How can I help my Pomeranian with anxiety and stop him from going potty in his crate?

I have 14 week old medium male pomeranian whom I’ve been attempting to crate train. His seperation anxiety is not getting any better. I’ve been crate training him at night for about 2 weeks now and have not seen any improvement. He barks, cries, whines, shake/bite(his crate), and goes potty(1 and 2) every night. Last week I had a family emergency and had to leave him during the day. I felt bad leaving him lock in his cage for such a long period of time so I left him in the bathroom w/ cage door open, pad, bed, toys, and watter. When I returned he shredded the pad into little pieces and smeared his poop and urine all over the floor. I dont know what to do! I’ve tried leaving the radio on low for him, lights off/on, and nothing seems to work. During the day he does very well. Only potty’s outside or on the pads. Doesn’t cry or bark. Any advice on what I can do?

lol…sorry guys but dogs are not too “tramatized” to spend time in a crate. He’s 14 wks old….get real.

First of all, crates are like a “den” to a dog. The reason he doesn’t like the crate is not because of the crate itself…it’s because he has learned to associate it with the owner leaving or him being left alone at night.

So…….first of all, the crate is too big if he can do his biz in one spot and still have room to be in another. The crate should only be big enough for him to comfortably lay, stand & turn. They sell dividers you can use for this purpose or you can make one out of carboard or other material.

Secondly…..he’s a puppy! And a little tyke at that. His little plumbing is still developing and he’s still learning how it works and quite frankly his plumbing doesn’t hold all that much. So he needs frequent potty breaks, plus potty breaks after every meal & drink.

Third – don’t let him go thirsty, but DON’T allow him 24/7 access to water till he’s trained.

Fourth – if you don’ t nip this seperation problem in the bud now you are in for 15-20 yrs of serious problems. So….best to start now.

1. DON’T fuss over him when your leaving…no “mommy will be right back, you be good now….etc” simply walk out calmly and leave.

2. DON’T pet or talk to him when he gets all worked up, that is considered praise so when you “coo” him or try to comfort him your basically telling him what a good boy he is having a nervous break down.

3. DON’T DON’T DON’T only put him in the crate at night or especially only when you leave. Make it a fun place to be….when your spending time with him make the crate part of his “play” time….role a ball in there so he’ll run in and chase it…DON’T ever put him in the crate for being bad or when your mad at him. Put him in there periodically for a few minutes at a time thruought the day….not just when your leaving. And when you let him out don’t make a big fuss about it because then your telling him it’s something bad he just had to deal with. Simply open the door and say “ok out”

DON’T paper train him indoors. Paper training a puppy ONLY succeeds in teaching it that its OK to go to the bathroom in the house. Instead, give him frequent potty breaks.

Dog Training: Separation Anxiety and Your Dog