Hi everyone - I am new to the forum and a new pet owner so I apologize if this has been answered in some form before.

I adoped Daisy a 2y/o un-spayed rattie about a month ago.  She is my first pet, and I couldn't ask for a more gentle, loving and fun companion. 

I am having a problem with her pooping/peeing on the floor after I leave home, probably 3-5x a week.  I am usually gone about 4 hours at a time, so I couldn't tell what was triggering the problem.  I take her out in the morning, middle of the day and at least once at night and feed her the same food twice a day. 

The other night, I took her out, she did her business and then I left the house about 20 minutes later.  I was gone for 2 minutes, when I realized I forgot something... I came back, and she had already pooped on the floor.  So my guess is that after I leave, she goes to the bathroom--even if she just went!

Everyone says that I should crate train her, but I am not sure-- I'm more interested in getting at the root of the problem.  Any ideas?  Separation anxiety perhaps?

Thanks!

Jeremy

First: Welcome to the site, Jeremy My rattie is also named Daisy. Bless you a thousand times for rescuing a rattie in need of a good home. We absolutely MUST see pics of your Daisy

Now, on to your problem. I would most definitely advise you to try crate training her. There are numerous threads on how to do so (and I'll come back and edit this with a link to one of them in a minute). Crate training can be a God-sent answer to the type of problem you are describing.

If she has only been in your home one month, she is probably making some adjustments still. Do you know any of her past history, living conditions, treatment, etc.??? I know that often with rescues there is just no way to tell what their lives were like prior.

As for separation anxiety - do you notice any other behavior that would indicate that might be the case? Such as whining/barking/"crying" when you leave? Does she destroy things in the house while you are gone? Or is it only the "bathroom" issues that she is having.

Also, do you have her on a scheduled feeding or do you free feed?

EDIT: Here is the link to the crate training thread I was referring to above:

http://www.rat-terrier.com/Home/tabid/37/forumid/5/postid/3963/view/topic/Default.aspx

If you just click on this link and read the article, I think it will help you a lot.

However, please, please, feel free to continue to ask any and all questions and never worry that they've been asked before. If it's quicker and help you more easily to just directly ask a question rather than searching around for the answer, by all means - ask away!