anxiety deficating

Question
I have a dopted a 2 yr. old Jack Russel, smooth coated fox terrier from the rescue. He was with him foster family for 5 months. They have 5 other dogs and when they went to work they were all crated monday to Fri. They say Peanuts was fine with this arramngment. But since he has come he he does not seem to be able to handle being away from me. We tried putting him in his new crate for the first time on the second day for 20 mins. This was after a trip to the off leash dog park as well as a 30 minute walk. I don't know if going in his crate for this short time was too soon, but this had been quite routine for him so I thought he could handle it. we  He barked for 20 mins solid. I probably should not have let him out so quickly when I came in; rather i should have waited till he showed calmness even if it was with me there. The next time I tried was for about 12 mins while I walked our cat around the proerty. He cried on and off and when I came in I found he had pooped and peed in his cage. I assume this is because when he was crated before that he had 5 other buddies all crated too, but as I and my husband are his only 'pack' he has separation anxiety when alone. Especially as he has  been divided from 2 families before. I am able to take him to work where I do dog grooming and I tried putting him in a crate there where I thought he might do better as there are other dogs. Again he pooped with in 10 mins. Since then I have only put him in the crate here at home for his feeding and have him up to about 10 mins where he can contain himself. I also run with Peanuts before and after work and after work when I come home and want a shower we are getting into a routine of him going into the crate which is in the bathroom with a treat and then I go about preparing for my shower including being in the next room stripping clothes and picking out clean ones ect. I do not talk to him or acknowledge him in any way during this time. I go into bathroom and shower do my hair, clean the tub ect really drawing it out. All the time I do not talk to him. When I am done I sit on the john beside him and make him "cush' ( which is lay down/rest for him, he also came from a French back gound for his first 15 months!) Then I open the door and invite him out. This is going fairly well. However in other situations I am using a gate to conatin him such as at work between the bathing room and the clipping room. He again is getting into eliminating behind the gate when separtate from me. he also does this on out patio where I have set it up for him to go out to for short times with a gate at the top of the steps to confine him on the patio. He IS however becoming trained to go "go pee" and "go poo" when told too outside on his line and gets alot of praise for this.  But just this morning I put him on the patio and close the gate, walked across the yard and went into the shed for 5 mins. He pooped again on the patio.
In the house he has acces to half of it and is divided with a gate as well. He resoect this and so far there have been no in house poops and seem to accepte when I go out of his site but am still "In House" . My problem is that I am a single woman from Monday to Friday as my husband works in the city. Peanuts is showing real aniexty about being independent for any length of time, making it very difficult to leave at any time, which is neccessary for every day life. He is just a wonderful dog in all other ways and I would really like him to work out here. waht suggesttion can you give. I have considered if there is any medication to releieve his anxiety thru the re-training stage. thanks Joyce

Answer
Hi Joyce

Well done for being so determined to help Peanuts - it can be such a frustrating problem and he is lucky to have found you!

Although it is, as you say, important that he learns to be apart from you, it may be that you are focusing too much on this.  You don't say how long you have had him so I am assuming it is not long.  He needs time to settle in, start to relax and to get used to your routine.  When dogs have had more than one home they are often understandably insecure and so need a long time to relax.  When they are still in the settling in period it is not a good time to start training or trying to change behaviour.  I know people say you should start as you mean to go on etc but you are just making a battle for yourself before you even start.  So, if possible, forget about the crate for now and just let him be loose to follow you around. Be relaxed and don't make too much of him, just let him see what you do, where you go etc when pottering around at home and in the garden.

When he is used to your routine and has got to know the house and neighborhood a bit better he will be in a position were you can begin to teach him to be apart from you.  The reason he is toileting is because he is stressed and anxious about either being crated or being apart from you.  Check which it is with a bit of experimentation.  If it is the crate then perhaps you don't need one?  It does sound as if it is separation from you that he is worried about though, as you say he does it behind a gate too.  You need to start by just leaving him for very short periods (return to him before he gets worried) and stay in sight.  The reason your bathroom routine works so well is because it is predictable and he knows where you are.

It will also be harder in other locations due to his insecurity so he will cope less well at the grooming salon for example, as he will at home.  Lower your expectations when crating him somewhere new.

Incidentally, crates can be quite abused by some people and just used as convenient cages (which is what they are really) so it is unsurprising that some dogs learn to get quite stressed in them.  maybe you could just teach him to lie on a bed when at work with you??

There is so much advice I could give you but I don't really have the time.  You can get back to me if you need clarification or further help though.

Good luck with this.

Regards,

Lucy