I have a 3 1/2 year old Coonhound that I just can’t seem to completely housebreak. He knows that if he goes outside he gets praised and a treat. As long as we are home, as a general rule (he has a few times), he won’t go in the house. However, if we leave, he always craps and pees in our basement. We had him go stay with a trainer and he was really good there. He was great the first week we had him home, now he’s back at it. I’ve cleaned the area he goes in with an enzyme cleaner, ammonia, vinegar, and even put cayenne pepper down as I read it was supposed to keep him from going there. I’m not sure if it’s just really bad separation anxiety or what the deal is. I try keeping him distracted with something when I leave but that doesn’t seem to be working any more. Now, he even has my other dog, a 3 1/2 year old Chorkie, reverting and she’s been going in the house even though she has been housebroke for years. I really hate to have to take him back to the shelter because of this, but it has been 3 months and I can’t seem to break him. ANY SUGGESTIONS OR HELP AT ALL?!? (We have to be able to leave him alone for 8 hours because sometimes our work schedules over lap) Also kenneling is not an option with him as he severely hurts himself and even the vet and trainer said he will never be able to be kenneled.

How do I stop my dog from pooping in his crate and trying to escape? He has extreme separation anxiety, which we are working with him on hopefully getting him over. We have to keep him in a crate when we are gone or he destroys the house. He hates being in his crate, and is constantly trying to get out and hurting himself and pooping in his crate and getting it all over him. How do I stop this? He is 3 years old.

I just got a new 9 week old kitten. I got him the night before last. The Kitten is perfectly healthy in every way but one. It is eating solid and canned food. Canned food once a day and dry food through the day. He is drinking water. He is playful and active. Has urinated about 4 times. His belly is not hard. And he is sleeping well.

BUT he has not pooped yet.

The old owners said he pooped the morning of the day I picked him up. But that was Thursday and this is Saturday. I am worried. I wonder if it may be the stress of a new home, no mother or litter mates and two new cats. The one cage of mine has not taken to the kitten yet but the other is coming around.

I do have a vet appointment booked but I have anxiety and I worry.

Sorry if this seems to ramble. I just have a lot on my mind.

He has already broken and melted my heart. I am a teacher and will actually be off work for the next 6 weeks to train, play, and “mother” the little guy. I think I have convinced my mother to watch him for the first couple of months when school starts to help him settle in because he is so young. Our best guess is that he is a lab mix. He will probably be medium to large in size.

I know that socialization is so important for a pup of this age. What can I do to help him?

I keep crying and my anxiety about the next 6 months is very high. My worries make it hard to sleep even when the little guy is sleeping. I’m so sad for him and I just want to make sure that he is a happy, healthy puppy. The shelters around here are overwhelmed and I refuse to leave the little guy. Euthanasia rates are pretty high.

He will eventually be an indoor/outdoor dog. I won’t be comfortable with this, though, until he is older. That is why I’m going to pay my mom to watch him. I will be gone from 7-3:30 and my man works from 7:30-5. On days with inclement weather, my fella would be able to come home and let him in or out. We have a large fenced in back yard with plenty of shady areas. I live in a rural area with very kind neighbors so I am not worried about anyone messing with him. I live in East Tennessee where there is rarely an extreme temperature; however, I’m also looking into adding a doggie door, too.

Here is what I have done so far:

(1) He has a lifestyle crate (with the partition to make it smaller for now) that is attached to a large playpen in our kitchen. He sleeps in this crate at night. I’ve been sleeping on a couch next to it at night to take him out when he wakes. This is generally every 2 hrs.

(2) I’ve taken him to the vet. They dewormed him and gave him a flea treatment that is appropriate for a little guy under 5Lbs.

(3) I take him out to potty every time he wakes up from sleeping. He has only had 3 accidents in 3.5 days. I clean up his mess well so as not to leave a smell and take him out anyway. I DO NOT scold such a young pup but rather just take him out and set him in the grass each time.

What can I do to ensure this little guy has a great adolescence? Especially considering he is off to a rough start?

I have a 17- month old male GSD. We’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. He is attached to me but is OK when I go out. He watches me from a window and then lays down and waits or goes to my father and sits by him. He goes into his crate with no problem when we go out and he may bark for a few seconds but that is it. I work from home and felt daycare would be good for him to combat boredom, socialize him and allow me to work with focus. My vet recommended the daycare. My dog freaked out when I left him and just paced and panted. He then boarded at the daycare for 14 days to overcome the anxiety. He came home happy and calm and obedient. I took him back to daycare after one day at home, he ran right to his favourite staff person for a greeting and then he freaked when I left. I called to check on him and the owner said he is anxious again and that we need to address this now and we have scheduled a home visit. Before the boarding, my father had a habit of yelling and didn’t see anything wrong with a snout slap and I was overly affectionate and babying. The daycare owner feels this is the problem and that my dad abuses and I coddle. However, we were models of calm and patience and positive reinforcement when our boy came home. We really want to create and enjoy a fabulous dog so we agreed to police each other and give our dog what he needs and deserves. After the drop off this morning and the call with the daycare owner I am feeling dejected and I really don’t know what to think. Is my dog too attached to me? Does anyone have any advice or suggestions?

My almost 5 year old Chihuahua/dachshund mix bit my 8 month old daughter in the face a few days ago. He is currently “quarantined” at home for 10 days. He is a normally good dog. He has always been very protective, hyper and a bit jumpy of new people. He has growled at people before but never attacked. My 8 month old daughter and the dog have never had a problem, but this day they were sitting next to each other and she was petting him, and then she grabbed his tail and he turned around and bit her in the face. I can no longer feel comfortable with the dog in the house around her. I do not want to put the dog to sleep as I feel this was a pretty isolated incident but she is too young to learn from her mistake so I feel it is very necessary to find him a new place to live. I am weary of trying to find him a new home in the chance he bites again, and I do not want to have that guilt over my head. Also, he is showing no signs of rabies but he has become more anxiety ridden since the attack/barking at all noises/people outside (with being quarantined though, I believe he is feeling depressed and scared). *Side note – I have a 9 year old son as well, who has been with the dog since a puppy (and my son was 4) and they have never really had any issues. The dog would get upset sometimes but he has never bitten my son. *Another side note – we recently moved (About 3 weeks ago) into a new home, and he has shown more anxiety/jumpiness since the move. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I do care about my dog a lot and want him to have a good life as he is not that old yet.

One dog gets anxiety when I’m not around, and she also currently has digestive tract problems as a result of breast cancer, so I am worried about her. I am able to visit the dogs; they are staying with my parents. But, I was wondering if I keep leaving them, will that just cause more anxiety for them than if I didn’t visit at all?

My 10yo rat terrier (have had since 6months old) is ppl and dog aggressive. He bit my 10 month old son twice this summer, no blood but snaps every chance he’s near baby.he has bitten people in the past. He has severe anxiety & is afraid of everything. he’s always been this way. His fur is falling out, he has hard black patches all over, and soft pink skin showing I’m other places. After biting my son’s face, hubby is talking about euthanasia. Is this the right choice?

Doggies get stressed and anxiety too – here’s some natural help on today’s “Woof Wednesday” post http://wellnessfromkipperskitchen.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/natural-support-for-dogs-with-stress-and-anxiety/

Zoey has been doing this since she became older. We now roll up all rugs, clear countertops, remove plush toys, let them out repeatedly before leaving. This happens whether we are gone for 2hrs or 6hrs. We understand it is probably the anxiety that causes her to urinate and defecate. We also understand the behaviors are related to the same. But it is so disheartening and honestly, frustrating, when we return home to find what she has done. We are now trying the wall plug phermones, trying not to make it a big deal when we leave or come home and most importantly, trying not to react when we discover her latest destruction.

To make it worse, my 1 male who is dominant will mark her urinated spots if we do not clean and neutralize it sufficiently… which we always try to do. It seems the issue is cascading and we are at wits end.

Any thoughts?