I have been crating my girl "Lefty" since we picked her up a year ago - she is now 1 1/2. My husband and I both work so we have the dog walker come in at lunch time. She is never crated when we are home and does not sleep in her crate anymore. We really want to be able to let her out during the day to roam around the house as she wishes but have tried on a few instances and she got destructive. I need some strong advice on this issue. I absolutely HATE leaving her in that thing all day. I think I get more depressed than she does. Please help.
from the crate to the house
- Thread starter lynndiako
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Lael
Super Boxer
I've read here on BW (you may want to do a search here) that is helps to gradually give them freedom to roam the house. Like, if you leave for 15 minues to go outside, let them alone in the house. Then 30 min, then 1 hour, etc. until they can be trusted during the day.
Hopefully someone who knows a bit more can help too.
Good Luck!
Cat & Lael
Hopefully someone who knows a bit more can help too.
Good Luck!Cat & Lael
Elaine&Si
Boxer Pal
Our little Samson (8 months now) was never a big fan of his crate, he used to always sulk when he went in it, so we decided to leave the crate door open one day and pop out for half an hour. We were a bit worried to see what he had done when we came back but he was fine. So we used to leave him in the house with the crate door open and it seemed to work great. It has come to the point now where we have put the crate away completely and he has been fantastic. He is sometimes left up to 5 - 6 hours.
Make sure you leave all his toys out and snacks for him to chew on too, to keep his mind occupied.
Good luck.
Make sure you leave all his toys out and snacks for him to chew on too, to keep his mind occupied.
Good luck.
tcarlisle
Super Boxer
lynndiako said:
Try it for just a few minyutes at a time, and working up to 15 minutes. I think most research still agrees that destructive behavior due to sep. anxiety kicks in within minutes after leaving.
You can start with small time durations and work to longer ones. Plus at the same time you can distract the dogs attention during that first 15 minutes. I like to recommend a home-made toy. Take a rag, adn put some dog food and peanut butter in the center and tie it tightly two times. Make it so the dog has to chew through the cloth to get the treat. Get your doog used to this by giving it to him in the evening when you are there -- to make sure he likes it, doesn't each the non-edible cloth, etc.
Then give it to him when you leave. It shoudl keep him busy for at least the first 30 minutes you are gone. If he doesn't play with it when you are gone, his sep anxiety is not minimal. You have to crate him until you have desensitized him to you being gone
Is it possible that he pushed the door to his crate shut, adn then he couldn't get in it and freaked out? That is why I recommend it be removed if possible.
Cami
Boxer Insane
You might try confining to a kitchen or bedroom with baby gates? I would try this while you were still home to get her initial reaction to this new environment. Definetly start out with small increments of time, and she will hopefully gain her confidence. Several 5-10 minute outings, and lots of praise when you return home to a non-destroyed house, eventually increasing the time spent away.
nybustermom
Boxer Pal
I have to agree that the baby gate is a good idea. Once we let Buster out of the crate, he also became destructive. We had to slowly give him more and more space by using the gates. It has worked so far for us and lets me keep my pillows in tact.
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VTbxrFan
Boxer Insane
Definitely start with just one room or area at a time. My boy is almost 5 and he still can't handle being loose in the whole house, but he is fine in "his" room - it's safe and comfortable for him, and there is nothing new or tempting for him to get into. It's also easier to dog-proof a single room rather than the whole house. The one thing of value in my "dog" room is my computer. There really wasn't another room to move it to, so when I first started leaving him loose in that room, I bought a gate system and used it to block off the area around my desk and computer. Eventually I was able to take that down, too. He will jump a baby gate in a doorway, but he's fine with me just shutting the door.
I can sympathize with your frustration - my girl is still crated also and I hate doing that, but it's our only option with her right now.
I can sympathize with your frustration - my girl is still crated also and I hate doing that, but it's our only option with her right now.
thank you all for your advice - I did try gates once and she busted right through them - I also tried one room but she scratched all the paint off the door - i will try going to the bank tomorrow for 15 minutes and she what happens - wish me luck - I can't imagine her being crated the rest of her life. I will keep you posted..........
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