[Gemmasmum]

Hi everyone i am new to this forum and am looking for a bit of help with my new puppy
We got Gemma 2 weeks ago when she was 10wks old and she is doing really well in all areas appart from being left alone
I have a cage for her that she happily uses at night and she is clean in it, she is let out in the morning for her business then is free for the rest of the day. I do however make sure she is in the same room as me or my OH when he's here as she chews anything and everything :shock: the problem arrises when i need to cage her either to go in the shower etc or take my youngest to nursery
she will be quiet for a few moments then the crying/howling/barking starts. She gets very frantic (i watched thru a crack in the door!) she scratches at the bottom and grabbs the bars in her mouth and tryes to shake the cage, she will also wee and poo in it . The longest i have left her is 30 mins to pick kids up from school and i thought she would get used to it but isn't :? I have even tryed leaving the cage door open and shutting the utility door but it's no different. i don't make a big deal out of leaving or returning, her cage is covered and she has a radio playing. She also has her toys and i have tryed leaving her with a hide chew or bone but she isn't interested in them.
I have had a dog before with seperation anxiety and it was awful so i know the signs and i want to stop this before it gets worse, can anyone help please

 

[jleonar]

I would get her used to being crate anytime you aren't playing with her or watching her. Need to do some laundry. Crate her. Need to step outside for a minute, crate her. you get the idea.

Next, do not allow her out of the crate until she has finished throwing the fit. She will eventually learn that the only way she is let out is by being calm in her crate.

BTW, I am dealing with this problem to except my lovely little pup will pee and poop in his crate anytime he gets the urge.

 

[Murphy]

i had this same problem! after a few months, we gave up trying to kennel train murphy.... that was until he chewed everything in our house, including the couch! so we started kenneling him, and now he is fine. just keep it up! put her/him in there several times a day, and just leave for about 30-45 mins. murphy used to poop and pee in there, and he finally stopped. now he loves it, and goes in on his own. everyone told me that he would, and i didn't believe them! also, it sounds like your pup is with you all the time, that is great, but he needs to learn to be happy alone. murphy was like that also, b/c my husband works from home. we talked to a behavior specialist who told us to start leaving him in the kennel a little more, so he can learn that it's ok to be alone. i know it's so hard, but it's good for them! is your pup an AB? if so, it takes them longer to "mature". we found that with murphy, the older he gets, the better he was in the kennel. he is now 10 months, and still very much a puppy, but has matured alot. they are just slow to mature mentally. some more tips: try leaving the kennel in the room where you are hanging out, with the door open, COVER THE TOP OF IT!, and put a soft towel, and safe chew toys and bones. aslo, ALWAYS give him a treat when he first goes in there. one more thing, murphy does not sleep in his kennel at night, b/c i feel like he is more comfy on the sofa! but he is in there if we are ever not a home!

 

[bearsmom]

I guess every pup is different but I'll tell you my experiences with leaving Bear & Molly in the crate.

The first night I had Bear home I put him in the crate for bedtime he made a rucus in there for about 10-15 minutes then settled down to sleep. I refused to get up to baby him because I knew he was fine and just having a tantrum. Once he got the picture there were not problems.

Molly has been home 3 weeks now and there are times when she goes in quietly and you don't hear a pep and others when she barks. It lasts for about 10 minutes and then she quiets down. Even when I have her in there and I have to do something real quick where I can't watch her, if I come back and she's still barking I will sit down on the couch and wait for her to quiet down before I let her out. She will also bark once or twice in the middle of the night. In this case I get up and take her out, she does her pee pee and then back in the crate. She usually goes right back to sleep.

 

[Gemmasmum]

Thanx for the advice i'm going to persevere and hope she gets better in time, she had her 2nd jab today and was microchipped so it's just another week till she starts puppy classes.
Hopefully she will get less dependant as she gets older, the vet recomended D.A.P it's a plug in that releases pheremones but it's expensive and i'm not convinced it will work. Has anyone else tryed it?

 

[Beetle]

I've found the best way to get your puppies to love their crates is to give them special treats inside the crate. This way they associate the crate with positive things. But, since he's a puppy, you need to supervise anytime he eats bones or things in the crate. With Tala and Odie, I would occasionally give them raw bones and things like that in their crates, while I do work or whatever around the house. At the same time, I'd teach the command "kennel", and they have no issues whatsoever today with entering and staying in their crates whenever I tell them to. Tala loves her crate. It's like her bedroom. She goes in there on her own to sleep at night.

 

[AkainePSP]

Harley did something interesting a couple of weeks ago. I had fallen asleep on the couch and forgot she was out of her crate. When I awoke and started to go upstairs Harley went to the door to go outside. I was so happy because she knows our routine. Before I go to bed we go outside to go potty come in get a biscuit. I tell her its' bedtime she goes in her crate gets her snack and to sleep she goes.

Kelly

 

[Pitchic27]

I second the advice on making it a happy place. Even Darla at 13 months old, is told go home, she will walk over to her kennel and get in herself, because she knows I will give her a nice milkbone when she does. We do it everytime she is put in the kennel. She is told calmly go home, and bang bone.

At your babies age she is tantruming. Persevere!! It's so awesome to have a kennel trained dog. After having two unruley dogs because of my lack of discipline this is a happy change!

 

[angie7349]

I put T-shirts or pj pants that I had worn but where not important to me in with Tora in her crate....they say that being able to smell you comforts them...It did seem to help both of my dogs

 

[Gemmasmum]

Thanx again everyone i am going to try the clothes trick and see if that works, i'm gonna have to walk around like a scruff for days wearing old clothes :lol: I have tryed everything else!!!!!!
Murphy she is a staffordshire bull terrier sorry i forgot to say in my last post
I have another problem so i will start a new thread hope you can help with this one :? :lol:

 

[angie7349]

I almost forgot to tell you that she is adorable!!!! That is the cutest little face!!!

 

[nanniesrock]

The only advice I can add to what has already been said is to try and make sure she is excersized before putting her in. Usually they'll be happier if they're not full of energy. Take her for a walk if you have time before you leave

 

[Gemmasmum]

Well yesterday i tried the rest of the tricks, put some old joggers i had been wearing in her cage (she must have recognised the smell as she wagged her tail at them, i personally thought they still smelt of soap powder :lol: ) i also gave her a kong toy with puppy paste in. I was out for 10mins and i came back to her frantic....
I spent the afternoon trying to make her like her cage i ironed with her in the same room as the cage and she chose to curl up on the floor, so i put her in her cage with a pigs ear. I was talking to her but not fussing and she just sat for 10mins looking at me and seeming uneasy before showing an interest in the treat, i wandered in and out and ironed for a further 15mins then let her out. a short while later a put her back to do the school run and came home to find her frantic again....
she will not choose to go to her cage herself thru the day unless she is eating or getting a toy however does not create a fuss at night, i think i will put a water bottle in today when i go out and see if that will help as she goes in with one at night....
As for exercise i can't take her out till next week as she has just had her 2nd jab but she does get lots of exercise in the garden and home, infact she is quite hyper but that's a whole new problem :lol: :lol: meybe when she is old enough to take out and tire out properly it might help :?

 

[Gemmasmum]

OH MY GOD I THINK I'VE CRACKED IT!!!!!!!
This should have been obvious to me all along, at night she has a hot water bottle put in for her and i haven't been doing that thru the day. Well i left her at lunch time putting the water bottle as i would at night and when i came back 10mins later there was silence so i went into the utility and she was asleep..... i could have jumped for joy :lol: :lol:
I tryed it again just before to do the school run and yipee she was asleep, this time she was left for 30mins i so hope it continues

 

[Cookies Mom]

thats great, and you have the cutest little pup!!!

 

[AkainePSP]

OH MY GOD I THINK I'VE CRACKED IT!!!!!!!
This should have been obvious to me all along, at night she has a hot water bottle put in for her and i haven't been doing that thru the day. Well i left her at lunch time putting the water bottle as i would at night and when i came back 10mins later there was silence so i went into the utility and she was asleep..... i could have jumped for joy :lol: :lol:
I tryed it again just before to do the school run and yipee she was asleep, this time she was left for 30mins i so hope it continues

What's the water bottle for?

 

[Gemmasmum]

It's for warmth and comfort , same as putting in a ticking clock or a teddy bear....
I have stopped putting hot water in it as it's in a fleecy cover i guess she likes the wobbly feel of it bit like sleeping on a water bed......

 

[lisafun]

I am hoping that someone can help me with my 2 year old "puppy". She is an American Bulldog who did amazing in her obedience classesand still does very well with her commands. We crate trained her, however, this is where the problem lies. We got her a cage, she ate the bottom out one day. So we took it back to PetSmart and they exchanged it out for me and then Bailey tore up the new bottom to her cage. My husband and I didn't know what to do so we put down concrete blocks. That seemed to work a while but then she began to pull up the blocks and she actually busted out the back of her cage. We can't giver her toys without supervision because she literally eats them and we have given her huge bones and Kongs but she destroys those and eats the material or bone shards. We did find a Nylabone toy that will suffice, however, she is starting to get bored with that as well. She is in her cage anywhere from 3-8 hours a day (at the most) since my husband and I both work different schedules. Before I leave her in the morning, I take her to the backyard and play with her to tire her out. When I come home from work, I don't give her attention right away either. She usually "acts up" in her cage when I leave the house last as she is very fond of me.
My husband and I don't know what to do to help her. We have another dog who absolutly loves his cage and we are able to put towels and blankets in his cage. We did have to take out his blankets because their cages are next to each other and somehow, Bailey would get a hold of his blanket, pull it through to her cage and shred it.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. My husband and I worry about how destructive she is becoming in her cage

 

[Thor]

Your dog needs more exercise. Destructive behavior comes from boredom. If a dog is exercised enough, it will be more receptive to the crate/downtime. AB's are powerful working dogs. They were bred to work. They need both the exercise, and mental stimulation. Keep the dog exercised and mentally challenged and lots of behavior problems will disappear.

As a last result, use the supplement called "Rescue Remedy." Five drops as needed, but please confirm with your vet.