Hi everyone,
I haven't had a chance to visit much (or upload recent photos) since we got Pixie. She's 16 weeks now. One of the reasons I've been too busy to get online is because she has been sick a lot, first kennel cough and then giardia. I've been at the vet at least once just about every week since we got her. I decided against getting insurance, and BOY am I regretting that decision! lol
So, I'm looking for some advice from you. Pixie has gotten used to pooping in her crate. I usually keep her with me when I'm home, and crate her at night and when we are out. I noticed right away she preferred to lie under the sofa, rather than in her crate, so if I'm home I usually allow that, and tether her if I'm doing things around the house. I was feeding her in her crate but stopped bothering a week or so ago (big mistake), and just let her eat in the kitchen.
Remember I told you I carry her around town in a doggy sling? After a month, she got busted in the school yard. The vice principal told me I couldn't bring her in anymore, even in the sling. I can't leave her tied up outside the yard (she's too little, plus too big a risk of someone taking her), so for the past few weeks I've been leaving her at home when I take my son to school, and sometimes for pickup too. At most 3 hours, usually less. The routine was, feed her at 7:30 (because she had medicine to take w/the food), take her out before we leave about an hour later. A few times in the last week or so, I found she'd pooped in her crate while I was gone. Mostly morning, but afternoon too. I had taken the divider out, but I put it back in, and she still pooped. I then tried putting her in a 2'x6' pen, with her wee-wee pad (we usually take her to pee and poop on the pad on our terrace, so she's used to the pad) at one end and her blanket at the other. Came home to poop ALL over, several times. She steps in it and tracks it everywhere. The one positive thing I'll say is that all the times she has pooped in the crate or pen, she has walked in it, but never laid down in the mess.
After we finished the giardia medicine, I ran out of the canned food I'd gotten at the vet, and I switched her to Wellness kibble. She had originally been on Iams kibble from the breeder, and I wanted something similar but healthier. I think the excessive pooping started because of the giardia and diet changes, but I'm afraid it's turned into a habit. Last night I went to bring the crate into our bedroom to put her in there, and I saw she had peed in it. Now, she's been very good about peeing outside in the past few weeks, settled into a predictable schedule. Last night she also peed on my son's rug while I was getting him into bed, and peed outside 2 or 3 times - this all within a couple of hours. I was concerned she had a uti, but so far no pee accidents this morning. But she chose the crate to pee in last night, so now I know it's not just a few random accidents, but a problem.
What do I do? It seems like retraining for the crate is a ton of work. She does stay clean in the crate overnight (except when she was sick). I know she can hold pee at least for several hours. I shifted her feeding schedule so that she doesn't eat until I come back from school dropoff, so hopefully she won't poop while I'm out in the morning. But she rarely poops first thing in the morning, I don't have her poop schedule figured out at all yet (probably becuase of the illnesses and food changes). Her poop seems ok now in consistency, if unpredictable, but I do have a stool sample to drop off at the vet.
I'm thinking about just using the crate for overnight, and fencing off part of the kitchen (we have a small galley kitchen) for when we're out. At least it would be easier to clean up accidents in there! I'd like to be able to keep her on the terrace while we're out, but we have a baby next door and one right below, and I'm afraid she would bark too much. The people downstairs have not been very nice (about other issues), so I really want to avoid dealing with them.
I'm so confused! What do you guys think?
I haven't had a chance to visit much (or upload recent photos) since we got Pixie. She's 16 weeks now. One of the reasons I've been too busy to get online is because she has been sick a lot, first kennel cough and then giardia. I've been at the vet at least once just about every week since we got her. I decided against getting insurance, and BOY am I regretting that decision! lol
So, I'm looking for some advice from you. Pixie has gotten used to pooping in her crate. I usually keep her with me when I'm home, and crate her at night and when we are out. I noticed right away she preferred to lie under the sofa, rather than in her crate, so if I'm home I usually allow that, and tether her if I'm doing things around the house. I was feeding her in her crate but stopped bothering a week or so ago (big mistake), and just let her eat in the kitchen.
Remember I told you I carry her around town in a doggy sling? After a month, she got busted in the school yard. The vice principal told me I couldn't bring her in anymore, even in the sling. I can't leave her tied up outside the yard (she's too little, plus too big a risk of someone taking her), so for the past few weeks I've been leaving her at home when I take my son to school, and sometimes for pickup too. At most 3 hours, usually less. The routine was, feed her at 7:30 (because she had medicine to take w/the food), take her out before we leave about an hour later. A few times in the last week or so, I found she'd pooped in her crate while I was gone. Mostly morning, but afternoon too. I had taken the divider out, but I put it back in, and she still pooped. I then tried putting her in a 2'x6' pen, with her wee-wee pad (we usually take her to pee and poop on the pad on our terrace, so she's used to the pad) at one end and her blanket at the other. Came home to poop ALL over, several times. She steps in it and tracks it everywhere. The one positive thing I'll say is that all the times she has pooped in the crate or pen, she has walked in it, but never laid down in the mess.
After we finished the giardia medicine, I ran out of the canned food I'd gotten at the vet, and I switched her to Wellness kibble. She had originally been on Iams kibble from the breeder, and I wanted something similar but healthier. I think the excessive pooping started because of the giardia and diet changes, but I'm afraid it's turned into a habit. Last night I went to bring the crate into our bedroom to put her in there, and I saw she had peed in it. Now, she's been very good about peeing outside in the past few weeks, settled into a predictable schedule. Last night she also peed on my son's rug while I was getting him into bed, and peed outside 2 or 3 times - this all within a couple of hours. I was concerned she had a uti, but so far no pee accidents this morning. But she chose the crate to pee in last night, so now I know it's not just a few random accidents, but a problem.
What do I do? It seems like retraining for the crate is a ton of work. She does stay clean in the crate overnight (except when she was sick). I know she can hold pee at least for several hours. I shifted her feeding schedule so that she doesn't eat until I come back from school dropoff, so hopefully she won't poop while I'm out in the morning. But she rarely poops first thing in the morning, I don't have her poop schedule figured out at all yet (probably becuase of the illnesses and food changes). Her poop seems ok now in consistency, if unpredictable, but I do have a stool sample to drop off at the vet.
I'm thinking about just using the crate for overnight, and fencing off part of the kitchen (we have a small galley kitchen) for when we're out. At least it would be easier to clean up accidents in there! I'd like to be able to keep her on the terrace while we're out, but we have a baby next door and one right below, and I'm afraid she would bark too much. The people downstairs have not been very nice (about other issues), so I really want to avoid dealing with them.
I'm so confused! What do you guys think?