# Separation Anxiety and a New Crate



## lcarp1457 (Sep 10, 2014)

Okay, so my husband and I are having a bit of a problem with Fitz's anxiety. He has major issues with us leaving him alone (whether leaving for hours or just going into the next room for a few minutes). When we've tried leaving him in the expen, he poops everywhere and completely freaks out. One time, my husband had to run something out to me in the car -- literally was out of the house for less than 90 seconds -- so we didn't put him in the crate and he just sat right inside our front door and he managed to poop three times out of fear. BUT, like 95%, he's okay when we leave him in his little plastic crate when we leave, occasionally a little bit of whining but then he settles down and is fine in there. 

The issue is that his crate is pretty SMALL, we got it before we got him because we weren't sure how big he would end up being and, while he still fits in there (he can stand up and turn around and everything), it's not exactly roomy (he can't completely stretch out and I don't think he can stand up the whole way in it). We got one of the bigger wire crates a few weeks ago and he FREAKED OUT. As in, pooped all over himself and the crate and had a major meltdown in the 4 hours before the dog walker got there and then was so upset that even when moved back to the little crate, he peed in it 3 days in a row, which he NEVER does). 

Because of all of this, we were inclined to just let him have the little crate -- he really does love it now, just hangs out in there when he's sick of playing or if he's tired or if he has to go potty but knows it isn't time, etc. Unfortunately, he's getting neutered soon and we got him one of the soft-sided cones and with it on, he doesn't fit in the little crate...so, we're going to have to come up with a new plan for when we're at work. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to 1) get him to be okay with a bigger crate in a relatively short period of time because there's no way we can leave him in the small crate for the days immediately following the neutering and/or 2) how to help him get over the separation anxiety because one day we'd like to be able to leave his line of sight without have an explosion of bodily fluids.

Sorry that this is long and sort of disorganized! I'd appreciate any input!!


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Is the liitle crate a hard sided one or wire like the bigger one? If the larger crate is different than his little one it might be why he is rejecting it. You may also have to use a divider in the larger crate to make the area smaller at first so he is less likely to want to poop in there. Good luck.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

lcarp1457 said:


> Okay, so my husband and I are having a bit of a problem with Fitz's anxiety. He has major issues with us leaving him alone (whether leaving for hours or just going into the next room for a few minutes). When we've tried leaving him in the expen, he poops everywhere and completely freaks out. One time, my husband had to run something out to me in the car -- literally was out of the house for less than 90 seconds -- so we didn't put him in the crate and he just sat right inside our front door and he managed to poop three times out of fear. BUT, like 95%, he's okay when we leave him in his little plastic crate when we leave, occasionally a little bit of whining but then he settles down and is fine in there.
> 
> The issue is that his crate is pretty SMALL, we got it before we got him because we weren't sure how big he would end up being and, while he still fits in there (he can stand up and turn around and everything), it's not exactly roomy (he can't completely stretch out and I don't think he can stand up the whole way in it). We got one of the bigger wire crates a few weeks ago and he FREAKED OUT. As in, pooped all over himself and the crate and had a major meltdown in the 4 hours before the dog walker got there and then was so upset that even when moved back to the little crate, he peed in it 3 days in a row, which he NEVER does).
> 
> ...


Kodi doesn't have separation anxiety, and beyond the normal, "needs some training" type of separation problems as a tiny puppy, he never has. HOWEVER, he doesn't like wire crates either&#8230; much preferring his smaller plastic "Vari-Kennel" type crates. He has several of them, and only one is large enough that he can stretch out.

I would consider getting a slightly larger plastic crate for him, if you think he's really cramped. In the beginning, just put them side-by side,w without even formally introducing it to him. Then I'd start making sure I fed him EVERY MEAL in the newer, larger one. I think you will find that he soon starts to see the value in this larger crate!  When you see that he is choosing the larger one, you can remove the smaller one. But when you do, make sure you put it somewhere completely out of sight. Kodi will cry and carry on if one of his (many) precious crates are left up on a table or in a corner where he can't get into them!

You might also want to order Susan Garrett's "Crate Games" video from: http://www.clickerdogs.com/store.php

This is a fantastic way to build value for a crate, but it would work equally well for his ex-pen. And once you understand the concept, it is useful for training MANY different things.


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

To second the post above, I cannot recommend the Crate Games program highly enough. Aside from getting the dog to love a crate, it helps with a lot of other training. We were fortunate enough in my area to have a class in it. It really works. 

My dog does not have SA, but when he was little he did whine in his crate some. The Crate Games really helped. I also found that he did not like change. We also switched out crates, to a wire crate. I did a lot of treating and crate games program to get him to like the new one before he spent the night in it. I also got a cover (I bought a molly mutt brand). He was fine in the wire crate...

That being said, last Thanksgiving I got him a new bed and I put it in the crate. It was larger than his usual one and I didnt introduce him to it, and he freaked out! Started barking and whining. Maybe he thought it was a large bear. I got rid of it and he was back to normal. So now I am careful to introduce something new to his environment. I guess he thinks of that crate as his bachelor pad and he wants full control of the decor! My role is to supply the dog treats and leave everything else alone.


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## lcarp1457 (Sep 10, 2014)

Thanks to all of you for all of your recommendations! We'll definitely look at the Crate Games program as we try to transition him. Unfortunately, I really think his biggest problem is the separation anxiety, because it's not like he's not potty trained and doesn't know he's not supposed to poop in the crate or anything like that, he just has this actual physical reaction when we leave and he can't help it. Even the with big wire crate he's totally fine in it, so long as we're there. He sleeps in it at night and hangs out in there sometimes in the evenings when we're in the room with him (we put him in for a bit after dinner sometimes), but as soon as we leave, it's a whole different ball game. I honestly just don't even know what to do about it


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

lcarp1457 said:


> Thanks to all of you for all of your recommendations! We'll definitely look at the Crate Games program as we try to transition him. Unfortunately, I really think his biggest problem is the separation anxiety, because it's not like he's not potty trained and doesn't know he's not supposed to poop in the crate or anything like that, he just has this actual physical reaction when we leave and he can't help it. Even the with big wire crate he's totally fine in it, so long as we're there. He sleeps in it at night and hangs out in there sometimes in the evenings when we're in the room with him (we put him in for a bit after dinner sometimes), but as soon as we leave, it's a whole different ball game. I honestly just don't even know what to do about it


I'm sure you are right that the eliminating is an anxiety issue, which is why I didn't even suggest trying to deal with that directly. But you said he's much better in the little crate. So for now, I'd work on transitioning him to a crate he can use, and feel comfortable with, for a while.

Then I'd start directly working on the separation anxiety, starting with tiny, TINY separations (5-10 seconds at a time) and VERY slowly building up. If I know Dave Gabby, he's got some articles stashed on dealing with separation anxiety&#8230; hopefully he'll pipe up. If not, PM him, and I'm sure he can find something that will help you. Separation anxiety is not impossible to overcome, but it does take time, effort and patience!


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