# Problems with my valium puppy...



## Dreammom (Jan 14, 2009)

Cally "the Squirt" my 6 month old yellow lab pup is still the sweetest most laid back puppy ever but we have discovered some issues recently...

She is a rock, sock and poop eater...so far we have been lucky she has passed everything without problems. The poop eating is really making us sick, she swoops in for the prize before the other dogs have even finished :yuck:...I guess she likes em fresh and warm. Needless to say we are not as pleased about getting kisses from that one. Pineapple hasn't worked and keeping up with all three pooping out there...well it isn't possible at least until I get my arm back. Any suggestions for stopping it? I don't mind poopsicles, all puppies play with those...it is the fresh stuff that grosses us out.

She also for the first time showed signs of horrible separation anxiety when we were gone all day for dads wake and funeral. About 2 weeks before that we had left for a couple of hours and put her in the crate because my youngest was still sleeping...she screamed the entire time we were gone. She has been crate trained from day one but has never loved it. The day of dads wake we were gone for about 7 hours, she had pooped in the crate...we let her outside for about 10 minutes and then prepared their dinner a bit late - we had given them a snack before we left. She came inside pooped on the floor (she got scolded for that she hasn't had an accident since her first week home), then she drank a ton of water, ate and puked all over the sofa. On the day of dads funeral she again must have screamed the entire time we were gone, she pooped in the crate again but this time ate it, went outside, drank tons of water and puked all over again. 

I did find since I was home more because of my shoulder injury that hubby and kids were using the crate as a time out place and not in a positive manner - they were not cruel or anything but were using it as punishment.
She is fine in the crate at bedtime, but needs to see me :wave:...I have been trying to make it a positive place for her again. Some one is home 99.9% of the time here, but there are times she will have to be in the crate. I have tried a stuffed kong etc...any suggestions would be great. I guess if we can't get her out of it soon, she is almost ready to be left loose anyway and would probably be fine.

Thanks in advance


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

For getting your dog to love his crate I highly recommend the "crate games" video. It was designed by someone who competes in agility but it is useful for any family dog.
Separation anxiety is a tougher one to conquer. It takes a series of step by step changes in your routine to get the dog more comfortable and less anxious. You might want to seek the advice of a veterinary behaviorist. They could suggest a behavior approach as well as medication if it is indicated. Please try not to get angry with your dog that is misbehaving due to an anxiety issue, that will only make the problem worse.
I am sorry you are having to deal with this at a time that must be troubling for you.
Wishing you the best.


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## janababy (Jan 2, 2012)

When I had my german shepherd, he suffered greatly with separation anxiety. Someone suggested that when I was home to sit on an old sweater, t shirt, or blanket for half n hour. Long enough for it to pick up my scent. When I left the dog, I was to tuck this article in with him. It was the next best thing to me being there for him. It seemd to give him comfort while i was gone.


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## Dreammom (Jan 14, 2009)

Where do I find the crate games video?

She is probably upset because the other two are loose...during the day when I was gone all the time at the hospital or nursing home, the kids were in the basement and she was free upstairs. Never got into anything...I guess if I could convince them to keep their socks and other stuff picked up she could be loose LOL. She really is well behaved in most ways, but still also a typical puppy.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

I found the Crate Games DVD here but I think you can get it from Susan Garrett's site and Amazon.

Welcome to Dogwise.com


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## Dreammom (Jan 14, 2009)

Thank you, I will check it out!


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## vleffingwell (Jan 12, 2011)

Regarding the poop eating - I started giving all my Goldens dried pineapple every day as I heard it makes their feces smell bad (not that I think it ever smelled good!). My 6 month old puppy still eats them and I just ordered some special stuff online. Hoping this will help too.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Poop*

I was just asking my vet about the poop eating on Friday. The technician told me to get the dog muzzle that has the cage on the front of it-this way they can't eat the poop. She also said to leash the dog with the muzzle on and correct her when she trys to eat it and then to praise her when she walks away.
DreamMom: Don't think the leash part would work for you because of your shoulder, but the muzzle part would. You want to make sure your other dogs don't start eating poop, too!!
http://www.petcomart.com/italian-basket-muzzle-size-p-20824.html

http://www.petcomart.com/italian-basket-muzzle-size-p-20824.html


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