I have a 2 yr old female Maltese mix. We got her as a rescue at about 6 months old. The first year or so she did pretty well, altho' I'm not sure I had her completely housebroken truly, since she did have occassional accidents in the house.
A few months ago, she began to do all of her pottying in my sons' bedroom (on their carpet). She will be outside for hours and literally hold her pee & poo until she can get into their room again. The carpet is ruined, there is no getting the smell out and will have to be replaced. We have erected a baby gate to keep her out, but then she will pee in the hallway by the door (or the boys inadvertantly let her in).
Last week I bought an all-wire crate for her and I'm trying to crate-train her, according to all the reading and videos I can find. I have been giving her treats in the crate, feeding her meals in there, and she will enter when prompted to retrieve a treat, but will not remain there for long, even snatching each kibble of food from her bowl one at a time so that she eat it outside the kennel. She is very nervous and fearful of the crate so far. I am willing to be patient and let her slowly adjust to the crate, so that she'll learn it is meant to be her safe, calm area away from the kids.
Here's my question/problem, What do I do with her meanwhile? Everything says do not force an adult to stay in a closed crate for hours. Yet it also says don't let her have unsupervised run of the house either. We have a very open house, so my options to lock her in a room (without carpet) leave the office or bathroom. I've been putting her in the office, which actually has 2 'windows' or open areas in the wall, so that I can look in and see her from the living room. But she just barks constantly. My husband sleeps during the day (as he works night shift) and I sleep at night, so either way, she is just barking all the time. I have tried keeping her in one room with us, but with 3 little kids sometimes she slips away and by the time I notice, it's too late. I can't stay in the office with the door closed all day.
Any recommendations? Sorry to be so long winded. It is getting to the point where we are actually thinking of giving her away, something I *never* thought I would say about a pet. I really don't believe in giving up on an animal, but I'm at my wit's end with this!
A few months ago, she began to do all of her pottying in my sons' bedroom (on their carpet). She will be outside for hours and literally hold her pee & poo until she can get into their room again. The carpet is ruined, there is no getting the smell out and will have to be replaced. We have erected a baby gate to keep her out, but then she will pee in the hallway by the door (or the boys inadvertantly let her in).
Last week I bought an all-wire crate for her and I'm trying to crate-train her, according to all the reading and videos I can find. I have been giving her treats in the crate, feeding her meals in there, and she will enter when prompted to retrieve a treat, but will not remain there for long, even snatching each kibble of food from her bowl one at a time so that she eat it outside the kennel. She is very nervous and fearful of the crate so far. I am willing to be patient and let her slowly adjust to the crate, so that she'll learn it is meant to be her safe, calm area away from the kids.
Here's my question/problem, What do I do with her meanwhile? Everything says do not force an adult to stay in a closed crate for hours. Yet it also says don't let her have unsupervised run of the house either. We have a very open house, so my options to lock her in a room (without carpet) leave the office or bathroom. I've been putting her in the office, which actually has 2 'windows' or open areas in the wall, so that I can look in and see her from the living room. But she just barks constantly. My husband sleeps during the day (as he works night shift) and I sleep at night, so either way, she is just barking all the time. I have tried keeping her in one room with us, but with 3 little kids sometimes she slips away and by the time I notice, it's too late. I can't stay in the office with the door closed all day.
Any recommendations? Sorry to be so long winded. It is getting to the point where we are actually thinking of giving her away, something I *never* thought I would say about a pet. I really don't believe in giving up on an animal, but I'm at my wit's end with this!