Transitioning Away from the Crate
I've had my 8-month old bundle of joy Linus for about a month. He came with a crate, but he hates it. He EATS through the plastic when I leave him in it and absolutely freaks out, even if I leave him with toys. I come home to find a soaking-wet dog (from drool) who is emotionally drained and slivers of plastic from the eaten-away walls of the crate. It got so bad that after a week, I let him sleep on the floor next to my bed. He sleeps perfectly outside of the crate at night, and he doesn't have accidents when I'm home with him. He can hold it all night and is a very good boy about using his door and going in the yard. But if I leave him outside of the crate when I'm gone, he pees on the carpet. Any ideas? I was thinking of a baby gate to keep him confined to the kitchen for a few weeks. Many thanks! |
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| Welcome! |
| I know there are members who will be able to offer you great advice but I wanted to say my Wheaten is the same way. We could not (and can't to this day) crate him. He figured out how to get out of crates as a puppy and even taking him to the groomer his legs would be wet from drool in a very short amount of time. As a puppy he did much better outside of the crate but he still had issues with separation anxiety. He's nearly 11 years old now and does fine at home but there are still issues with grooming and boarding.
Is Linus taking any type of obedience classes? I always thought that some sort of structured activity would have given Parker more confidence and helped with his anxiety. |
| I would attempt a baby gate, but bring it in gradually while you're at home with him so he doesn't automatically assume that the gate = uprights goodbye.
Good luck and welcome! |
| ^^^
good point |
| Separation anxiety and confinement issues... been there!
This article might help- http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1502 We brought in a rescue that had severe separation anxiety and could not be crated. So we puppy proofed a room instead. Don't leave any food, cleaners, meds on the counters... if he's good at opening cupboard doors/drawers, you'll have to childproof those too. And keep the garbage in a safe place where he can't get in it. Try leaving either the radio or TV on so there's some background noise (we turn on the Weather Channel). Make the room a great place to be. Maybe only give him extra special, safe puppy toys when he's there... or a filled kong... or a nylabone... feed all his meals in this room. If you think it might be a long term thing and you find a baby gate isn't sturdy enough, consider installing a Dutch door. Pick up a solid core door at the lumberyard and cut it in half, apply the hardware and a top plate and install it. They work very well. Good luck to you! |
| Barney hated his crate and was the same way--lots of drool, etc. So we kept him baby-gated in the kitchen. We actually already had the baby gates up because we'd keep him in there sometimes when we were home because of his housetraining issues.
But it worked perfectly. He BARELY had any accidents from then on and didn't cry or anything. One thing we had to do--remove the knobs from the stove. He'd accidentally bump into them and we came home once to find one sort of turned on. And like others said, remove any possibility of temptation (foodwise, chemicals, etc). They can get bored, and when they get bored they get crafty. |
Quote: One thing we had to do--remove the knobs from the stove. He'd accidentally bump into them and we came home once to find one sort of turned on.
OMG 
Barney and Panda must be related. 
We still keep the knobs off the cooktop even though Panda no longer counter surfs. |
| When they get bored, they can be incredibly destructive. I had a dog that I confined to the kitchen and she ate all the bottoms of the cabinets as well as a huge hole in the drywall! With our OES, when he outgrew the crate, we bought a containment pen and created a "room" for him where he had plenty of space but couldn't get at anything to destroy. As he continued to grow, we then got another one and just connected them together to make a bigger "room." (Of course, I had no dining room at this point as all the furniture was pushed to the side!) At 18 months, we are just now letting him have the run of the house for short periods with many rooms still closed off. The pens are not cheap (Petsmart has them), but cheaper than replacing cabinets or furniture and patching drywall! There's no "ceiling" on the pen, so I think the dog doesn't feel so confined. |
| We took each of our OES out of the crate when we picked them up at the airport and never used them again. We used baby gates as necessary but even that was seldom as they have been able to go to work with us. We provided a bed next to ours (ah, the pitter patter of little feet in the middle of the night) and as pups closed them in the room with us. When they were old enough they had the run of the house day and night. Separation was never a problem but the last OES pouted something terrible (how guilty they can make us feel) if we went to dinner, etc. All three of our OES received a great deal of attention and it didn't take them long to understand how it all works. |
| i would definately try the baby gate thing....it cant be any worse...unless of course he decides to knaw on the cabinets...
welcome!! where in phx are you? im downtown..... |
| We had our first baby-gate secured outing, and it was a success! Came home to a happy puppy in an unsoiled kitchen.
Many thanks for the advice! |
| As ou can see you will always get great advice here....welcome!!!!
Keep up posted on Linus's progress....He is too CUTE!!!!! |
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