need help with our BT

Question
Lisa,

We have 2 Bostons, both were rescued.  Sam is a 10 y/o male and he's just about perfectly behaved.  Very passive and mellow.  

And then there is Zoe.  She's 4.  We rescued her 15 months ago.  Seems to have severe sep anx.  We both work but walk them almost every day, let them out in our yard all the time, and have a dog walker that comes during the day.  We gate them in the basement.  She's very dominant of Sam, and attacks strange dogs that come into the house.  But that's not really the problem.  The real crisis we're having is that Zoe goes to the bathroom in the house on a regular basis.  We've tried everything to correct this to no avail.  Sometimes she eats her feces.  Its causing quite a problem.  When we first got her she came with a crate, which we used all of the time when we were gone, but she started clawing her way out of it.  Unreal how strong she is.  We stopped putting her in the crate because we're afraid she's going to hurt herself.  But when she's not in the crate she goes on the floor.  Please help, thanks.  

Answer
Hi Carl,

Your little Zoe is indeed going to be a handful, but well worth the effort it will take to get this ill mannered but traumatized dog sorted out.
First off,,,eating fedes is a sign of iron deficiency. A vet can give you something to put on her food to stop this behavior.
I know how strong they are. I had one that clawed his way through crates too. Apparantly...Zoe has spent much of her life in a crate and has now tasted the outside and goes through terrors going back in. I would ...regarding the terrors...remove the door from her crate, so she can go in and out of it. This is so she will learn not to be afraid of the crate and you can still use the crate taking her to vets, etc. Next, buy an exorcise pen big enough to put her crate in and she can play around a bit. Then if she goes potty, it will be in a confined area. It will help her if Sam is in there with her, if he doesn't mind. Your patience will pay off. This girl needs so much attention and if she gets in trouble for her messes, that is still attention for her.
Try this and let me know how it goes.
Best to you...Lisa