Confinemnt issues

[Chewy&TobysMom 0]

Hi All - I am new here. I have 2 shih tzu's. Chewy is 5yrold and Toby is 2 1/2 yr old. My problem is Toby. I am still house training him GRRRRR. He is very stubborn so i have been keeping him tethered to me. Thats getting old. The MAIN problem is....he hates to be confined. When I put him in his kennel, he whines and cries and is so stressed out that when i take him out of the kennel, he is litteraly soaking wet on his face, chest and front legs. I have tried a big play yard pen recently hoping that he would feel "less confined". That still doesnt work. I've even put Chewy in there with him. There is plenty of room in the pen for 2 huge dog beds and all there toys. Toby still stresses out and whines and cries and gets all sweaty. I am at my WITS END!!! Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Thanks!

Leigh

[luvinpreciousntoby 0]

are you sure it's confinement issues??? IMO it sounds like seperation anxiety... I'm sure some of the great people on here will be able to suggest help for you. As far as the house training,, we also have a lil guy named Toby... He was having housetraining issues,, and we put a belly band on him with a maxipad in it when we are not home. (it absorbs when/if he does have accident.) He is doing really well, and hasn't had an accident in a long time.. but we still put in on him just in case! Good Luck!

[Chewy&TobysMom 0]

Thanks for your input. It could be separation anxiety. When I used to leave him out to run free he would chew on the window sills. Both window sills behind the sofa are chewed to pieces. I have no idea how to deal with separation axiety!!! I used belly bands on Chewy when he was training (took him 3 years to train). I tried using them on Toby but he wiggles out of them constantly so I gave up on that. He is built a little longer and narrower so for some reason, they just dont stay on as well. I can deal with the housetraining...he will get it some day. HEHE but the confinement issues/separation anxiety is really really hard.

We are getting a german shepherd puppy in a couple of weeks. I dont want Toby's bad behavior being taught to the new puppy. UGH!!!!

[loewenthal.anna 4]

Are you taking him out of the crate when he gets upset? How long have you been doing crating (meaning, has he been in a crate before now, or is this a new thing)? Is Toby a rescue dog? Or have you had him his entire life?

I would assume the moisture is actually drool (dogs don't really have sweat glands except on the pads of their feet and their noses) but drooling is a common stress reaction for some dogs so I agree with you that he seems to be VERY stressed by the crating. That said, there are plenty of ways to get him used to crating even at this age.

I would start by using the crate very briefly and giving him a treat whenever he goes in. We're talking like 5 minutes at a time and you could even stay right near it and speak softly to him to reassure him he's not being "left". If he begins to cry right away, wait until he's calmed down to let him out since removing him while he's whining will reinforce for him that "whining = freedom and mommy giving in".

Once he's gotten used to the crate with you there I would invest in a cover of some sort (we use an old sheet) to completely block the visual path out of the crate. Dogs who do not like being confined will often calm down if they can no longer see beyond "their space". . . it makes them feel more secure.

You can then move on to using the covered crate for short times when you will not be there, say a quick trip to fill up your tank, or rent some movies, or pick up some take-out. . . anything in the 10-25 minute range. Shorter, more frequent times in the crate should help Toby feel more confident that just because he's not allowed to go with DOESN'T mean he's been forgotten in there.

Other good suggestions would be to have a special "favorite" toy that he ONLY gets in the crate, using special extra yummy treats to reward him for going into the crate without a fight, leaving the TV or the radio on so he can hear noises and know he's not been abandoned. . . I'm sure others here have some good tips too, because we've ALL been there (even the late house training is something most of us have dealt with)!

I know it seems counter intuitive but, if he's having this much stress about crating the larger puppy pen might actually be working against your efforts. The idea of a crate is to make it large enough for them to stand, turn around and lay down, but small enough that it triggers the "den response" which will calm the dog down. That's why covering the crate helps, it makes the dog intuitively feel it's "rest time". If you give more space within his confined area he may be reacting to feeling insecure about the openness.

Then your biggest hurdle will be to overcome his "schedule". . . in theory, at 2.5 years he should be able to hold it for 8 hours at a time, but if Toby's been used to going as he pleases you might never know it. I might start by training him as if he were a puppy, and taking him out every 4 hours or so and right after he eats/drinks. Try and keep a solid schedule, something you can adhere to even if your day gets busy, because the consistency will go MILES towards helping Mr. Toby understand what's expected of him.

I hope at least some of that was helpful! Let us know how it goes! :)

[Chewy&TobysMom 0]

Thank you very much. I have had Toby since he was 7 weeks old. and I started crating him right away at that point. I had him in a smaller crate with a towl over it and the radio playing. He had the same reaction to being crated then. So after a few months, I just started letting him stay out with the other dog. If he didnt pee everywhere, I would do that still. That's why he is back to needing to be confined. I understand what you are saying that I may be counterproductive with the dog playyard I have up now. That makes sense. He gets soo stressed out that he ends up pooing in his kennel though (even when he has already gone outside) which is why i opted for the playyard in my dining room. It sounds like I need to start over from square one and pretend he is a puppy again. Perhaps I will start putting his dinner in his kennel so he has to go in there to eat it.

Thanks for the good advice!

[Carolina Girl 2]

I too have potty issues with both of mine. Ozzy is 1 1/2-2 years old. (not sure exactly, he's a shelter dog.) Daisy is 41/2 years old. I got her from an elderly family member who was going into a nursing home. She was allowed to pee in her former house. I tried a crate with Ozzy but he was so freaked out by it. He immediately peed and pooped and started flipping all around. I now put them both into the laundry room. It is small, but there is a window and it has a high ceiling. Ozzy doesn't freak out in there. I have been working with a trainer for a few weeks now, and he told us that we just need to start all over. Pretend that they are both puppies. Basically they can physically hold it, but have never been trained to do so. It has been a pain in the butt! We were having at least 2 or 3 accidents a day, now we are down to maybe 1-2 a week. If I can not watch them, they must go to their room. Maybe you should just do that, start over? I know it's tough....good luck!

[kelly943 0]

I've had this problem before too. My dog hates to be confined. When we got her, we tried to confine her in the kitchen but she freaked out and so we put her in the crate. She's hated it ever since we put her in there and when i come home from work, her face is really wet..im guessing from biting her stuffed toy..but we continued to crate her..and now, she is very dry when i come home and cries softly..lol. she also just lays there without digging as much. So keep working at it! I would go back to square one on training her and try to stay strong and not give in to their cries.

[tzuhouse 4]

Wow, you have gotten some really GREAT suggestions here and frankly, I can't think of a thing to add...other than, hang in there and good luck. Keep us posted on how it goes....remember "BABY steps"...