Nice Try Lady

[Cessena]

So my dog Vlad has separation anxiety. We don't leave him home alone much anymore after he seriously bent the bars on his old crate. We are concerned that he might hurt himself trying to escape the crate.

So we are trying to get him used to a new crate. It is one of the plastic airline style crates. We left the top off for a long time, and we feed him all of his meals in it. A week or so ago I started closing the door while he ate his breakfast, so he could practice being locked in. (This is after 2-3 months of eating all his meals in there.) We were planning to get him used to being in the crate while we were home, and then work up to leaving the house for small amounts of time.

Well now he wont obey the Kennel command. He sits and looks at me like "Oh hell no, you're just going to lock me in. Nice Try Lady."

I have dialed back and we aren't closing the door on him anymore. But I don't want to have to fight him to get him into the crate when it is time to go. He really just wont go in there without a big incentive though.

I have been thinking leaving him in the basement when we leave the house, instead of the crate. There is nothing down there he could get into or damage, and he would have room to move around and play with toys. But the few times we have left him there because of an emergency he has chewed up the baseboards, and drooled all over the place.

Does anyone have any suggestions for ways I could get him used to being comfortable alone in the basement? Or really anything at this point. We haven't been out to dinner or to see a movie for a year.

(I would really like to hire a behaviorist, but cash is pretty tight right now. Unless someone knows of a very reasonable one in the Chicago area.)

 

[lizzybeth727]

It sounds to me like you'll probably have to give your dog drugs to calm him down whenever you leave. Unfortunately, you won't know for sure until you get a professional to do a home visit to observe your dog.

 

[Zoom]

Use the big incentive for now. And toss bits of special stuff to him while he's in the crate. Don't let him push you around in terms of not going in there; I agree with not having to bodily shove him in there, but if you give the "kennel" command, make him do it. Toss a bit of hotdog or something in as you say it, or right after you say it. Or both. And then help him out with going in.

I've been going through this same issue, except that my dog can actually break out of most kennels (pulls the door off), so I'm trying to doubly hard to get her to liking it. Anytime she goes in her kennel on her own, I toss her treats (which for her can be as simple as kibble, because she's such a food monger). I feed her dinner in her kennel and leave her in there for 15-20 minutes afterwards while I'm out of the room making coffee or taking a shower.

But make the kennel (if it's in a place this is possible) a place where magic super special treats just magically fall out of the "sky" anytime he's in there on his own.

And you might have to resort to using something like ComfortZone, Rescue Remedy (or a stronger variation) or even Clomicalm.

 

[wcladymacbeth]

I'm having the same issue with my dog right now but luckily she hasn't figured out how to break the crate yet lol! I also tried putting her in the basement and she pooped next to the little box (seriously, I almost praised her for it... if she were just IN the litter box it would be awesome!) plus we don't actually OWN our house just yet and I figured she would start chewing something she shouldn't eventually.

But yeah, I agree with everything that's been said. And actually I'm going to start using my Rescue Remedy again. I've heard great things about comfort zone but I haven't bought it yet. I can't bring myself to pay that much for a plug-in. I should though.

 

[milos_mommy]

Don't let him get away with not obeying. If he balks, lure him in with a treat. Close it for only a couple of seconds, and then open it again. If he doesn't balk, don't close the door, unless you HAVE to.

Maybe try one of those "air freshener" type things that emits a calming odor for dogs? With his serious SA, it sounds like you might need some other way to calm him down.

And post pictures, I LOVE Vlad.

 

[Cessena]

I saw the ComfortZone at petsmart last weekend. Do they work? I've used the feliway plug in for my cats but I never really noticed any significant difference. I'll look into the rescue remedy too.

Thanks for the encouragement, I do make him go in even when he balks. He's just so stubborn! I thought we were finally making progress.

Here are some photos!

 

[lizzybeth727]

But the few times we have left him there because of an emergency he has chewed up the baseboards, and drooled all over the place.

This is what concerns me - especially the drooling part. It sounds to me (although of course I can't say for sure without actually seeing him myself) like he does have separation anxiety, and true separation anxiety isnt' going to be "fixed" with plug ins. They might help a little, and eventually you might be able to use only them, but in the mean time you need some more direct methods.

The fact that he ate all his meals in his crate for 2-3 months and still won't go in on his own, also means that whatever methods you're using are clearly not working. For most dogs this will work within about 2-4 weeks, and they will continue to be excited about their crate. So I think this is a more severe problem and just "not letting him get away with it" is, IMO, not going to solve the problem, and very well may make it worse.

 

[Cessena]

Well now that he has started balking at going into the kennel we've stopped closing the door on him as often. (More like 1 out of every 4 trips in compared with 1 out of 2.) But he's always had to do something to get his dinner, and I"m not going to start giving him a pass on that.

We have mostly been trying to get him used to his crate so we could eventually work up to actually leaving the house. But when he wont tolerate being in his crate without us next to him for more than a few seconds it makes it hard to make any progress as far as leaving the house goes.

Do you think we'd be better off skipping the crate for now? And just trying to get him accustomed to hanging out in the basement without us for short periods? (perhaps with the comfort zone plugged in or something.) I'm really open to suggestions.

(I should mention that when we do leave him we always give him a stuffed kong full of his favorite stuff and toys. And he makes a big deal about us coming home, but we just open the door and then let him outside to potty, calmly.)

It may be that a behaviorist is our best option. Perhaps that is what I will use my economic stimulus check for.

 

[lizzybeth727]

But he's always had to do something to get his dinner, and I"m not going to start giving him a pass on that. .

Absolutely, I think every dog should do something to get his dinner, and I completely agree with feeding him in the crate. I'm just saying that in this case, it's probably not enough to get him used to the crate.

Do you think we'd be better off skipping the crate for now? And just trying to get him accustomed to hanging out in the basement without us for short periods? (perhaps with the comfort zone plugged in or something.) .

He'll still be extremely stressed out in the basement like you've seen. Even with a behaviorist, it will probably take weeks, if not months, before he will be calm ANYWHERE without you around.

It may be that a behaviorist is our best option. Perhaps that is what I will use my economic stimulus check for.

Sounds like a fabulous idea.