Major issues

[ACAkeyla]

Okay… where to begin?! My 8 months old female B has been pulling up the carpet in our apartment. When we leave her in her crate while we leave for work she goes nuts!! We purchased a large wire crate that is placed in our bathroom when we leave. There was plastic flooring in the bottom of the crate until she started chewing on the plastic, so I removed it. NOW the new problem is that she has figured out how to move the crate without the plastic bottom. That would be why we don't have any carpet in the doorways of bathroom. I know that she has separation anxiety but have no idea how to solve the problem. We are so fed up with this behavior; however I do NOT wait to get rid of her. I can't say the same for my husband. Please help!!!!

[lukris]

How long is she left alone?

[ACAkeyla]

She is left alone for no longer than 4hrs.

[lvoss]

Patricia McConnell has a book on working with dogs with separation anxiety, I'll Be Home Soon.

http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/product/dog-separation-anxiety

[nobarkus]

How much exercise does she get before being crated? Total exercise per day? Does she get a treat upon entering the crate and does she enter voluntarily or pushed in?

[lukris]

that's not excessive but has she always been left or is it a fairly new arrangement? Why i ask is if it has always been the arrangement, she should be used to it by now. But if not, maybe she still has to adjust. Can anyone look in on her for you while you are out, say after a couple of hours? Have you tried leaving a radio on, some background noise. Do you take her for a good long walk when you get home? etc

[ACAkeyla]

We do not exercise her before we crate her bc it's usually early in the morning. She has been crated ever since she was 6wks old and still hates it. She gets a treat in her crate but we do have put her in there. We leave the radio on while we are gone and my mom comes by to take her out if we will be gone longer than 4 hrs.

[Rita Jean]

Everyone on here question???? Could it she has came into season causing this???? Would this not be her first time?????

Rita Jean

[lvoss]

It sounds like she has never truly been crate trained and that is contributing to her anxiety.

http://www.askdryin.com/movies/CrateDogLR.pdf

[ACAkeyla]

Thank you Ivoss for the article. We will try these tips but we will still have to put her in the crate while we are gone. This won't confuse her?

[lvoss]

You may want to use a large vari-kennel plastic crate so it is different then the crate she now has the negative associations with.

[ACAkeyla]

Haha yeah we have one of those too. That is what we tried to begin with. Would using a muzzle her while in the crate be cruel?

[lvoss]

Not only would using a muzzle in the crate be cruel, it could also be life threatening.

[lvoss]

I have used the process in the video and even after a day of intensive work there is a difference but it is a long term process. You could use that in conjunction with DAP spray or diffuser to help with anxiety.

Since this has been going on for quite sometime, you will proabably be best served by hiring a behaviorist or trainer to help you with the short term and develop a long term plan.

[YodelDogs]

I would highly recommend that you get the book that lvoss recommended. It is inexpensive and very helpful. In the meantime, buy a large sheet of plywood to put under the crate to keep her from eating the carpet. A muzzle is a bad idea. The dog is stressed out enough already and a muzzle would only compound the problem.

[ACAkeyla]

I bought the book on amazon. We will try the wood under the crate and work with her to be stress free. So the muzzle should be a no-go then?

[lvoss]

Right, you should never muzzle an unattended dog.

[Rita Jean]

I do a lot of stange things but I would never use a muzzle and go away. Just to many what if's.

Rita Jean

[tanza]

What happens if you just leave her loose when you are gone?…. Have you tried that?... is there a way you could leave her in an area that is gated off from the rest of the house... ?....

[crystalncody]

I had a similar situation with Cody when I first got him. One of the things that helped was that I put an old sheet in his crate that smelled like me. I slept on it for one night before putting it in there.

I don't have to crate him regularly anymore, but I still put it in there (wash it once a week, sleep on it for a night, the put it back in there). I also still put his favorite treats and new toys in there instead of giving them directly to him. Now he willingly goes in his crate when he needs some alone time away from Moe (or my family ).