STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

dogs can be sensitive. but if he's a stray take him to the vet anyway to have him checked out. maybe he has a chip inside him that can tell you who his owners are!

Awwwww...I'm glad you decided to keep the puppy.  He may be acting this way because he has been under a lot of stress lately with losing his original owners, being picked up by you, going to the shelter, and going back to the shelter.  He hasn't been in a routine.  I remember you saying he is still pretty young, too.  Our dogs were outdoor-trained at a certain age, but I think it was about a year or more before they never, ever had an accident.  Take him for a walk right before you leave the house  and compliment and kiss him when he goes.  When he goes in the house, yell at him and bring him to the spot where he had the accident so he understands what he did wrong.  I don't think I would start yelling at him about it for a couple weeks though until he gets settled.  Just be overly nice and excited for him when he goes outside.  As for the crying, he will eventually get used to you leaving and will realize that you are always going to come back.  I think all the problems (diarrhea, accidents, crying) are all somewhat related to stress.

I would talk to a vet though to get more professional doggy advice.

He's a cutie! I agree, he needs to go to the Vet.  It's important to have him checked out.  Since you don't have any info on his shots and things.  We have a 1 year old Jack Russell.  We've had him since he was six weeks old.  He's soooo smart and immediatly caught on to only using the bathroom outside.  Lucky Us! But when we're gone he stays in our bedroom (that's where he sleeps) in his cage.  It's large enough for him to stand up, turn around, and lay down in.  He LOVES his cage and when we say it's time to go to bed, he runs down the hall, jumps in, and goes to sleep. The best thing about a cage, the vet told us that they will not use the restroom in the area they sleep in.  Therefore, we've had no problems.  You may want to try this. Good Luck!

I'm so glad you kept him - he's absolutely adorable!

When I first got my dog, she hated being in her kennel too, but now, she absolutely loves it and goes in there on her own even when she doesn't have to.  I used to feed her all of her meals in her kennel, so she associated it with a good thing.  I also would put her in the kennel for small amounts of time when I was home, so she knew that it wasn't a punishment.  If she was really upset, I would just do it for a little bit, and then let her out.  Gradually, as she got adjusted to it, I would increase the times.  I would also give her a treat everytime she had to go in her kennel.  That way I wouldn't have to force her to go in, she would go in to get the treat (she hesitated at first, but the treat always won her over!).  I would also give her extra treats for the first few times.

It just takes some time for them to adjust, but once they do, you're set for life.  Now if I just walk over there she'll go right in, I don't even have to give her a treat anymore.

Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.

oh, Jen! I am SO glad you decided to keep him. It was meant to be

First, the diarrhea -- I agree that it is very likely a change in food coupled with stress. However, when he does go to the vet, take a stool sample so they can scan him for worms. The vet should also check to make sure he does not have Parvo. But I would only be worried if he is listless, not eating, throwing up, etc. If it is really just the diarrhea, it should be fine to wait until next week to go to the vet. But if he has other symptoms, I would at least call a vet beforehand.

Second, the training -- it sounds like your dog has separation anxiety. One of our dogs has this as well. The kennel does help (our dog had very bad experiences in a kennel, so she couldn't use one), and beachgirl had awesome suggestions on kennel training. Some things to remember when you're leaving:

-don't have drawn-out goodbyes. Act like you do when you're just running outside to get the mail or whatever. We toss Halley a treat very casually and say, "Hey, see you later!" even when we're going on vacation or something.

-leave little treats or toys around for him to find when you're gone; or leave a Kong in the kennel for him to play with.

-if he's really stressed, try walking out the door, and then come back in about 2 minutes later, pretending you have to grab keys or something. Then wait about 5-10 more minutes, and do it again. He'll gradually become less stressed as he realizes you're coming back.

-as for the accidents: if he does it only when you're gone, it's because he wants your attention (even if it's negative). Our trainer told us this is because dogs expect to be yelled at for going in the house, and they think when you're gone, you will magically appear and yell at them, which they think is still better than being alone.  And along that line, dogs have a behavior memory of about 15 seconds, so if you don't catch him IN the act of going, or right after, he won't associate the punishment with his behavior. It's better to praise him intensely when he IS going outside.

Hope this helps...I just realized this is really long & I'm sorry. PM me if you need more help -- I have gone through a lot with my two rescue dogs, and I promise they're worth it.

PS -- what's his name?!?

-- Edited by halleybird at 16:43, 2005-07-15

With my dog we walk him before we leave and as soon as we get back from leaving.  We also taught him the word store so we tell him we are going to the store and will be back and to go night night and he goes and lays down quietly.  Also we never did the kennel thing since he went from house to house before us but we do use a baby gate when we leave and put it across the kitchen doorway so he has room to walk around but doesn't go on any carpeted areas.  That might help you out some.

he is SO cute! Sounds like things are going well!

Oh, my gosh. That second picture is adorable. What a cute little dog!  He looks like a Yorkiepoo or a cock-a-poo. He's definitely got some poodle in him.  I'm glad that he is sleeping through the night now.  Maybe he wanted a kennel.  His previous owners may have used one.  I know my mom's dog has one and although, she isn't kennelled anymore when my mom leaves the house, my mom could never take her kennel away.  I think Lily (my mom's dog) views it as her room.  She goes in there and takes naps and just hangs out.  She likes her little kennel.  It sounds like Willie likes his kennel, too.