a nervous Nelly and I hate the thought of her being out there alone. I also have a 4 foot x-pen with a top that I could try, but like the gate, I'm afraid of her hurting herself trying to get out of it. 

Watching her so anxious in the kitchen stresses me as much as it does her, so I will try working with her, but I guess I would rather have her happy on the couch and peeing on the floor than stressing out in the kitchen. If I can't convince her that the kitchen is a happy place I don't have a lot of other ideas unless I can convince her that a crate is a happy place. I'm sort of limited on space. But I will get the carpet out eventually and that should help. I'm hoping that with some work I can convince her that outside is the place to potty even if I'm not right here watching her. But again, how can I hope to teach her that when there is already a place on the carpet that smells like the right place to go. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think it’s simply the barrier that makes her feel confined. Anxious dogs feel the walls closing in on them. We used every barrier we could think of to block off a doorway, including a large hutch. He even pushed the hutch aside! We kept it there for years and the dogs finally got used to it and thought if it as a wall. We had another entrance to the room with a real door. 

[Stacy]

I've been reading about barrier frustration. I just think about all the things that Maggie has been through in her short little life. I don't want to damage her psyche any more. I feel like she's still sleeping with one eye open. Every time I move she jumps to see what is happening. I think when she finally relaxes she's going to sleep for a week. She must be exhausted being on high alert all of the time. I want her to know that she's safe here. Safe, and loved, and home forever. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Stacy, you are so on top of it.  I feel so badly when they think they need to be on high alert.  Maggie is so lucky to have you.

[Stacy]

I really want her to have a full rich life and not remain damaged by her past. She's really doing amazingly well. Today we went and had lunch with her grandpa and she was relaxed enough to eat treats. Then I took her to the dog wash and gave her a bath and she got loved on by the groomer and the owner.

I moved the huge crate out of the spare bedroom and she went in a couple times to get treats. Even if she never really needs to be crated I think it's important for her to be able to be crated in an emergency.

After that she had a really good nap on the couch and a foot massage. She hasn't been having accidents in the house as long as I'm home. And she follows me everywhere I go. She also really likes to go for car rides.

I'm so impressed with her resilience. I ordered some clickers today - because I've lost them all, but she's smart. Really smart, and I think it will be such a boost to her confidence to learn things. I feel so lucky to have her here with me. 

[Sebastian and Chester's Mom]

By any chance, have you had her checked for a UTI?  Sebastian, my big guy, was ridiculously hard to house train (I thought I was the problem until Chester came along).  One contributing factor to that was a UTI that his vet at the time failed to diagnose.  I have since learned that first-thing-in-the-morning pee is best for obtaining a diagnosis.

When I was going through the worst of Sebastian’s potty issues, I found that Nature’s Miracle didn’t do an optimal job of hiding the peepee smell.  I found that Simple Green Bio Dog worked much better for us.  It was less expensive, too.

Having raised Sebastian, who has some form of intolerance to confinement (not sure if it is based in frustration or fear), and Chester, with his SA, it really does sound possible that Maggie could be dealing with similar issues.  My first guess would be isolation distress (similar to SA, but only occurs when the dog is completely alone), but A) I’m no expert, and B) It’s impossible to tell over the internet.  If you tend to find Maggie hanging out somewhere close to Katie’s crate when she escapes the kitchen, I would lean more heavily toward the Isolation Distress.  If you find her hanging out calmly by herself, in a completely different room from Katie, then confinement intolerance would be a better guess.

Still, I think a UTI would be a good thing to rule out in the meantime, if you haven’t already done so!

[Stacy]

I have not had her checked for a UTI, I assumed that our potty problems were just a result of her not knowing where it was okay to potty here. But it's a good suggestion. It's always good to get the medical stuff cleared first. 

I just ordered the simple green bio dog. I'll try anything. I feel like I've put so many different cleaning products on the carpet at this point that I'm just making a bigger mess. 

Maggie does hang out near Katie. But the first time she broke out of the gate I had left the two of them together in the kitchen, so I kind of discounted that she might just not want to be all by herself. Maybe I will try moving Katie into the kitchen again and see how she does. 

I really appreciate all of the suggestions I get from everyone. I believe that we will hit on the right solution at some point!