[Juliehunt44]

This is much worse when I go out. I make sure that she goes outside for a wee or a pooh many times before I actually go out. Her original owners didn't want her... I'm guessing this is why, but I will continue to get her right. I know that being moved into a new home won't help her, but I'm sure this much pooh isn't normal. We have an appointment at the vets in a few weeks. I took her to be checked out last week and the vet thought she was only 3 months as she was so small. She obviously wasn't fed correctly at her old house. We also have a older collie of 4 years, which to be fare was very loose when we got him from the rescue place, so I'm wondering if all dogs are the same when they have had a major change in their life. I feel much worse today about it as when I got up this morning she had poohed (she woke me twice in the night to let her out and she poohed twice, so she can let me know when she needs the loo) all over the floor and when I went out shopping earlier she had poohed again and I shouted at her. I know it was wrong of me to shout, but it was my first reaction.
Any advise is welcome.

Thanks
Julie

[Aurora_Bell]

Hey Julie, sounds like it could be separation anxiety. I would suggest crating while you are away. The crate mimics the den, which soothes anxious dogs. Separation anxiety is very common in rescue dogs, as they have been through a lot of changes before finding their forever home. If her previous owners didn't feed her properly, I can only imagine how they treated her in other areas. She is very lucky to have found such wonderful people willing to open their homes and hearts to her. She is doing her job at night by waking you, so you're just going to have to be a little more diligent with waking up. Think of her as a new baby. The new home and family members is going to be a shock to her, and she is going to take a while to get used to her new life and rules. She's going to test the waters, but as long as your stay firm but fair, she will catch on. Be consistent with potty breaks. Every time she eats or drinks, make sure she goes out side, and then you praise like mad when she does her business outside. Stay away from puppy training pads as this will only lead to further confusion. 3 months old is still quite young, so she will have accidents. It's how you react to them that will help mould her in to a great family pet. It is normal reaction to get upset when you see messes in the house, but unless you catch her in the act, bad dogging her will only make her think it's the poop you don't like, not the action of doing it. That's when we start to see dogs who go in closets or behind furniture to hide their messes.

Hope some of this helped.

[Juliehunt44]

Hi there, thanks so much for your kind advice. It has helped me. She is 6 months old now. I tried her in a crate as that's all she seemed to know in her old house. She did lots of wee's in the crate and she howled for a hour till I took her out. The crate is now downstairs in the kitchen with the door open and she does sometimes go into it and sleep. (mainly to get out of the way of our 16 month old boy) Actually she was caged up in a medium size crate with a big Lab, which didn't leave much room for her most of the day.

Many thanks
Julie

[JudyKayTee]

You had two dogs in one crate?

Absolutely - the secret is to be consistent.

[Juliehunt44]

Judy-I didn't have 2 dogs in 1 crate... that was at her other house.

[JudyKayTee]

Oh, okay - that kind of baffled me. I've never had a collie, probably about the ONLY breed something hasn't been mixed with. I was always afraid of the "hair" problem - figured I'd be vaccuuming every 2 minutes.