# Dirty Dog Syndrome?? Anxiety?? HELP!



## Linz (Feb 7, 2010)

so I'm babysitting my cousin's dog this weekend... they got her from a shelter mid December and have had issues ever since. She is in a crate when they are gone and she poops EVERY time she is in the kennel. They've talked to trainers and have tried about everything. My dog trainer said to take away the blankets/dog bed so they HAVE to lay in it.... didn't help. They've tried to just put her in the kennel for a very short period of time to praise her when she's clean. Even in there just 5-10 minutes she had already pooped. She is supposidly around 8 months old - Boston Terrier. They've tried positive reinforcement when she potties outside... and when she's OUT of the kennel, she is just fine. I have no idea what kind of conditions she was in prior to the shelter. She is very clingy but doesn't seem to have anxiety when I leave her...? but I'm not sure what exactly the problem is... could be a few things I suppose.

Any ideas of how to help her??


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Seems to me she's been somehow conditioned to view the crate as a potty place. I'm not sure how that could be changed. Does she need to be crated? Maybe they can let her have run of the hosue if she's good with that. Otherwise, can they use an ex-pen instead of a crate?


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

I second the expen idea. Ditch the crate if it's the only place she goes in, doesn't sound like it's doing her any good. Or section off part of the house with a gate, or safe room for her.


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## TxRider (Apr 22, 2009)

Yup, I would ditch the crate until she was well used to going outside, them maybe introduce a different style crate well after the the behavior was extinguished and she was well into a routine of going outside.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

I agree with the others. If it is the crate that is the issue (which it likely is) than another type of safe confinement would be a good idea. Sometimes even trying a different TYPE of crate can help. I would use a diff. crate and condition the dog to it carefully, maybe doing crate games so that it is a fun place, feed the dog in her space etc. The crate has likely meant punishment or long term confinement in the past for her, it is most likely stress pooping that is happening.


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## Linz (Feb 7, 2010)

Thanks for the replies! I was thinking a different type of crate/kennel or gating off a room. The only problems is... if it IS separation anxiety (which I don't think it is) I'm nervous she'll start destroying things. I had a dog in the past with sep. anxiety and she was locked in our entryway and ended up chewing up the woodwork on the walls. I guess I'm nervous this one will do that too! I don't think they'll want to leave her loose in the house since she's just a pup. I also don't want to spend tons of money on a different crate/pen because I'll only have her 1 more day and not sure if they will be open to trying these ideas... I guess I'll have to talk to them. It's just hard because I'll only have her till tomorrow but I can't leave my house without taking her with me.... or I'll have to deal with ANOTHER huge mess when I get home...


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

try gating her off or putting her in a seperate room for a few hours or even shorter time while you're there, to try to monitor what she's doing. if she's going nuts, barking and whining and it doesn't stop and sounds like she's destroying things, you can intervene, and hopefully stop anything bad from happening. It doesn't really sound like SA though, so it's worth a try.


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## Maura (Mar 17, 2009)

I doubt it is separation anxiety. It is weird housebreaking. I know it sounds stupid, but people do train puppies to potty in a crate on purpose. Probably because they want it to be litter trained. If your cousing wants the dog to be trained to potty indoors, all she has to do is put a pee pad in the crate and voila! If not, then get rid of the crate. They should give her a trial run of being loose in the house (confining her to one or two rooms) and see how she does. I've not found Bostons to be destructive, though some are attracted to shoes. Pick up everything they don't want the dog to chew on (think of a crawling baby) and leave her with something of hers to chew on.

Now, that's five people who have suggested ditching the crate. Five of us who all agree on something!


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## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

I worked with a dog that was reverse crate trained. She insisted on going in the crate and would not go outside. This may or may not be feasible for you, but I put this dog in an outdoor kennel on the grass for a week. I am opposed to outdoor dogs under normal circumstances, but I did this to get her used to using the great outdoors. Once she made the switch, she was clean in her crate. She was a very bright dog.


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## Maura (Mar 17, 2009)

Training Junkie, I love how you think and have had success with this method (modified to outside in the day, crate otherwise because of quarantine). However, you cannot leave a Boston terrier outside in Minnesota in February. In fact, it's hard to get them outside at all when the snow is over their head.


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## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

I need to learn to read more carefully! You sure can't leave a Boston outside in a MN winter! My bad! Hopefully someone with a bigger dog in better weather can make use of the tread!

My apologies!


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