Is separation anxiety real?
My 17 week old Bichon Frise gets so freaked out when he is put in the crate and left alone that it makes him poop. He is given ample opportunity to go before I leave and generally he is only left in the crate for 1 hr a few times a week, other than sleeping. He has learned to be in the crate at night though I respond to his barking for the first 1/2 hour or so to take him out to see if he has to go, as experience has shown me he may have to poop so I do keep showing him that the only thing he will get from barking is a trip outside which is not that fun if its cold and wet. I tried to ignore the barking when initially put in crate at bedtime he would poop in the crate. So now by the end of about 45 min of repeated trips out, he has either pooped or decided to capitulate and go to sleep. He usually barks at 3:00a.m. to go pee then back to sleep with no problem and occasionally he barks to get up to poop in the middle of the night. I am feeding Nutro at 4:45 and stop water at 7:00. Back
