asking for help for neighbors dog

[pepperannie]

My neighbor adopted a terrior mix from the local SPCA about 4 or so weeks ago.  He is having trouble adjusting and is peeing in the house and also hates being alone.   She emailed me this asking me for advice.  I suggested she finds a blankie that has her families scent on for the crate.  I also suggested she try small time periods that he is crated and then make them for longer periods gradually.  As for the peeing, I was not so sure.  I thought she should contact the vet for that.  I know my female has incontinence and is on meds for that.  Diabetes also crossed my mind but I did not research that yet.
I thought maybe someone on here could help with some suggestions.  Here is the letter she emailed me....


Okay... Winston does not do well when he feels alone. 


When I went to the casinos for 7 hours, I put him in his crate for the first time.  I had a patio chair thick cushion in for comfort.  He tore that to shreds !!!   What a mess.   Then he drank soooo much water when I left him out, that he ended up puking.  Thank goodness I got him outside in time. 

 
 Winston slept on my bedroom floor for the evening.  When I took him out to pee this morning, he really didn't go as much as I would expect.   I blocked off all the carpet areas in the house from both dogs.   But Winston peed a massively huge puddle on my living room floor.  HUGE !!   

 
I have the dogs outside like every two hours during the day from the time I get up around 6am until bedtime around 11pm. 
 

Stop giving him water after supper ??   Any other suggestions. 

 
He is not marking his turf because it is not just sprinkles, and for those areas I have sprayed vinegar.   

 
I even give him a treat if I put him in the crate

[RaT*DaNcE]

First of all, how old is Winston? Was he ever potty trained? Also, does your friend know his history? The excessive drinking does sound like a medical problem and she should make an appointment with her vet as soon as possible.

As for shredding the cushion in the crate, that was probably from stress/panic. If that was the first time she left him in the crate and for seven hours at that, it could be a nerve-wracking experience. She should try to use the classical conditioning method of training to get him used to the crate. My dog loves the crate and would stay in there forever because she has learned to associate it with food. Every time she goes in the crate she gets a Kong full of peanut butter, a bone, or a handful of cat food. If Winston has a favorite toy, that could also be left in the crate.

She could start by tossing a treat into the crate and most dogs will run after the treat into the crate. The door can't be closed yet. If he can't even go into the crate, just toss a treat nearer and nearer to it. Once the dog has a handle of moving easily into the crate, you just make him stay there for longer periods of time, eventually with the door closed, and after that with her leaving the room for short periods of time. Just take baby steps, have lots of patience, and keep training sessions short and ending on a high note each time.

It sounds a lot like Winston has separation anxiety, and your friend might need to try treating that first. It can happen after dogs come out of shelters or if they've had multiple homes, because they are used to people leaving them for good. This is a very helpful site on recognizing and treating separation anxiety in dogs from the Humane Society of the United States: http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/separation_anxiety.html

Hope I helped some! Good luck with Winston.

[pepperannie]

Thank you for the site information.  I forwarded it to her.  I did ask her how old he was and she said the shelter told her 3 years old.  However, when she took it to the vet for this "cough" he has, the vet felt the dog was atleast 7 to 8 years old due to the tartar build up on his teeth.  They were dissappointed in the shelter but have gotten attached to him so wanted to keep him. She never thought to ask the vet about the peeing issues.  I did suggest she do that but I don't know if she will.

I asked her also is she knew how many owners Winston has had before.  I feel also that so many people have walked out on him.  Probably keeping him for a bit and not working with him on the separation aniexty.  Luckily, my neighbor works from home and will be able to work with him hopefully.