Escape Artist Crate Training Separation Anxiety

[bzausch]

Hello Everyone! I am brand new to this site and need help! My boyfriend and I recently adopted an 11 month old husky female from the local animal shelter. We've had her for a little over a month. Within the last week and a half we have started having a problem with her being an escape artist out of the house. When we first got her she was a bit of challenge, but appeared to be getting slowly better and now this trend of running away has begun. We have a crate and have been attempting to crate train her, and she wants NOTHING to do with it. She has found ways to get out of her crate to the point that we have had to to tie the pannels because the smarty pants learned that if she chews and pulls just right that the back/front will come into the crate (it's a wire collapsable crate). When in the crate she barks, cries, digs, and chews. I'm wondering if anyone else has had the problem of their husky escaping out of their own crate. She really needs to be in the crate when she is alone too, because she is starting to become destructive even with exercise and toys. She's chewed on a few door frames. Also we have a roommate who left his window slightly open and she pushed the window open, pushed out the screen and escaped! We are very concerned about leaving her and her knowing that she is SAFE so the crate is absolutely necessary. She's such a loving and willing dog I would hate to have to find another home for her because I don't feel like she is safe here and I want to try EVERYTHING I can to make sure she gets to stay with us forever. Does anyone have any ideas or past experience with this? If you do please share!

-Thanks

[Sarah]

Hi and welcome to the pack

Congrats on rescuing her - she's gorgeous !

My boys used to get out of their crates, i now have tape round different places so they can't prize them open

When introducing a pup/dog to a crate, it needs to be done gradually. Start with the door open, with treats blankets and toys in there so she can go in and out when she wants.

When she's been in and out, start by pushing the door to for a few seconds then opening it again and letting her out. Increase the time she's in there by a few mins at a time - she needs to learn that it's a safe place / den to be in.

One bit of advice with the crate, never use it as punishment - ie never put her in there if she's done something bad or she will associate it with being punished and will back off from it completely

[Bec]

What have you done to crate train her? Unfortunately some dogs are harder to crate train than others especially when they are adults, so you can't just chuck them in there and hope that they'll like it.

Do you have to leave her crated during the day when you're out? Doing so can increase her boredom and frustration. Unfortunately huskies are known as being escape artists which is why it's recommended you have a secure fenced yard before bringing one home - do you have a yard you can leave her in or could you take her to doggy day care a few days a week to help with the boredom?

[bzausch]

Thanks for replying! She is not crated very much at all. We have pretty open schedules so usually someone is home with her the vast majority of the day/evening. So when she is crated it's not for very long (maybe 2 hours at the very most). When we first got her the crate we opened it up and put it together and she jumped right inside of it and slept. For the first week I fed her in the crate too with the door open so she would get used to being inside of it. We put treats toys and a blanket in there too and left the door open to encourage her to like being inside her crate and at first this worked. We then slowly began leaving her in there with the door closed for short periods of time while we were home and increasing the amount of time she spent in the crate. She is usually 100% fine when she is crated and someone is home she will just go in and go to sleep. The problem comes when we leave her. She bends the bars and tries (what used to be successfully to escape). At night too she would freak out in the crate and not want to be inside of it. It took sleeping on the floor next to the crate to get her to eventually calm down. We did that for potty training, but now she just sleeps in our room because she doesn't have accidents.

I am beginning to wonder if this is more than her just not liking being inside the crate, but separation anxiety. She used to be able to be left in the house as long as a roommate was home and she would be 100% fine. Now if I leave or if my boyfriend leaves she gets distructive even if someone may be home. She is knawing on the door frame that we went out of or barking nonstop. Also if we leave and someone else is home she will try to escape the house, if myself or my boyfriend is home though she does not try to leave. She is a rescue, and I've had 2 other rescues before, but none have ever had such a problem with being separated from me. She gets extremely excited when we come home. We take her to the dog park/beach and/or walk her roughly 3 miles daily so I don't think it should be excess energy. We also leave her with a kong full of PB and treats that she has to roll the right way to get them out. I'm beginning to be at a loss of what to do. I hate the idea of having to crate her, but at this point it's what's best for her safety and our house.

[caroline.rose@ymail.com]

I completely understand what you're going through, and I agree that it sounds like separation anxiety.

My boys used to do great in the crate, until we went on vacation with them for 2 weeks in the summer. Then they got so used to being with us 24/7, Timber didn't want to be alone anymore.

We have wire crates too, and tried everything to keep him in there - rope, wire, metal clips, etc. Regardless, he was always laying out in the hallway when I got home from work.

I wasn't at a point where I completely trusted him to give him free rome of the house all day while I was at work. So my husband and I built a room for him and his brother down in our unfinished basement. He now has a 12x16 ft "run" with dog beds, toys, and of course, the crates (doors open).

Do you have some sort of room like that that you could leave him in, instead of the crate - something completely dog proof, like a spare bedroom maybe?

Even if you do, I would still continue working with the crate training - very slowly and patiently. You never know if you dog has to go to the vet in the future, or some other circumstance where he had to be crated. It will make it much less stressful if he's already used to the crate.

You mentioned giving a kong - have you tried freezing it? This can make it last for much longer, and really tire out the dog. You could also try feeding whole meals in the crate - just so that the crate is then associated with being a good place again.

Another few things that might help is giving an old t-shirt of yours (or something else that smells like you) for your dog to snuggle up with in the crate.

Also, playing classical music has been proven to calm dogs down during times of stress - maybe you could go shopping for a new cd collection.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[caroline.rose@ymail.com]

oh, one more thing I forgot to mention.

I found that taking my boys out for exercise *before* I went to work, also made a difference. I used to just take them for 1-2 hours after work, but taking them before hand (even if it's just a half hour jog) helped with releasing some of their excess energy and relax for the rest of the day.

[Rathian]

One of my main tasks was to make sure ours was crate trained. Although the wife is around most of the day there are bound to be times when she needs to be locked away, specially with three cats around.

We started off slowly and are still going slow. She is now at the point where bed time comes around and she will go straight to her crate after her pre-bed toilet break.

We started with an open crate in the living room and made sure all her toys were in there to make her go in a fetch them out. We then moved onto shutting the door behind but with no lock so she could nudge the door back open.

Next came locking the door, a few minutes to start, then gradually increasing. She will quite happily sleep 10/11pm until 6am without so much as a whimper.

One of us is still sleeping downstairs at the moment, but with the dog moved to the other room and the door shut. Moving totally upstairs is the next goal over the next week or so.

We may be doing it slower than necessary but its working for us.

[Bec]

I am beginning to wonder if this is more than her just not liking being inside the crate, but separation anxiety. She used to be able to be left in the house as long as a roommate was home and she would be 100% fine. Now if I leave or if my boyfriend leaves she gets distructive even if someone may be home. She is knawing on the door frame that we went out of or barking nonstop. Also if we leave and someone else is home she will try to escape the house, if myself or my boyfriend is home though she does not try to leave. She is a rescue, and I've had 2 other rescues before, but none have ever had such a problem with being separated from me. She gets extremely excited when we come home. We take her to the dog park/beach and/or walk her roughly 3 miles daily so I don't think it should be excess energy. We also leave her with a kong full of PB and treats that she has to roll the right way to get them out. I'm beginning to be at a loss of what to do. I hate the idea of having to crate her, but at this point it's what's best for her safety and our house.

Ok - have you tried leaving her for short periods of time (uncrated to begin with)? Start with leaving for five or ten minutes and work her up to being left on her own. Ignore her excitedness when you come home and don't make a big deal out of leaving. What sort of training have you done with her?

[beachhusky]

I crate trained both my dogs the same way. We just put them in the crate at night and let them cry. It sounds cruel, but after about two nights they are fine. Now they go into thier crates on their own! The younger they are the better though. Also, we dont ever use the crate as a punishment. We dont look at them or talk to them when they are in the crate and dont let any other dog in there. Everybody needs thier own space sometimes. We feed them in there too, but more because one of my dogs is on adult food and my husky is still on puppy chow.

[Val (Zebedee)]

I crate trained both my dogs the same way. We just put them in the crate at night and let them cry. It sounds cruel, but after about two nights they are fine. Now they go into thier crates on their own! The younger they are the better though. Also, we dont ever use the crate as a punishment. We dont look at them or talk to them when they are in the crate and dont let any other dog in there. Everybody needs thier own space sometimes. We feed them in there too, but more because one of my dogs is on adult food and my husky is still on puppy chow.

Great post! I agree, that is how we crate-trained Myshka, but she was only 10 weeks old when we started, & after 2 or 3 nights, we've not had a problem, it is her private place for solitude & to get away from us!

added to rep

[tfickeisen]

My female had the same exact problem. I found that tying wire around the edges of the crate was the solution. Try leaving some music on or a TV on near the crate when you are not home to provide some comfort. Freeze some peanut butter in a kong toy and when you leave, put it in her crate. She should have no problem working on that forever. I believe it's all about consistency. Mine is just over a year old and is allowed to stay out of the crate now when I'm not home. Rarely, does she ever chew anything. My advice would be to just stick with it, she'll grow out of it. You'll be glad you did.

[Sarah]

Great adive added to reps

My boys screamed the place down when I first brought them home and i had to ignore it - gawd that was so hard to do !!

But now they love their crates

Kongs are great - my boys love it when i stuff it with ham then peanut butter in the top to act as a plug lasts them a fair while

[beachhusky]

It wasnt all fun and games. The first night she had explosive puppy poop all over the place . It was everywhere! On the walls, the ceiling, in her fur... Not what you want to wake up to at four in the morning. Needless to say, I missed breakfast giving her a bath and washing the cage out. I felt so bad! Like I said, shes happy in her cage now though.

[Bec]

It wasnt all fun and games. The first night she had explosive puppy poop all over the place . It was everywhere! On the walls, the ceiling, in her fur... Not what you want to wake up to at four in the morning. Needless to say, I missed breakfast giving her a bath and washing the cage out. I felt so bad! Like I said, shes happy in her cage now though.

That's why when you crate a baby puppy during the night you are supposed to get up during the night to take them out to toilet Most pups can't hold it through the night.

[Damrod]

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/cratetraining.htm

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/separationanxiety.htm

[Dunc]

A great way to keep the crates secure is to use suitcase locks there very cheap at pound shops easy to remove when crate as to be transported.

[Cathy]

Added reps to all who suggested excercise and Kongs. My boy gets plenty of excercise (read: he gives me plenty of excercise) and doesn't really have bad separation anxiety, but I know if I have to run errands where he can't come, he spends a bit of time thrashing around and complaining in his crate before he finally settles down. The Kong has kept him pacified (peanut butter didn't work for us, he's not crazy about it -- and what a pain to get it back out of the Kong! -- but odd-sized treats have worked great).

Thanks! I never would have thought to give him such a thing!

[Sarah]

Have you tried soaking some kibble and putting it in the kong then freezing it?