Separation anxiety in rescue dog- advice on (night) crate training appreciated

[Creeper]

We have rescued a 12 month old Jack Russell and have had her about a month now. She has really attached herself to me (presumably because I don't work so am home most of the time) and has bad separation anxiety.

We decided to put her in a crate and I honestly believe that at present she would tear the house apart when we were out if she wasn't in there. We feed her in there, and only leave her in there for short periods. I always leave her with her antler and a kong. She howls when we leave and usually chews the plastic part of her bed while we are out.

If we leave her in the crate at bedtime she goes in happily, I open the door and she goes on herself and gets in her bed BUT she always poos overnight. There is space for her bed and for her to get out and move around but she usually does it in her bed. Last night she slept on a chair in our bedroom and was fine but in an ideal world I would rather she slept downstairs in her crate.

Has anyone got any advice or experience of settling a dog in a crate overnight?

Have you tried putting in one of your worn old pieces of clothing (a t shirt or socks? Etc )

She has one of my tops in her bed, which did stop her crying at night (she only cried for one night).

It concerns me that she soils her bed as I thought dogs didn't do that.

Well she's only little (does that make a difference? )
Have you tried feed I g her earlier in the day?

I also have a rescue dog who also suffered terribly from separation anxiety. The best way to start helping your dog to deal with it is to take slow gradual steps in your leaving routine. It's not healthy or safe for the dog to be crated when it's so distressed, unfortunately he'll only end up hurting himself physically as well as mentally. I totally understand that you don't want him running about destroying your house though! (I've had to replace a door and two carpets, so yeh, I understand!)
Start with taking the dog for a walk before you go out if you can. Even round the garden/along the street will help. This will relax and tire him out. Then, start your leaving cues with the first thing you normally do - ie put dog in crate with kong. Then just let your dog out again straight after. Repeat this a few times monitoring your dogs anxiety levels. Take breaks in between. Next, put your coat on, grab keys etc whatever your usual leaving routine involves. Basically add one small step at a time until your dog is comfortable with each stage and content in their crate. Next step is to do your usual leaving routine & crating of dog etc and actually leave the house. Just leave & come right back in again. When you come back in don't overly praise or excite your dog and only let him out once he's calm. Repeat with gradual increases in time out of house.
I know it's a horribly long process but it will work and both you and your dog will be much happier in the long run. It will also help with your nighttime issues. Night time issue can be further helped by making sure you take the dog out for 'last time before bed' (and use these words or similar to your dog so he knows it's his last chance). Also not letting your dog sleep on the furniture. He's possibly pooing in his crate in protest for not being allowed to sleep on the chair.
Good luck, I know how distressing & difficult it can be. My dog still has occasional relapses, but I can't blame him, he did have horrid previous owners and was in the rescue centre kennels for a year and a half before I took him. (plus I'm really rubbish at not letting him on the furniture which REALLY doesn't help!!!)

I am trying to distance myself from her a bit and ignoring her more. I do let her on the sofa but only in the evening when the children are in bed. She now knows once I recline the footrest she can come up. Perhaps I should stop that too but it seems a shame. That said, I would rather that than an anxious dog.

I think the poo is a protest. I wonder if I put the crate in the bedroom she would still poo in it? I don't think it is going to help with separation anxiety to let her sleep on my bed?

Dogs don't poo in protest at not being allowed somewhere. They can poo out of distress though.

It definitely not a protest. Dogs simply don't think like that. It could be part of her distress and soiling is a common symptom of separation anxiety. Think about a time you were really anxious, eg job interview or similar, when you had to run to the toilet - it's the same mechanism. Don't try to distance yourself, it will only exacerbate her anxiety and could make things worse.

What time do you give her her evening meal? Feeding later, rather than earlier is the usual recommendation, as it means the food is still being digested at the time she would usually have the urge to go. If it is SA related this probably won't help though, as stress/anxiety increases transit time.

The advice upthread re desensitisation to leaving cues is good. It's not a quick fix, but it does work if you stick with it.

Exercise and mental stimulation is also key. An exhausted dog has lower stress levels and is more likely to sleep when left. Mental stimulation, such as clicker training, both builds confidence and wears them out, so is also a vital part of the plan.

My older boy developed SA when we lost our old girl last spring. It took around 3 months of a comprehensive desentisation programme to get him up to being left for an hour.

We then took on a rescue pup that had a bad start and he too had SA. He's 10 months now and is doing really well, is quiet overnight or if we're elsewhere in the house and no longer needs to follow me everywhere, but can still only manage an hour when we go out, even wit kongs and treat toys etc.

I will try a proper separation anxiety programme, as that seems to be the root of the problem.

I can highly recommend Nicole Wilde's book for helping to untangle the issues and work out an appropriate rehabilitation programme.

In the case of my older boy, via reading the above book and speaking to a couple of behaviourists and trainers I was able to work out that he actually had isolation distress, rather than full blown SA. This meant that ultimately getting another dog was probably the right course of action for us, as he wasn't over-attached to me, he had just never been on his own before and didn't have the skills to handle it. In my case, I wanted to do an SA programme first to teach him the skills he was lacking, before taking on another dog. It was er ... a tad ironic when our rescue turned out to have SA as well, but he was taken from his mother at less than 24 hours old, surrogated for a short while, then moved to foster and SA was almost a foregone conclusion in his case, with his history.

I have just ordered the book and look forward to reading it. I am particularly interested in the difference between separation anxiety and isolation distress.

She was found roaming the streets in Ireland and I wonder if she spent time with a homeless person as if she can find anything to sit on- blanket, handbag, clean washing she will. She also likes getting right under the quilts and duvets when she gets into a bed. When she was in the rescue they had her paired up so it could be that she's not used to being alone.

We had a rescue JR he also slept/Sat on anything but the ground also liked to be covered up in his bed and would take his blanket to sunbathed on We crated him on the landing so near us but not in the room and moved him further away gradually. Our warning we were leaving was to tell him mind the house which he never did the burglers did not disturb him it takes time but they are the best most loyal pets