I have a new puppy. I got her 2 weeks ago and she uses the puppy pad most of the time. However when I leave the house just to check the mail or whatever reason for a minute or two, she will poop in front of the door right where I would step when I come back in.
I would take her with me, but she barks at everyone who comes near me and I'm working on that as well. I went to the store yesterday and she stayed with my adult daughter. My daughter said she sat at the door and cried for me the whole time I was gone, she would pick her up and try to calm her down, but she would fight her to get away and back to the door waiting for me.
How can I stop her from pooping in front of the door like that? And how can I train her to be calm until I get back? I don't like her being so sad when I leave. She is crate trained, but I don't want to put her in there for a minute or two. Any advice? She is only 6 months old. I should also mention she is a rescue dog that was first taken to the shelter where she was rescued from a no kill rescue, then adopted only to be returned as she was too playful for the elderly couple. So she has abandonment issues I'm sure.
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It sounds like she has separation anxiety. I had that problem with my dog when we adopted him. You need to desensitize them to you walking out the front door. That means you pick your keys up and walk around with them. Open the door and immediately come back in. Come up with a "be good" command that you say when you leave but other than that don't make a big fuss about leaving or returning (the more fuss you make the more she'll think it's a BIG scary deal).
It REALLY helps if you take your dog to obedience training - one of the things they work on is staying when you walk around a corner so she'll learn to trust that you'll be back - plus she'll learn other polite behaviors (like not barking at strangers) AND the trainer is a huge help if you have any questions about problems like this. I dug up an article that has the same steps that my dog trainer gave me. It seems silly and is a fair bit of effort but it REALLY works.
My dog used to whine and poop and even trash the house whenever we left the house when we first got him. It took about 2 months of re-training (and doggy prozac in his case) to see improvements, and about 6 months until he was "cured", but ever since. he's been an angel when we are gone and a lovable family member for for 6 years. I'm so glad I put the time into him.
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