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My dog has a lot of anxiety while crated and broke his crate too but he's pretty much okay being left out. After he broke his crate, I kept him in my bedroom with the door open but with a baby gate blocking him from leaving the room. He jumped on the gate a lot but didn't cause any damage in the bedroom. After a couple of months, I left him loose in my home -- he jumped on the front door sometimes but didn't scratch it or damage anything.
My previous dog actually escaped from his crate by squeezing his body between the door and where it latches...scary to think about since he could have seriously hurt himself. After that incident, I kept him in my bedroom alone for a few weeks and let my other dog have the rest of the condo to herself while I was gone, and once they developed a great friendship I eventually left them alone together.
I would like to return my current dog to the rescue for other reasons but am sure they will guilt trip and blame me like yours did so I keep avoiding contacting them. I was going to return him but I couldn't stop crying every time i thought about it, it's definitely very hard.
OP, I also say don't beat yourself up. You truly gave it a good try and hopefully the dog will find a home where someone will be with him at all times.
Now I have a question and I'm not sure if anyone really knows the answer for sure, (honestly, I'm just curious)
but what usually causes a dog to even start being anxious in a crate? What has happened with these dogs previous to being rescued that has caused such trauma to their emotions?
do you think they are they left in a crate too long?
or maybe they are they thrown in there as a form of discipline and they see the crate as a "bad" place?
or do some dogs just have personalities they are born with, that can't handle being in a small space like people with claustrophobia?
but what usually causes a dog to even start being anxious in a crate? What has happened with these dogs previous to being rescued that has caused such trauma to their emotions?
Maybe being a rescue that keeps getting returned over & over?!?!
Location: Formerly NYC by week; ATL by weekend...now Rio bi annually and ATL bi annually
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I have a Staffy and of course as a pup he destroyed some CD's and DVD's, his beds, etc. But after he was about a year no problems. He is 9 years old now and has not seen the inside of a crate for a little over 8 years. I found that the crating only heightened his anxiety and separation issues. It sucks it didnt work out, but maybe for the best.
Now I have a question and I'm not sure if anyone really knows the answer for sure, (honestly, I'm just curious)
but what usually causes a dog to even start being anxious in a crate? What has happened with these dogs previous to being rescued that has caused such trauma to their emotions?
do you think they are they left in a crate too long?
or maybe they are they thrown in there as a form of discipline and they see the crate as a "bad" place?
or do some dogs just have personalities they are born with, that can't handle being in a small space like people with claustrophobia?
I'm not sure because my one dog who wasn't a rescue didn't like her crate either, despite all the positive reinforcement exercises I did with her when she was a young puppy. She didn't try to break out, she just looked sad and would sometimes give me dirty looks from her crate lol. Supposedly it's supposed to be their safe place, but after she no longer needed to be crated for potty training, I left the door open but she never went in just to chill.
So at least for my own dogs, rescues and non-rescues alike don't like being crated. But in the case of rescue dogs, they might associate it with punishment if they were thrown in after doing something bad or if their human left them crated for 8-10 hours/day for months or years.
Separation anxiety and crate issues are not related. There are dogs who have anxiety but do well in a crate. Then there are dogs who are fine being left alone but become destructive inside the crate, caused by boredom, frustration by outside stimuli, etc.
Again, you can successfully crate train a dog who continues to suffer from separation anxiety.
More often with rescues, their fear of being left alone, can be so much that they may end up hurting themselves trying to get out and find its owner. Same idea applies if that same dog is home alone. He will scratch the doors, the window sills, chew on the furniture, poop inside the house, etc. The SIZE of the containment doesn't matter.
Rescues usually already went through a traumatic experience: starvation, neglect or simply left behind by their family. Their humans is their center of their world, where food, shelter, medical care and everything survival and fun is coming from us. To rip that away, and then given a home again, these dogs are still in "survival" mode. The dog misses you when you leave, but he misses you more because his survival depends on you. That's the root of their anxiety.
You can't persuade them you will return in one hour with words. You can't feed them an unlimited amount of peanut butter and expect them to immediately know you will come back (The PB helps associate your absence as a good thing... but it only last until it's all gone. The training must consist of more than treats alone).
The keys to this common, sad problem are training, patience and TIME. It will resolve mostly if not completely once the dog rebuilds his confidence in YOU in a way the DOG understands. Dogs do not understand the concept of time. However, they can learn that you will come back and your absence isn't the end of their world.
Many, if not most, dogs, like being in a crate because it is like their den. Dogs are not people.
Some don't like it, even if they are trained from puppyhood in it. The Rescue place should have chosen a dog that was OK with crating when you said you needed that. Find a different Rescue if you can.
I guess I'm looking to vent and get advice. My husband and I adopted a dog 1 month ago. We decided we were ready after losing our dog of 11 years early this year to cancer. Before I adopted I told the rescue a dog that would be ok with being crated was very important because my husband works full time and at the time I working part time. I took 1 week off from work to help get the dog comfortable in his new home. He is just the sweetest, most lovable dog. He didn't have any accidents and rarely barked. But from the start he hated being crated. He destroyed the first crate when we went grocery shopping one day. And we found claw marks all over the door of the room he was in. After he broke out of the crate he scratched at the back of the door to try to "get out" of the room.
I always crated the dog I had. This was the same breed I had before - a spaniel breed. They are hyper dogs and sometimes when left alone they can be destructive. My last dog liked his crate. It was like his den.
So after the new dog destroyed his crate we went online searching for very heavy duty crates. We found one that cost 600 but would be impossible to destroy. So we ordered it and filled it with a blanket and a toy filled with peanut butter. We also put on music for him to listen to. We also went to the vet and told her about his separation anxiety. She prescribed a medicine for him to help calm him down. She suggested we eventually use switch to Prozac. The medicine he was on worked ok the first week but then he started chewing on the steel bars of the crate. Each time we returned from crating him there were more and more bite marks. I noticed one of his teeth was looking worn. We knew with his anxiety he couldn't be left uncrated when we went out and we thought with everything we have tried nothing was working. It broke my heart to see how terrified he was to be left alone, even for short amounts of time. We were going to switch to Prozac but it takes 6 weeks to kick in and even then its not guaranteed to work for the issue we had. I worried that he might hurt himself or break his teeth while waiting for the Prozac to take effect. I even considered quitting my job to work on his anxiety but its not possible right now to do that.
This weekend we made the heartbreaking decision to return him to the rescue with hopes he would find a home where he could have an owner that didn't have to go to work. We returned him Saturday evening and I can't stop crying. I'm at work breaking down and I have called the person from the rescue that is currently caring for the dog to see how he was doing three times. He told me the dog has been crying for a day and a half. He is playing with another foster dog but when he isn't he cries. I would love nothing more then to make it work with this dog but I just don't know how. We can't afford doggy daycare or someone to watch him during the day so I'm at a loss.
Sounds like you did a lot to try to fix this...did you ever think of taking him to a boarding kennel?
I'm not sure if that's what you mean by "doggy daycare" as some places offer way more services than just boarding the dog...but he's not alone there.
Some dogs just don't do well in kennels. The first time I crate trained my two, the boy did fine, but the girl - it sounded like she was being slowly dismembered every night for how much she howled and screamed at the top of her lungs.
How big was the crate that you used?
Is there a room that isn't filled that you can try using a baby gate across the doorway or something like that?
Well, anyway, I guess it's done. You sure did try more than most others would, so you have to realize that.
Like other responders, I think you have done a good job trying to make this work.
I've currently got 3 dogs living with me. Two are mine. One is a guest - a neighbor is having housing problems. The guest has been here for a few months, and will be here for a few more. All three are rescues who were adopted as adult dogs.
Not one of these dogs tolerates crating well. They are all particularly upsets on being crated. A large part of the anxiety is being separated from their humans, and being separated from other dogs as well.
Now, in this forum, and in many books / advice brochures / whatever, crating is talked about as an easy answer. Reality is that sometimes it is not. I know that I've done all the "crate-training" moves to help the dogs accommodate - and they haven't. They do better if they are allowed to "stress" in the house - but being closely confined leads to destructive and self-destructive behavior. And being alone in the house is only somewhat better - it is not an answer.
I think if you have a puppy - rescue or otherwise - you can relatively easily adapt the dog to crating. Getting adult dogs to adapt is something else. And, it may be impossible in some cases. I might be able to get my 3 to crate if I spent months of concentrated effort on the project - but let's be real, eh? Spending months on "reprogramming" an adult dog to crate? NOT realistic. Too much effort, too little gain.
I think you made the right choice, and I think you have been a valuable turning point in the life of this dog. The rescue now knows they need to find a family where the dog will not be alone. That is important.
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