# six month old with acquired "bad habits"



## Yuca (Aug 26, 2010)

We recently adopted a 6 months old havanese who was returned to the breeder due to house training issues. We've had her for two months and she still has accidents in the house, both pee and poo, although they happen much less frequently. She's learned that the back yard is for doing her "stuff". She gets praised and given a low-cal treat whenever she "goes" outside. What I have noticed is that she has accidents when she's left alone in the house. I've tried leaving her in her crate, but she poops and pees there too. She actually pushes the poo out of the crate. She loves her crate, and has no problem resting there. At night she sleeps in her crate with the door latched shut. I'm thinking her poop issues are a "separation anxiety" issue because she does not have an accident when someone is with her in the house. Is it appropriate to scold her when she poos inside (pee does not seem to be a problem any more)? Is she still too young to expect her to hold it in until someone gets back home? The strange thing is that it doesn't seem to fit a pattern... we could be gone for 2 hours and she has an accident, or we can leave her for several hours, from 8am to say 3:30pm and she has no accidents. I'm very confused. The family loves this dog. She's sweet and has a great temperament. She has really won over our hearts and there is no way I'm going to return her. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.


Bella_007 by fjblanco8320, on Flickr


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

We got Abby at eight months of age and also had a problem with pee & poop in the crate when we left her. It turned out to be separation anxiety (SA) and what I did was put a t-shirt that I had worn inside the crate with her and that helped. It did take a while but eventually the behavior disappeared. There are threads on the forum on separation anxiety with lots more advice, too.

Since she's new to you she is having to adjust to a new environment. Just continue with the praise when she does what she's supposed to and ignore accidents - scolding and punishment don't work!

BTW, welcome to the forum - your little girl is a cutie!


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## The Fussy Puppy Gang (May 21, 2007)

Kathie said:


> ...Since she's new to you she is having to adjust to a new environment. Just continue with the praise when she does what she's supposed to and ignore accidents - scolding and punishment don't work!


I agree 100% with Kathie.

If you catch her in the act quickly take her outside to finish her business, where you can praise her enthusiastically for pottying outside.

She will get it eventually. You are, after all, her 3rd home in the first 8-months of her life.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Kathie said:


> We got Abby at eight months of age and also had a problem with pee & poop in the crate when we left her. It turned out to be separation anxiety (SA) and what I did was put a t-shirt that I had worn inside the crate with her and that helped. It did take a while but eventually the behavior disappeared. There are threads on the forum on separation anxiety with lots more advice, too.
> 
> Since she's new to you she is having to adjust to a new environment. Just continue with the praise when she does what she's supposed to and ignore accidents - scolding and punishment don't work!
> 
> BTW, welcome to the forum - your little girl is a cutie!


Right on Kathie. And here's some reading http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/errorless-housetraining


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## Yuca (Aug 26, 2010)

*thank you*

Thanks for the encouraging words. Her anxiety levels have diminished substantially. For example, she doesn't bark (cry? yelp?) any more when we leave the house. We usually leave her in the hallway, with her cage open and a chair she loves to lie on. I also noticed her mouth and neck used to be soaked with saliva after we would come back... not anymore. Where can I find the threads on sep anxiety? I'm kinda new here...


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Yuca said:


> Thanks for the encouraging words. Her anxiety levels have diminished substantially. For example, she doesn't bark (cry? yelp?) any more when we leave the house. We usually leave her in the hallway, with her cage open and a chair she loves to lie on. I also noticed her mouth and neck used to be soaked with saliva after we would come back... not anymore. Where can I find the threads on sep anxiety? I'm kinda new here...


Here's an article I've posted before http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/home-alone Read the last paragraph, in particular.


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## dodrop82 (May 21, 2010)

And also, she's only 6 months old....Yogi was a year before all accidents ceased...well she pooed at Grandma's house yesterday...(She's currently 16 months). Hang in there...be patient...one day soon you'll be amazed at what a grown-up, mature, responsible girl she is, when some neighbor/friend/son's puppy comes over, peeing all over the place. Tee Hee


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## Yuca (Aug 26, 2010)

another great article, thanks!


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Hi and :welcome:

there are many threads on here about Separation anxiety, if you look at the links up top, you just have to hit search and type in whatever it is you want to read a thread on and the search will find them,

She's still a puppy and very trainable. My girl had terrible SA, but its much better now..it just takes patience and some extra work.

I never used the crate, so I don't really have any advice on that one, but she may be going to the bathroom because of her anxiety, even some humans have to go when they are nervous or upset, it is something that may fix itself when you get the separation anxiety under control.

Kara


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## Yuca (Aug 26, 2010)

*Update on Bella*

We had a fantastic week. She had one poop accident last Sunday, but nothing since then. Our schedule last week was quite hectic with work, baseball and soccer, and I was not able to come home for lunch to check on her. Bella was a trooper. No accidents during the week. Thanks for the quick responses and words of encouragement from everyone. We continue to train, reward good behavior, and ignore bad, although she has been exceptionally good this week. Lets see what next week brings.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

That's great news!

Kara


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

Hopefully, you're on your way to a well-trained pup! There are quite a few ups and downs at the beginning, though, so don't get discouraged.


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