Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone!
For Valentine's Day my hubby gave me a Miniature American Eskimo. She is adorable and very high spirited. I love how friendly she is but we are running into a couple small problems.
We are both animal lovers and have raised puppies before but "Maia" which is what I have named her after the star constellation is a little different than most puppies. My last dog was a rescue lab that I found in a parking lot when she was approx 8 weeks old and she had to be put down two years ago at the age of 17 yrs old. I still miss her.

Maia has terrible separation anxiety. We are crate training her for when we are not home or when we sleep. If she doesn't see me or hear my voice she cries non stop and sounds like she is in total misery. I work fairly close to home and stop in every couple hours to let her run and play plus do her business, eat and drink. As long as I am here she is fine but if she doesn't see me she gets very upset and worries me. Any suggestions? She is doing great at night as long as she can see me in bed and only wakes up to do her business.

Doing her business is another little problem we are having. Maia likes to eat her own poo. She is so quick you have to literally pick her up as soon as she finishes or she quickly turns around and engulfs it. Any ideas in this department would be greatly appreciated.

We are making headway on housebreaking and she is only 9 weeks old. We have had her since the 6th of February when she was flown in. My son calls her a cotton ball with legs. lol
She is such a joy just wanted to know the best things to do to maybe help her break a couple bad habits which I know have to be unhealthy for her and stressing her.

Oh to give you a rundown on who Maia's family consists of now:
An 8 year old Australian Terrier my husband had when we married. She is totally spoiled by both of us and loves playing with Maia. They have quickly bonded and really seem to enjoy each other's company.

There are also two rescue cats that are 5 years old that the one loves her and thinks she is great the other one is a little shy as Maia is very active. Both kitties were raised with dogs and bottle fed so a puppy is second nature to them.

Then there is me, my husband and my teenage son.

Maia will definately get lots of love and attention just want to make sure we are doing things the proper way to make her happier.

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Hi! Congrats on your new little Eskie... you'll have to post a picture or two when you can. I think they are beautiful dogs. I have Shiba Inus so we are sort of related! lol Spitz type dogs like your Eskie and my Shibas are very different than most breeds of dogs we are used to.

The seperation anxiety may take a while to get under control seeing as she is so young being just removed from the litter. Even at this age she is going to be a little scared and confused until she fully gets acclimated to her surroundings. The crate training should eventually work for you. The idea is to make it a fun place for her to be. She has probably already associated her being in the crate when you leave the house. You might have to change your routine a little as well especially if you are making a big deal of putting her in the crate and picking up keys, saying goodbyes etc. You might want to try placing her in the crate and ignore her, don't make a big deal of it and just leave the room. Come back in a minute or two and again simply ignore her, let her out of the crate, wait a minute and then give her some attention. Eventually you might try doing this while going out the door, just leave for a minute or two and come back in, again following the above. Keep leaving for longer periods and see how the training goes. It will take a little time and patience but it should help.

Eating the poop is also a problem many dogs have. We just had a conversation about this on the Shiba forum if you wanted to read about. The best thing is to try and pick it up as quickly as possible but unless the dog is leashed we are seldom that quick. There is term for this called cophragia and doing a Google search will come up with many links. In the past it was thought that dogs did this because of something missing in their diet but that has since proven to be untrue since dogs on a very healthy diet will suddenly start to do this.

For the most part it sounds like Maia is doing well for only 9 weeks. Keep in mind that with her being a miniature Eskie and this young that her bladder will be very tiny. Taking her outside every two hours may be required and also 30 minutes after eating even if she doesn't show any signs of wanting to go.

It's great to see that Maia and your Aussie are getting along so well... that too should help with the seperation anxiety if they have access to one another.

Keep us updated on your progress and you might also want to look into puppy classes to help with any other training issues. Don't forget to post a picture or two! lol
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Bob

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Thanks so much to the both of you for the suggestions and advice. I definately will be trying them and looking into the others. I hope I downloaded the picture right. I put her on an album here so you can see little Maia who loves the snow!

OMG!!! How the heck adorable is Maia! She is a real little cutie! I'll have to check out the picts and when you can you'll have to post a few more here as well as give us some updates on your progress.
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Bob

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Congrats on teh new puppy!

>>Maia has terrible separation anxiety. Any suggestions?
-At this age it's not real seperation anxiety, it's just young lonely puppy. Kennel her in your room at night and absolutely DO NOT open that kennel door when she's making a noise or fuss.

. Maia likes to eat her own poo. Any ideas in this department would be greatly appreciated.
-This is an area where I've had trouble myself. A "leave it" command works well, but being faster than your pup at cleaning it up also is required. Sometimes having two people when doign this helps- one can call puppy away happily and praise for going outside while the other cleans up.
>>

GO grab some books at the Library on puppy care and enroll her in puppy classes as well. There's just no subsitute to in person help with many of these things.Have fun with your new addition.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles