nonstop crying at night!

[d_ciao]

yes, i am going away for school - i live in toronto, but i go to school in waterloo.

with regards to the separation anxiety questions:

Does the dog follow you from room to room? yes, sometimes
Does it sleep in the bedroom? nope
Does it try and get into the loo with you? hmm... not really, she isn't able to
Does it scratch or cry and howl when doors are accidentally shut on it? from what i know, she hasn't scratched on any doors besides the gate that we fence her off with
Is it always flopped down at your feet whenever you sit down, usually with one paw over your feet, or does it insist on sitting on your lap? yes, definitely

she isn't always locked up in her area because we know she needs to be able to run around. at the same time, we're not sure how often we should be keeping her in there during the day aside from sleeping at night.

[Canis-Lupess]

The problem with having a dog spend all of it's time with you and have it follow you all over the house is that when a time comes for it to be left because you can't take it with you or whatever, that dog is much less likely to be able to cope with being left because it simply is not used to it and such dogs are most likely to fret and suffer anxiety when left alone.
We never had any of our pups follow us all over the house and we haven't had any problems from not being able to see them every second of the day. In fact, sometimes dogs will only act in a certain undesirable ways when there are people there for them to get the attention of. I knew somebody who's pups started to delibertaly chew the table just to get attention. Obviously, she didn't do this when they weren't around. When they were, she'd do it just to get a reaction out of them and when they went to tell her off, she'd just move around the other side of the table and carry on doing it....obviously too used to getting too much attention and didn't like it when they took their attention of her for even a second...like when they watched TV or talked on the phone. With my advice, they managed to correct it and she no longer does this.

The reason I disagreed is because having CIAO have the pup sleep in the bedroom with them could just make this problem worse, not better. In many cases it does make the problem worse and I know people who fell for this same thing and it only got worse and I told them why. The only way a dog can be used to spending time alone is if it gets to spend time alone...not constantly under the owners feet or on their lap.
Obviously, if top dog behaviourists like John Fisher and Peter Neville, and these are who most of the behaviourists in the U.S learnt their stuff from, are saying what I am, I'll go by them rather than somebody who says you should give in to the dog and let it sleep in your bedroom with you because it's the easier option in the short term.

CAIO - I don't think there is any set amount of time to have her in her fenced off area. I think the main time would be times when she is naturally tired and needs to rest but I suppose she'll also need to go in there to keep her out of the way when the house needs tidying or maybe when visitors come etc.... If she is really tired and sleeps in there without problem as a result, she'll gradually get used to spending a bit more time in there even when she's awake but always still with plenty of opportunities to be let out and explore, run about and play etc...
As others have stated, provide her with things to do in her fenced off area. Also, instead of her seeing her fenced off area as a prison, teach her to view it as a safe haven. Somewhere she can retire to when she's tired or had enough. Let her still have access to it even when she's free. If she knows it is somewhere thats not just a prison, she'll start to enjoy it more in there. Thats why people often leave crate doors open for dogs to use even when they are allowed to free roam the house and the dogs are encouraged to use it as a bed before they are taught to be closed inside it so they already view it as a haven beforehand.

[d_ciao]

yep, we've already decided that she will not be sleeping upstairs with us. because first of all, she doesn't know how to use the stairs. second of all, she still goes pee at night, so we wouldn't want her to pee all over my room, or in her own doggy bed for that matter.

we have tried putting her in when she appears to be tired - however, as soon as we put her in, she all of a sudden musters up some more energy to stay awake and scratch at the gate, attempt to jump over it, and cry a whole lot - even if she knows we're there.

the gate does have a small pet door that she can fit through. i've taught her to go in and out of it, and she's gone in there occasionally on her own. however, i still think she views it as a place we put her for punishment - which is clearly not what we're trying to convey it as. we leave the pet door open whenever she's free to roam about the house. she's gone in there to drink water and whatnot, since her water bowl is there. her toys are usually in there as well, unless she carries them out herself. her bed is also in there, with puppy pads for potty in an opposite corner.

she peed and pood on the puppy pad earlier today, but when brought out, she made a huge accident on the floor a couple of hours later. i don't think she knows yet to go back to the puppy pad when she needs to go potty. would there be any strategies for this? usually when she has an accident, we carry her in ourselves to tell her to pee on the puppy pad, but should we be letting her enter herself through the pet door, and then telling her?

i'm assuming it wouldn't be a good idea to put her in there directly after she makes an accident on the floor, otherwise she'll begin to associate her fenced off area as an area of punishment. do you think it'd be okay to put her in there after walks? she tends to be really tired after walks, so perhaps putting her in there will help. but she does stay up and begin to cry, so i'm not sure what we can really do with regards to that.

[Catty1]

Okay, so she is in a fenced-off area, NOT a crate.

If you could borrow a right-size kennel, she would feel more protected, like she is in her 'little house'. It would be HER space.

JMO - a 'fenced off area' will not do the job.

My ex BF has a Bichon, who got really used to his carrier(the dog did!) while a new house was being built, and thinks of that as his little condo...he comes out to eat and stuff...and also has a tiny leash keeping him in that area, unless he is let free in the house and yard, which he often is.

This link will show you a few examples of proper dog cages and crates. Many people even use a correctly-sized pet carrier....the correct size is important.

http://www.petsmart.com/global/searc...=1186683884581

[d_ciao]

well, we do have a crate. we put her in it one time... she was shaking and peed all over inside... it wasn't pretty. so we kinda ruled that out.

[Canis-Lupess]

Ah, shutting the crate on a dog that isn't used to being inside it isn't a good idea.

The best thing to do to stop her from seeing these areas as a place for punishment is for her to only be fed in these places. All good things happen in these places but NOWHERE else. If she wants to eat, she has to go to her little area. All her toys should be in that area. Put food stuffed kongs in there but make sure the food is not in addition to her daily rations.
You can also do this with the crate. Leave the door open and put her food in in there so she has to go in to eat it but don't close the door.
Also, don't allow her to sleep in other places....the only place she's going to get some peace and quiet when she wants it is her own little area. As you've realised about her maybe thinking it's a punishment area, never ever send her there as punishment for anything.
When you put her in, don't make a fuss but if she's good, even for a few seconds, go back and make the greeting a warm one.

Also, if she has an accident, don't worry and never get angry or show it in the slightest possible way. All dogs learn to relieve themselves further and further away from the den as they grow up. This is a natural instinct. You can speed it up simply by reinforcing whats desired such as praising her when she does it in the right spot and she's more likely to do it there in future.
Also, dogs are good at learning a word to associate with relieving themselves and can be told to do their business. You just need to figure out when she's most likely going to need to go and then encourage her with your chosen command and then praise her as soon as she does. Pups need to go most on waking up, after being fed etc...definitely after waking from a long sleep. She'll soon associate the word with the action of relieving herself and then you can specifically take her to a desired place to do it and, being creatures of habit, she'll learn to want to always do it in that same spot when she gets older.
Remember that with seperation anxiety, this can cause loss of bowel control and so the dog can't help it if it does it in undesirable places if left and unable to cope so reducing the anxiety would help with this on it's own.

[ilooovecat]

1. Keep the dog in the quietest part of the house. A dog with behavior problems has not earned "the run of the house".

2. Keep curtains and/or shades drawn. If you don't have adequate window coverage, get some; hang a sheet or blanket across the window. A darker environment has a calming effect on most dogs. Additionally, there are no visual stimuli to provoke the territorial or bored dog. Curtains muffle sounds from the outdoor for alarm barkers.

3. Leave a radio or TV on as "white noise." In many households, the stereo/TV/radio is on from morning 'til night as long as someone is home. Imagine how "loud" the silence is when everyone is gone and the sound system is turned off! Beyond masking outside noises, leaving the radio/TV/stereo on gives the aural appearance of your presence.

4. As you leave, give the dog an "only-when-I'm-gone" chew toy with your scent imparted on it. This toy should be something spectacular -- a sterilized beef bone stuffed deeply and thoroughly with canned dog food or cheese spread (served frozen or chilled) or a flavorful beef-basted knotted rawhide bone. Give it to the dog upon leaving; rub it between your palms several times before you go. Not only is this a diversion tactic, it actually makes being left alone not so bad, as this is the only time the "most-wonderful-thing-in-the-world" appears!

BARKING SET-UPS If you have tried all of the above and you are still finding notes from your neighbors, you must desensitize the dog to your departures with "barking set-ups." Set-ups take time; slow incremental progress is a necessary part of the program. Be prepared to use a long weekend or some vacation time before beginning the program.

First, imitate your daily departure routine. Do you usually put on make-up, search about for keys, gloves, etc, pack a gym bag or throw out the garbage. Make the dog think that this is just like any other daily departure.

Second, while giving him his special goodbye toy, get eye contact and tell Jim in a firm and matter-of-fact manner to be quiet until you return. Please, no longwinded emotional scenes; no begging, pleading or whining for him to be quiet. It will only serve to emotionally charge the situation and further stress-out the dog.

Leave -- for a brief period of time. Just a minute or two to start out with. If you normally lock the door with keys, make the right noises, but don't lock it. You must be able to enter quickly if the dog begins to bark; this is not the time to fumble around with your keys. If you wait for an elevator, ring for it and get in. Go one floor down and come back up using the stairs. If the dog has not barked, return and gently praise. If you hear him begin to bark, burst back into the house hollering QUIET! Then turn and leave again.

This time, if the dog barks, punctuate your command for silence with the rattle of a shaker can (empty soda can filled with 15 pennies, fewer for fearful dogs) to startle the dog into silence. Praise the dog when he quiets down and leave again.

The goal, of course, is to be able to stay away for longer and longer periods of time without having to go back in and correct the dog for barking. The time away must be built up in small intervals. Set goals (5, 10, 15 minutes) and go back in and praise the dog if he remained quiet for the set amount of time. Don't wait for an undetermined amount of time and only go in to correct the dog for finally barking. Silence must be praised. Appropriate behavior must be acknowledged.

Most dogs that can remain silent for two hours can usually stay quiet for an 8 to 10 hours work day. It is building up to that first hour or so that may take several days of set-ups to achieve.

For the dog that believes that negative attention from you is better than no attention at all, you will have to intensify your response. When you return, do so quietly, do not shout QUIET, but instead toss the shake can near him (not at him); do it without the dog seeing you take aim. Do not do this with a fearful dog. The dog gets an "environmental" correction for barking, not a correction associated with you (verbal). A throw chain aimed at the dog's rear below the tail can have the same effect, resulting in a startled silence which you then praise.

Barking controlling products can be find here: opentip.com

Barking set ups can be tedious, but they usually work if you take the time to do them properly; barking problems are rarely solved in a day. Let your neighbors know that you are not ignoring their complaints; that you understand their discomfort and you are taking steps to correct the problem. Quite often, they will cut you a little slack if they know that their complaints have not fallen upon deaf ears.

[poodleempire]

I think I may upset a few people round here by my reply...but what the heck!
1.your pup will cry!..she's a baby(duh!) and she has just been seperated from her mum and the life she knew...so regardless if you follow some folks theory and 'crate' her she will still cry until she has settled and feels secure in her new home.
I do not agree with crates/cages unless the 'dig dog' is poorly or a medical condition needs...
Yes our little one sleeps upstairs and I will not defend or justify that choice,it does not make her any less 'rounded' or a 'needy poog' it just means she likes to sleep where the family sleeps.
If this isnt practical for your little one (and for many it isnt)...try getting an old wind up clock and wrap it in her blankets this is used as a substitute for her mom's/siblings heart beat and does act as a calmer.
Another thing to try is a D.A.P (get this from your vet) it is a plug in type air fresher which releases pheromes which again can calm your little one(I have used one in the past)...you cannot smell anything only your 'dig dog' can.
Its a big thing getting a pup and not just for you!...that little one has been taken away from her world,so to shove her in a crate cause she howls (sorry) gives off in my opinion the wrong vibes....
Our 'poogs' or should I say little girl(Jakey passed away in April)..are family members and whilst they do have bounderys they are not any less of a life than anyone else..and should be treated as such.
Yes pups have to be socialised and toilet trained and yes when you go out it is best to leave her in a safe secure area,but that does not automatically mean CRATE...
I hope your little one settles down for you,as I am sure she will,its time and paitence....and your job at the minute is to ease her fears and maybe if you tried the 2 suggestions her bed time might be better for both of you.
Try not to worry...we all (even us who have had a few 'dig dogs') are still learning such is the joy of having a fur baby!