Thats what I eant by I might have to do that. crate train. I have allways crate trained. This place that we are in is somethin we just moved into. For the first time in years I have a nice sized kitchen and thought it would be nice to block off the kitchen and let Feora have it all to herself when we are not there. She seems to really like it. So in adding Snowflake to our family, I really wanted to give her that freedom too. If she didn't mess up the house or chew on things, I would even let her have the house for roam
.
I understand your intentions, but a fearful/separation anxiety/new dog...
may not want freedom. Freedom might be scary. In fact I'll bet money that freedom is at bear minimum confusing at this point in the game.
I tried to give my chi mix the run of the whole kitchen (not a big one mind you) when I brought her home and
she ate the moulding off the wall and destroyed a baby gate and carpet in her terror...she is no more than 7ish lbs. Put her in a crate and she still had a bit of separation anxiety (at first) but she was no longer a manic wreck, and over time it faded about 95% (it never 100% goes away without drugs) its been over a year and a half and we
just started giving her freedom this month...These SA dogs need baby steps and time.
I always start with crates and routines so the dog understands
exactly whats next...Dogs thrive on structure/routine. I worry about freedom and privilages later and then only after the dog has proven to be trustworthy(anywhere from 6weeks to 6 months depending on the dog, or in Tippys case, since she was severe SA, about a year), .
I just might have to do the crate thing again for her. She does it when we are home too though. Im afraid that since she does it when we are home then she might be in it all the time. I don't want it to turn into a prison. Thats what happens when its overdone.
Im Trying to be truthful and helpful so please don't think me rude...but if she is doing it when your home your not paying enough attention to her. A new dog needs to be supervised 24/7 and confined when you can't supervise for
at least the first 6 or so weeks IMO. Get a leash and tie it to your belt loop so she is always with you. Peeing/pooping is self rewarding/reinforcing, so everytime it happens its the equivilant of her giving herself a cookie so to speak...prevention is key.
As far as chewing and whatnot I'm sure we can help you with that if you give more details
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