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Dog people-question
When we got our dog back in August we had to crate her during the day while we're at work as well as overnight. She had way too many issues to trust her, plus we have cats (dog and cats don't get along yet). She had been improving so a month or 2 ago we started baby gating her into a room when we'd go out during the weekends and then started doing it overnight.
The main issue has been her barking pretty much every morning at 5:30 (ugh!). I think the early sunrise and neighbors during the week cause her to wake up early and then she sees/hears people outside. The room we gate her in unfortunately has a window that faces the street. I don't know how to stop the barking. Well, she eventually stops in the morning, but I'm sick of it happening every morning! Ignoring it doesn't seem to work. I did buy some room darkening curtains to try out but haven't gotten them up yet.
Above is a minor issue, but the real issue is that over the last couple weeks she now has poop accidents. She never has accidents anymore otherwise. She did have some outside the crate when we first got her although she never has accidents in crate. But she rarely has them anymore, except lately overnight. I don't know what to do. She doesn't seem to be barking to go out at 5:30. Definitely sounds like she seems/hears somebody. And the accident doesn't seem that "fresh". I don't get it because she definitely can go a much longer time. I put her to bed around 11 last night (we take her out to potty right before bed) and got her at 6 this morning and it must have happened earlier since it wasn't fresh. Meanwhile during the day she is in her crate longer and is fine. Its also odd that the accidents didn't start when we first started letting her out overnight. She has been fine for like a month and then just within the last couple weeks they've started.
I hate to go back to the crate because being crated during the workday and overnight is so much. I was hoping we would only have to do that in the beginning. But not sure how to stop the accident when we're not there when it happens. But this along with waking us up every day around 5:30 I am getting so sick of it!
Any thoughts? try going back to the crate for a little bit and then let her re-try being out overnight?
Re: Dog people-question
Ok, so I just wrote you this long response and the good old nest ate it! I will try to remember what I wrote....
We crate our dog and I really thing he likes his crate. We've tried just leaving him in the basement before and he ends up going in his crate anyway. It's his space.
Maybe your dog is pooping because she's nervous? What if you put the crate in her room so she could go in it if she wanted. Also, could you move her to another room or the basement so the outside noises wouldn't bother her as much?
The room we gate her in us the same room she is crated so it's on there in case she wants to go in. She has never been big on using her crate. She deals with it but doesn't love it either.
with the way our house is set up and having 2 cats and where their food/litter box is this is really the only place we can gate her into.
How old is she? What breed?
We never crated overnight(lab & shephard/great dane mix) but the dogs were always fine and didn't start having accidents until they were older (13/14) so they were age issues. But they will not go where they sleep, so if she is only having accidents when you pen her in I would crate her at night. She has too much space right now.
Or move her into your room which may also stop the early rising. I know that when the dogs are not in our room, they rise much early then if they are in our room. Dogs are pack animals and like to be with people, she may be having some separation anxiety which is causing the accidents.My bulldog would probably die if we tried to crate him in the basement (the breed doesn't crate well and he has some separation issues). Some dogs just cannot be crated.
she is 2 and blue heeler/spaniel mix.
i would like if she could sleep with us but the cats have our room as a safe place right now. Maybe over time if we can get them getting along better we can switch things up. But can't right now as the cats have already had enough change.
she did seem to do fine being crated so I guess we will go back to it for a little while at least.
the only other thing I can think is an issue is that with all the rain and our yard being a mess she hasn't had free roam in the yard much lately. We take her out not he leash otherwise she would be digging in the mud. She will go poop on a leash but maybe she isn't going as much. In not sure how much she goes when running the yard.
it just seems odd that its recent as opposed to when we first started letting her be out overnight. So maybe it's that she just isn't going enough outside
She may need more exercise. I would walk her at least a half-hour but more like an hour a day. A tired dog is a good dog. I can't comment on the wandering the yard because potty trips have always been leashed and walks are exercise (we never let them loose in the yard). It may help with the early rising. Other than that, keep a strict schedule of potty breaks and feedings. When is the last time she eats? I would make sure she goes out at least an hour later.
I would crate her again at night again until she stops having accidents.