Hi there, My husband and I recently introduced a 13 week old male GSP into our pack. We love him and he's generally a calm and chill puppy which is quite shocking. However, it appears that he has sever separation anxiety and continues to soil his crate when we leave him for the day (no more than 4 hours at a time). We've been feeding him in his crate, giving him treats, added blankets, removed them and placed toys and bones inside with him. Is this a puppy specific issue or is this a general issue with GSP? The next step is trying a thunder jacket. We abandoned the crate training at night because we were concerned about the severe anxiety it was causing him. So far there have been no accidents during the night. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Was he raised in a kennel at his breeders by any chance? When you say severe anxiety in the crate, is soiling the only issue?
If you believe your dog to be anxious, nervous, then to me, that is even more reason to crate train. Kikopup does a lovely positive only method. In short chunks, and to every dog i have done this with, it has become a place of peace and quiet, a place where great things happen, like meals, bones. Every meal is served inside the crate, and send the dog in for the meal, leaving door open, to shaping up to duration. I have 3 crate trained dogs. By default, once crate trained, you can take them anywhere overnight. Bush camping, to visit distant friend and family. Trial ground home from home, containment when exercise restriction is being followed. Or containment, when untrained children visit, who poke and grab at the dogs. My dogs relax in their crates, they love them. The smaller the area to guard, the more peace they are at. The swap crates often.
You say he is normally a quiet calm puppy, I don’t think messing in his crate is a sure sign of severe separation anxiety. Is he destructive, whining/barking ect when left alone.? He is still young and might not be completely house trained plus he needs time to settle into new home/people/routine, If not used to being crated he could find being confined frustrating and stressful.
@RLR1986 Hello, First of all, let me say, that I am not a fan of crates and kennels (so yell at me if you must, but it is what it is). If we went to a Zoo, and saw the animals caged in such small cages (where they could only get up, turn around, then lay down again) most of us would be in an uproar, signing petitions, writing to the authorities, clammoring to have the zoo closed down for cruelty to animals..... Yet many people keep their dogs in kennels and cages for extended periods of time without so much as a qualm. Dog gets fed, put outside to pee and poop, then into the crate he goes for the 8 to 10 hours + while folks go to work. People come home from work, dog is let out to go outside. People have to go out to the store, to the bank, to the bar or wherever, dog goes back into the crate. People come home, dog (if lucky) gets a walk, gets some free time, gets fed again, let outside, then back into the crate for the night.... You'd be amazed as to how many of our canine companions live out their lives just like that. Ok, I've had my rant.... now it's your turn, lol. As in regards to your puppy. Sometimes people use crates incorrectly, as a punishment, or for extended periods of time that are way too long for puppy to be able to hold it. This causes fear, stress, frustration along with soiling in the kennel, as the puppy learns through no fault of his own, that its ok to eliminate in there, because he simply can't hold it in. I had a similar problem with my little Katy, when I got her at 5 months old. She had been kept in a kennel for extremely long periods of time, and had no choice about where she could eliminate. So she would go to the bathroom on her bed, on my other dog's bed, etc. It took a long time, and a lot of patience to break her of this habit, but I perservered, and she learned. You might find, that this pup will do better without a crate. Maybe try putting up a baby gate or two, keeping puppy in the kitchen with some engaging toys, a few hidden treats that he can hunt for, and a couple of puppy pads on the floor. Try it, baby might just surprise you Good luck and best wishes.
