[puppylove2009]

Okay I have been out of work for quite some time. So basically my two dogs have had me with them a lot. Which on the one hand has been really good because he gave me the time to devote to getting them trained. I have two dogs one is just over a year old and the other is a year and a half old. They are roughly 5 months apart in age.

When our poodle Zackie was 8 months old we brought in our mix Sasha. Everyone said we were either ambitious or nuts. But honestly it was the best choice we made. These two pups have such a good bond.

Now this never happens when my husband and I both go somewhere together only when I leave.


Here is the issue though. I've been doing some pretty heavy job hunting. And I always let them out to go to the bathroom before I put them in their crates. I only leave them maybe 2 hours a day when I go out.

The issue is each time I come home and go to get them out of the cage....Zackie has pooped in it and been laying in it.......so then I have to bathe him and clean is crate. And its becoming a habit. Though poodles are a very different breed of dog and people say dogs don't retaliate but I've never known a poodle who didn't retaliate. Our mix Sasha is fine.....she never has accidents in her crate.

And there is no reason to have an accident in there since I'm only gone two hours and they can hold it much longer.

I then got a job (as a dog bather) but it didn't work out and maybe its for the best because the day that it didn't work out I came home and Zackie was very ill.....the pancreatitis had come back.

But anyways when I worked same thing would happen he would Pee and Poo in his cage.

And now whenever I leave him he is doing it again. And its exhausting. I know expect it.



he doesn't do this any other time.

So where it was good that I was with them and got them trained it has also hurt Zackie I think.

I need help.....how can I fix this or is this something that he is just going to do?

Our other dog Sasha is a real go with the flow kind of gal where Zackie can be when he wants to be


Thanks

One sign of separation anxiety is defecation/urination. It isn't in retaliation, it is due to stress....humans have the same response to intense stress...when the stress hormones get cranking one of the effects of the hormones is bowel/bladder movement...

You need to work on desensitizing the dog to being left home alone. Some dogs with separation anxiety do not take to crating at all. Mine did not--he was much better out of the crate than in it--the crate just intensified his anxiety.

[puppylove2009]

But I feel he is acting out. He only does it when I leave during the day.

He doesn't do it when my husband and I leave. And he doesn't throw fits anymore since we got our other dog.

I mean he just does it when I leave and I think its to get to me. Any other time we leave he doesn't do it at all.

And he has to be crated he can't be trusted to be out of the crate when no one is here.

And its a poodle thing becuase every poodle I know does this when they get mad or upset....or something.

[puppylove2009]

Poodles are not a normal dog.....they are way smarter and can be more trouble.

I have had 3 poodles, and was raised around 4 others.

My dog dog isn't this way at all

I mean we have always crated him when we would leave.

And its only when I work or I'm going for a job interview or going to pass out resumes it happens.

Never when I'm going to the grocery store. Never when my husband and I are running errands.


If you've never owned a poodle you don't know how they are.....Poodles retaliate....Poodles hold a grudge.

They aren't most dogs

So, tell me, just HOW does your dog know that you are going job hunting rather than food hunting????? ummmm????




You might want to read this: Canine Separation Anxiety

I'm curious. How does your dog know the difference between you going grocery hunting and you going job hunting?

I think you are projecting your own feelings and emotions onto the dog's behavior and making it something that it isn't. Your dog is experiencing separation anxiety and as a result of it's stress and the hormones involved in that stress response, it is soiling itself and it's crate. That is not retaliation.

[puppylove2009]

I don't know how he knows maybe my nerves but that is the only time he does it and he does it everytime....I don't go that much. Maybe 2 times a week.

It is retaliation...POODLES RETALIATE. If you don't believe me get a poodle.

[puppylove2009]

So tell me if its seperation anxiety how come it just started when I've been out job hunting.

Never before and it doesn't happen any other time.

And how do I fix it?

Originally Posted by puppylove2009

So tell me if its seperation anxiety how come it just started when I've been out job hunting.

Never before and it doesn't happen any other time.

And how do I fix it?

Your dog has had you around allot lately, right? Now, you are leaving more often than before, right? You are feeling nervous when you leave, right? Your very smart dog is reacting to suddenly not having you around as much AND to your emotional state when you leave. To the dog, your nervousness when you leave translate to "OMG, whats going on...will Mommy come back...am I going to be ALONE FOR-EV-ER????" which equals stress which equals hormonal response that triggers the need to defecate/urinate. You come home but are probably still nervous from interviews and anxiety about getting a job and feeling guilty for leaving the dog. What it amounts to is both you and your dog are experiencing some high intensity stress.

How to fix it:

1. Take a deep breathe
2. Take yourself and puppy for a walk in the park to relax
3. Stop thinking in terms of your dog punishing you. Poodles are intelligent dogs but your dog loves you. It is responding to your emotional state. If you aren't feeling particularly confident, fake it...leave with the confident attitude that you will achieve your goal and then come home to enjoy time with your dog.
4. If the behavior does not occur when you leave to go shopping, try to do exactly what you do then, when you are going job hunting. You might even want to start wearing your job hunting close to go shopping so the dog associates the outfit with a less stressful departure.
5. The fewer "stress" signals you can send the dog, the better. Perhaps you have some favorite techniques for destressing yourself? Do those. A less stressed Mom is just what your dog needs.

Frecs gave you some very good advice; I recommend you follow her suggestions. (And a nice cup of tea wouldn't hurt, either)