[erikam]

My french mastiff is 3 1/2 months and have had him for almost 1 1/2months, we had a medium size crate which I kept in my bedroom and had no accidents (while crate training) he did start growing and I bought the largest crate .and had to move him into the living room no way to fit it in my room. At first he had the wider space in the new crate and started peeing I used the extra panel and began decreasing the space thinking it was giving him the opportunity to stay dry , I eventually had to stop making his space smaller but he continues its been about a week. I refuse to call it separation anxiety because I don't believe in it and I think giving them medication for it is pretty ridiculous. He has barked more than before since I moved him into the livingroom. I thought the training was going very well and them he does this! Will someone please help?

[Wondergirl]

He is taken outdoors to pee before being crated? How long is he in the crate?

Has he been checked for a uti?

Has there been any major change in the household?

[erikam]

Yes we have a daily routine he goes out when he wakes up, he goes out right after eats 8am,at 12 he goes out for about 30mins of play time which we make sure he's relieved himself before he is taken inside at 4 pm feed and potty, and at 7 pm we go for a 30-45 minute walk. Just saw the vet on the 1st for his vaccines and deworming no bad news then. No change in the household other than the new crate and moving it to the living room...

[Wondergirl]

No change in the household other than the new crate and moving it to the living room...

That's two new changes, and despite your opposition, I wonder if he is experiencing separation anxiety now that he has been relegated to a different room and is no longer near you at night. (My cats would have a cow.) Have you tried putting into the crate an unwashed t-shirt or other piece of clothing that smells like you?

As noted, I am a cat person (but read the dog threads religiously). Soon the dog experts will see this thread and will offer better advice than I can.

[mogrann]

Also separation anxiety does not always need medication. You can do training to help ease the symptoms. Then you will have a happier dog once he is not in a state of being anxious.

[J_9]

You may not believe in separation anxiety, but it's real. Dogs are pack animals. They like to be with their people. By you isolating him at night he feels separated from you and is angry that he can no longer be part of the pack at bedtime.

[tickle]

You may not believe in separation anxiety, but it's real. Dogs are pack animals. They like to be with their people. By you isolating him at night he feels separated from you and is angry that he can no longer be part of the pack at bedtime.

Yes, I totally agree with this.

[Alty]

I went through this with my dog Indy when he was a puppy.

When we got Indy (that was 17 years ago) we were renting and couldn't have a dog where we rented. We didn't plan on being there for more than a month, our friend had a litter of accidental puppies, so we got one of them thinking we'd be in our own home before he was ready to go home.

Well, it didn't turn out that way.

Thankfully my parents agreed to take Indy in until we got our own home. We got a crate, and my parents put it in my old bedroom, across the hall from their room.

The day after he spent his first night with them my mom called me and said they couldn't do this. He cried all night.

I suggested that she put the crate in the room with her and my dad. She did.

The second night Indy cried for 5 minutes and then slept through the night.

For 2 weeks my mom kept him in their room, then she slowly started moving the crate closer to the door. Every few days she'd move it until eventually it was in the hall. When Indy continued to sleep through the night she moved the crate further and further every few nights. Eventually he ended up where she wanted him, in my old room.

You went from having him in your room, to buying a new crate and putting him in the living room.

He is suffering separation anxiety, but this is an easy fix, one that doesn't require medication. Find a way to put the crate in your room, and then do what my parents did.