# Need Help With My Cockapoo's Behavior



## Maggiesmom (Nov 7, 2016)

I have a 14 month old, named Maggie. Overall she is a very sweet and playful puppy but I am having a few issues with her and I am looking for some advice or insight on how to make things better.

1. I think she has separation anxiety. I got her while I was living on my own in an apartment away at school. I got her when she was 8 weeks old and I ended up moving back home with my family when she was seven months old. Every time I leave the house to go to work or school and she is home with other family members, they say that she barks, cries, and whines uncontrollably. How do I get her not to be so attached to me and make her feel comfortable being home alone with my family?

2. She bites my siblings. She can go from playing to biting their pants, ankles, arms, and hands. She also nips when she gets annoyed or when she is barking and they tell her to stop. Also when my youngest brother, 13 years old, goes to pet her she will growl and nip at him. How can I stop the biting?

3. She hates the crate! When we were living in the apartment I would only put her in the crate if I wasn't home and could not supervise her. When I moved home things changed, my parents are a lot more strict. She isn't allowed on furniture, in certain parts of the house, and they require her to sleep in the crate at night instead of upstairs in the bed with me. What can I do to make her like the crate ?

4. She constantly is peeing in her crate at night. She goes out before bed and every morning without fail she has an accident in the crate. I have blankets in the crate but without them it gets absorbed into her coat. There is no reason that she shouldn't be able to hold it for eight hours.

Thank you so much for your help!!


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

It sounds to me like Little Maggie is very, very confused and possibly quite unhappy. She's gone from having all your attention and the freedom of your house, a whole new set of rules. New people. Is she getting enough rest? Could you have the cage in your bedroom? Is she loved by the rest of your family or merely tolerated? Dogs do know the difference. When you were just the two of you, was Maggie allowed to snuggle up with you on the sofa? It seems to me her security has been removed. I think you need to sit and have a talk with your parents and see if they can't relax the rules a little. Make sure your siblings don't torment her or over stimulate her as well. Other than that I don't know what to suggest. I just want to give her a big loving cuddle. Bless her. Oh yes and she might have hit teenage time and is throwing the biggest strop in the world. Is everyone consistant with the rules? Would your Parents agree to her having a basket rather than the cage?


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