Having Problems...Help

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Billsmam

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My dog keeps messing in her cage when we are out, she is fine for weeks and then goes through a bout of messing for a few days and then stops again for a bit. But my OH is getting really fed up with it as you can imagine, it makes it worse that he is not exaclt like us "proper animal lovers" that will just accept these things and keep working on it.

When we are getting ready to go out or go to bed she will run into her cage and wait on us shutting the door so i know its not because she is worried or stressed about being in there. She is fine through the night its when we are out at work. she is in there all day (8 hours) which i know is a long time but i did try going home and lunch and letting her out but it actually made her worse as because she was let out for a small time when i put her back in she would mess every time so it actually works better if she is just left for the day, if that makes sense? i know its stress thats causing it as when she messes on her bed she actually folds it all up and tries to hide it :(

she gets a huge walk ever night and is walked in the morning up the field for a run and i make sure that she has went in the morning before she is put away. the cage is in the living room behind the couch and the windows are shut so she cant hear any outside noise, along with the blind at the back window (so she cant see out the back garden and also to stop the sun cooking her through the window) she gets toys in her cage and a bone but no food. And when she messes i dont shout at her i just let her out and make no eye contact or fuss over her at all as i realised very quickly that if i shout at her it makes her worse as she then gets anxious at us coming home then.

I dont know what else to do, im kind of getting to my wits end as OH is now talking about finding her a new home as he is sick of it (there has been a list of things that she has done other than this...eaten the kitchen wall, door, leather couch, once she tore up the house that bad we though we had been burgled) but these things i have learned how to manage and control so its really just the messing now.

I didnt really mean for this post to be so long but if anyone could help it would be much appreciated.
 
Could you or your OH hold himself in for eight hours?
I know some dogs can but it isn't an ideal scenario.

Is she only in the crate when you are out? Because that's not the way they are supposed to be used.

I'd look into getting a dog walker or building her a secure run in your yard or garden.

The stress and anxiety and possible anger from you and OH, even if you don't think you are showing it, may also be getting to her.

Dogs pee, and chew, and get anxious when left alone for long periods. Some don't and adapt well but it is natural dog behaviour. Just because it doesn't fit in with our lifestyle, doesn't mean she is doing something 'wrong'.
She's not a person, she's a dog, start thinking from her point of view.
 
Eight HOURS in a crate? Water available one hopes.This is a living breathing animal,being kept with less stimulation than your average goldfish..please re-home the poor thing ASAP.
 
no i am thinking of it from her point of view and i agree the situation is not ideal hence why i was going home to walk her at lunch but that appeared to be making her worse as she got very stessy if i only let her out for a short period of time and then asked her to go back in again and i dont get 2 or 3 hourse for lunch that would allow her the time she thinks that she needs before being locked back up. the cage is open all the time for her when we are in and she does go in there with her toys and also to have her dinner.

im trying to find a solution that will let her be happy, how do other people do it who work full time? i wouldnt want her to have access to my garden through the day when i wasnt there as in my area there would be a high chance that she would be stolen. I dont think that getting a walker would work as it would just be the same as me going home at lunch she will still need to go back into the cage for the walker to leave?
 
obviousy there is water available and it is a very large crate the biggest we could get so that she would have as much movement as possible.

what about people who crate there dogs at night? thats 8 hours too?? is that wrong aswell then?
 
8 hours is pretty long, as CC said I couldn't hold it for that long. How big is her crate too - maybe look at getting her a bigger one with an assigned toilet area (if she must stay in there)? Also the run in the garden idea is perfect!

I would say, if you are - don't feed her in the morning :) nothing in means less likely something comes out. But if its only sporadic are you sure she's not ill over eating something. Mine go in their crate at night and only ever mess when they are ill - and who can blame them!
 
My walker is out for over an hour with my dog and he runs round so much he is so tired he is very pleased to go back in his cage and sleep. Sometimes he has already fallen asleep in her car and she carries him in! So if he had a good walker and a good ealk rather than quick let out it might work better
 
the crate is just a tad shorter than a two seater couch and the same height and she is only a medium sized dog (my dad used the crate for his malamute) she is getting fed at night for that exact reason Kitsune.

its very difficult, we have always had dogs and this is the first one thats needed to be crated and all my dogs have always been left through the day with no problems. We are looking to move soon to somewhere a bit better where i will have a dog door installed so that she can have access to the garden but i need to try and make this situation better in the meantime and i dont know what to do next?
 
On days when I am working, my dogs stay outside all day in a run with a roof cover and a kennel. That's pretty much where they live anyway but they have themselves for company next door to each other.

You could get a flat-pack run with a kennel and a padlock - there is nothing stopping someone breaking into the house to get to her.
 
I'm sorry, i've retyped this a few times to try to be sympathetic but.....

That is no life for your dog. You need to take her out for toilet breaks and a bit of company to break the day up for her. She is getting anxious when you come home as she does not know when you will next come back for her.

Once she knows you will be coming back after a few hours she will settle. It is different at night - that is 'down time' and less stimulating for her.

Employ a dog walker or friend/family member to take her out. I'm actually feeling pretty angry on your dogs behalf - she's left for long periods, can't hold herself so has no choice but to mess. Then gets stressed because she knows it's wrong. Then your OH gets angry with her/situation. Doesn't sound like much fun for her does it?
 
My friend has a dog walker for her collie.

She arranges it so she is one of the 1st to be picked up and last to be dropped off so she is out for a couple of hours and the walk itself is a good hour.

Ring around some of your local ones and see what they can do. I expect your lunchbreak is only an hour so she wasn't out of her crate for long?
 
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If i put a kennel outside in the garden she would have to go out on her own, which would make her bark as at the moment she has my other old dog for company (obv not in the crate with her) and the neighbours would not be for this in the slightest. I did look into it and i have a smallish area outside where i could situate it im just worried about her stressing too much and ending up with an ASBO lol

what i dont understand is that she is fine for a few weeks and then just when i think that we are settling down she starts again? i keep her routine the same every day.

I did take try her out the crate and gave her run of the kitchen but it was just the same but with chewing added in. I get her bones from the butcher as these keep her occupied for hours and we have been learning clicker training to keep the brain working and nice and tired for down time so this has stopped the chewing now i just need to sort out the messing.

Kitsune shes a staffy/bulldog mix.
 
Have you had her checked by the vet for any problems? If she is usually very good then surely there must be a reason for the behaviour change?

Although I would second others and look for maybe a dog walker for her, the ones by me change something stupid like £2 a day :D
 
Im trying to do my best for her as i say this is the first one i have ever had that has needed to be crated, i will look into a dog walker for her and hopefully that will help.

And trust me i hate seeing her in the crate every day too which was why i tried her out of it but it didnt work and she prefered to be in the crate. surely though if she was that stressy about going into the crate she wouldnt run in there and sit and wait everytime i picked up my keys? she doesnt cower or anything like that and quite often she will pick up a toy on the way?

please dont beast me over this i am genuinly looking for help as i know i need to improve the situation. If it doesnt work out then i will need to look at rehoming her i just really dont want to have to do that if i can help it.
 
I can't believe that anyone thinks it is ok to leave a dog for 8 hours in a crate and moan that they have done the toilet! Sorry but I think it is awful. Most people who work full time either don't have a dog or get a dog walker or friend/family member to come in and take their dog out.
The difference between it being in the crate for 8 hours daytime and 8 hours at night is that at night, the dog is asleep, just like us.
Can you imagine being in somewhere like that for 8 hours, not able to hear anything or see anything out the window, no stimulation at all. It's just not fair.
At least when you went home at lunch time she had someone to pay her a bit of attention for half an hour and get out to relieve herself and not have the worry of having to do it in her crate and then try to hide it.
 
Chestnuttymare i dont think its ok to leave her there for 8 hours but i was trying to find a situation that suited her best and that was what she seemed to settle with the most. If i had it my way she wouldnt be crated at all but she has proven that thats not possible.

and the main reason i shut the blind on her was because i thought that being able to see outside might stress her out more (i was told the best thing was to put a cover over her crate..creating no sight at all)

obvisouly im seriously doing the wrong thing with her and i need to rethink the situation, I honestly thought i was doing the right thing on the advice of others but seems i was wrong. i have had a look at dog walkers in my area and they are asking £8 for 1 hour which i cant afford (an extra £160/month) so the next thing i will do is see if i can find someone i know that could maby come in a walk her in the afternoon or ask if i can take longer for lunch and then just work later at night?
 
I would say you definitely need a dog walker. I read from your post that she is also in the crate at night, if this is the case that is a heck of a long time out of 24 hours in a crate. My GSD bitch sleeps in a crate at night, but during the day she is either loose with me, or if I am at work she is in a 20' x 20' kennel and run.
 
Is there a trustworthy local teenager to help? A fiver a time or something?
I walked a tonne of dogs for free because I enjoyed it.

I am pleased you recognise that this is a sad situation for your bitch (staffys can be a very stressy breed and thrive on company) but it seems that every suggestion just keeps getting rejected.

There needs to be a massive change here for the sake of your dog.

Are you aware that chewing is related to boredom/anxiety/stress relief ie not just to annoy you and cost you money?

Is there any way you could afford a companion or send her to a friend with another dog for the day?
 
yes unfortunatly she is in the crate at night also but i am trying to change this so that she can just stay in the kitchen at night so that she is not in the crate, i really hate it honestly i do. As ive said before ideally i want her out of there altogether.

can i also add the setup i have her in is the exact same setup (but with bigger crate) that the rescue/foster home i got her from had her.

Cavecanem - we are relatively new to the area so i dont really know anybody that i would trust to walk her. I will ask about up at the yard and see if there is anybody up there who would have the time to take her out. do you have any advice as to what else i can do to help relive the boredom? she gets long walks through the week and is often taken out with the mountian bike and she goes hillwalking and camping at the weekends with my OH. I give her bone from the butchers through the day which she gets in her cage and she has toys with her?

she is with my other dog through the day but i think that she would be too old to put outside in the kennel? saying that if i put a straw or shavings type bed down it might be warm enough and comfy enough for her? I will speak to OH tongiht again about the kennel and see what his thoughts are. How big an area do you think would be best?
 
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Put it this way..what would you think if it was YOU..given a bit of time AM,crated for eight hours with NO stimuli, a bit more "quality time" and then night time..crated again?How long for this time? And no doubt you and your OH get to go out of some evenings..crated AGAIN??? Bit like a bloomin` battery hen is`nt she?Rehome NOW.
 
Right. In a similar vein to EK.

Let's go right back to basics here.

This is a dog.

Dogs bark, it's how they communicate and express themselves.
Dogs wee and poo, because we put food and water into them.
Dogs chew, because it is relaxing and comforting for them - they don't see any difference between a bone and a pair of Blahniks.
Dogs are a pack animal and love company and stimulation and get upset when they don't have it.

All of those things, you have a problem with. All of those things can be alleviated with training and effort. You need time and patience in which to do this and I congratulate you for the work you have done with her already, but there is no quick fix so I do not know what else to tell you.

Why do you want a dog? What is she bringing to your life and what are you bringing to hers? How can you make things better for her and yourself?
 
Billsmam said:
Cavecanem - we are relatively new to the area so i dont really know anybody that i would trust to walk her. I will ask about up at the yard and see if there is anybody up there who would have the time to take her out. do you have any advice as to what else i can do to help relive the boredom? she gets long walks through the week and is often taken out with the mountian bike and she goes hillwalking and camping at the weekends with my OH. I give her bone from the butchers through the day which she gets in her cage and she has toys with her?

she is with my other dog through the day but i think that she would be too old to put outside in the kennel? saying that if i put a straw or shavings type bed down it might be warm enough and comfy enough for her? I will speak to OH tongiht again about the kennel and see what his thoughts are. How big an area do you think would be best?
Click to expand...

Can you take her to the yard with you?
How long are her long walks and could you bike or jog with her on weekdays too (if over 12 months) getting up very early or going somewhere well-lit at night.
Did not realise she had canine company, apologies. However if the old dog is not appeasing her in the crate I doubt it would matter if she was outside alone? And less distressing for the older dog.
Mine are 8' by 6' I think...
 
Steady now EK, barking dogs are rarely a problem for the owner - who is usually OUT at the time, but are very much a horror for those neighbours who have to stay in while said dog laments its prisoner status etc and some people genuinely aren't lucky enough to have good neighbours! We have all read the posts on here where people moan and get local councils involved with barking dogs so it is and can be a very real problem in urban areas!
 
HHmmm ..what about one of those nice stone model dogs?No barking/pooping/chewing...much more convenient,not too good to cuddle though,and won`t chase bunnies either:D
 
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