Hi all,

My dog is a 7yr old female border collie mix and she has started having some behavior issues for some reason. We haven't changed anything in the household. She seems to be more scared of thunderstorms lately also.
Anyway, we have always had a wooden baby gate in the hallway that we close when we leave so that she can only be in the kitchen/family room area of the house.
3 or 4 times now, she has scratched up the berber carpet (which ravels) trying to get to the other side of the gate.
Today, she somehow got one of the rungs out of the gate so that she could get to the other side. She also dug at the carpet more, so much so that she pulled off a toenail.
For awhile, I was not closing the gate and letting her have free roaming of the house and twice now she has pee'd on the carpet in the upstairs bathroom!!

I'm really at a loss as what to do. Someone suggested a scat mat or crating her when we leave. I might get a metal gate so that she can't chew through the rungs, but she could still scratch up the carpet.

Anyone had any experience with this kind of behavior? Like I said, nothing has changed other than she's getting older. I think she's getting bad in her old age - haha!

Thanks !

Is the other side she's trying to get to the direction you were when she last saw you? So, when you shut her in, do you do it from the other side of that gate and then walk away/out of her view?

If so, that combined with the digging and the inappropriate elimination suggest to me that she might have canine separation anxiety. Our dog basically tore up a large section of carpet when we tried to leave her in a single room of the house...it was panic, trying to dig to get back to us. Other signs would be excessively happy greetings when you return, a lot of barking/whining/vocalizations gone, etc. The increased anxiety at thunderstorms may be related, also.

No, I leave through a basement door that is in the room where she stays (on the same side of the gate).

I'm sure it is some kind of anxiety, but I don't know what to do about it. I can't have her tearing up the carpet everytime we leave.
What did you do with your dog?

It would help if she is worn out. Run her for an hour before you leave - good exercise for you both. That should help a lot.

Border collies are tough. They are an obsessive breed and in general, need to be "in work." If they don't have a job, they will come up with one -- and often, it won't be a job we'd choose for them or one we like!

First thing I'd do is make sure she's getting tons of exercise. It's a common remedy for many behavioral issues with this breed. If you're already doing that, you might get her a cat. I know it sounds ridiculous, but my Border collie adores all 3 of my cats, and it gives him a "herd." They keep him preoccupied for hours. The cat will give your dog something to fixate on besides just you.

Hope this helps!! They're a wonderful breed, one of the smartest, but they can be a handful!!

I agree with the above poster. Along with that, get her to the vet and checked for a urinary tract infection. She may be looking for a place to pee. Is she spayed? She may be having issues there as well. If all of that is good, she needs more exercise and mental stimulation, aka, training to do anything you want to train her to do. Boredom is the worst enemy of a border collie. Crating her will only make it worse instead of better.