Troubled Pound Puppy

Question
Hello. About a week ago I brought home an 8 month old lab mix female from the pound. She had been in the pound twice--the first time as a little puppy. Her litter was dropped off, and I don't even know if her eyes were open yet. Before I adopted her, she was adopted by a lady who kept her in a crate while she was at work, usually 6 to 8 hours at a time. She was brought back to the pound a week before I took her home, for being too hyper around the lady's small child. When I saw her in her cage at the pound, I witnessed her peeing in the cage and then lapping it up. I assume it was out of boredom. Since I've brought her home, she's been going to the bathroom where she's been sleeping, which I think is weird. She's been sleeping on my bed. When I walk her, she tries to find cat and dog feces and then eat it. I've seen her go to the bathroom outside and she has a really big yard. I've given her the run of the house because I don't think crating her will help the problem much, since that is what I think caused the problem...she basically grew up in a cage with little or no stimulation. I don't leave her alone for very long...usually 3 to 4 hours a day. So the main problem is that she is very specific about where she is going to the bathroom in the house (close to and/or where she sleeps) and then she attempts to eat it. When I adopted the dog, I was asked if there would be anything that the dog would do that would lead me to bringing her back to the pound, and I said no...and I mean it. Please help!

Answer
Hi Michael,

Thank you for choosing me to send a question to at AllExperts.  Based on the information I have, I will try to make some suggestions for you.

You wrote that your rescued Lab mix has been "going to the bathroom where she's been sleeping...She's been sleeping on my bed."  Does that mean that your new dog is eliminating in your bed?  I thought that perhaps you meant something else, but I need clarification on this point if I can address it.

It appears that your dog learned to eliminate in her crate possibly in part as a learned helplessness scenario - she didn't get opportunities to eliminate outside the crate when she needed to go, so she learned to eliminate inside the crate.  Once this habit is established, it can be very difficult to break, but it can be done.  One method that works is creating a bed area for the dog where the dog can sleep and stretch out, but not stand up.  Since dogs need to stand up to eliminate, this stops the dog from eliminating in their bed area.  If you create an area right outside this bed area where she can eliminate, she will slowly learn that she is to eliminate outside her bed area.  Praise her highly when she does eliminate outside her bed area so that her doing so becomes a habit.  When you are sure that she's 'got it,' slowly and very gradually move the pottying area outside her bed area away - maybe just a foot away at a time, building up (again, very slowly and gradually!) to where the potty area is farther away from the bed area, and closer to the door to outside.  When she 'gets it' that she needs to go to the door to eliminate, that is usually the point at which you can start housetraining a dog with your female's potty issues to eliminate outside.  Keep in mind that this will require patience - weeks, probably, at minimum, and perhaps even months.  Also, pick up a copy of the Popular Dog Series 'Housetraining 101' magazine.  It is topical and completely devoted to housetraining issues in dogs and will set you back only about $8.00 or so.  (Also, I happen to be quoted in the magazine on pages 83 and 87 as an expert in an article by Lisa Hanks, BUT <smile> that is not the reason why I am asking you to get the magazine - it is truly so that the magazine can give you lots of housetraining and other tips!  It will be on the newstands soon!).

As far as your dog eating strange items, this could either be a learned behaviour, or it could be a condition called pica. Dogs that have pica eat foreign and strange items like you describe, and sometimes the behaviour is due to a nutritional deficiency.  Make sure that you are feeding your dog a diet that says that it is Complete and Balanced. You may want to consult a canine nutritionist about pica if the behaviour continues even after you have made sure that your dog is eating a complete and balanced diet for a couple of weeks.  If the behaviour is NOT pica, and not due to a nutritional deficiency, then it might be a learned behaviour that your dog learned to do out of boredom, or because she got attention for doing it.  In that case, you will need the help of a canine expert to work with you to eliminate the behaviour.  Try stimulating your dog, too, with a lot of mental and physical activity -training, puzzle toys for dogs where the dog has to move the toy around to get treats out of it, and the like.  See if this helps reduce the pica or pica-like behaviour.  If it does, you will know that the behaviour was at least in part due to lack of mental stimulation and boredom.  Increasing the dog's physical activity as well sometimes helps this problem.  A tired dog is a good dog, and many behaviour issues go away or are greatly reduced when a dog receives the proper amount of physical exercise as well, and Labs are a pretty high energy field dog and do require a lot of physical exercise (and your dog is part Lab).

I applaud your commitment to this dog and your willingness to keep at it and work through these issues with her.  They do not appear to be serious, unresolvable issues to me, but they are inconvient enough to most people that she would be returned to the pound yet again, probably, if she did not end up with you.  Good on ya!

Best regards,
Madeline, AllExperts Volunteer and NY-NJDogTrainer